by Tinalynge
"Escape! No need to stay here any longer!" Xue Wei shouted. Meanwhile, on the ground, a group of experts started rioting.
"Young Hero Xue Wei, we believe in you!" someone yelled out loud.
After this yell, more and more threw themselves into the battle. At the same time, a large group of experts from the gates of the Inner City emerged. It was clear that all of them had come from the Outer City. They had managed to break through the gates and were now flooding the area, ready to fight for what they believed in.
They did not fight because they liked Xue Wei. In fact, Xue Wei was not important, but Xiao Lei was, and everyone was of the impression that he was being framed.
They wanted to protect the hero of humankind, the man who had grown from being a simple cultivator in the Kingdom of Heping to become the biggest hero of all time.
They were willing to throw their lives away for him, as he was someone who had saved them multiple times.
All of them were veteran soldiers, and they had all experienced multiple perils, of which many survived only because Xiao Lei had come to their rescue.
He had not saved every single person in the Kingdom of Heping, but he had saved many, far more than any other, and tales of his exploits had reached others, making them respect and revere this hero who took the time to save battalions of soldiers whenever he happened to be there.
Moving against him was the same as moving against the citizens of the kingdom, and thus their eyes were filled with rage as they all threw themselves at the guards and law enforcers that they found around the stage.
Although a big battle began on the ground, no one were in the mindset of killing one another. The rioting experts just wished to trash the law enforcers and the guards to show them their opinion about the matter, and the law enforcers were aware that if they started wantonly killing the citizens, then it was likely to turn into a revolution.
While the two groups fought on the ground, Xue Wei, Tie Haolong, and the Lightning Sparrow were being thrashed around in the air. The Lightning Sparrow was constantly evading attack after attack, using its acute senses to ensure that they were still not defeated, yet it was weaker than the three Heavenly Warrior Primordial Beast Hunters. It was starting to feel weakened.
Xue Wei and Tie Haolong looked at one another. They saw no hesitation in each other's eyes, and they even grinned slightly.
"Let us rush out!" Xue Wei said after a bit of time and poured all his energy into the Lightning Sparrow beneath him, trying to replenish what little he could of its energy reserves.
Tie Haolong did not waste any time and did the same, both of them aware that the energy that they could offer was very little when it came to a Fierce Beast, but it was better than nothing, and the Lightning sparrow's speed started picking up again.
The sparrow suddenly darted through a small hole in the encirclement of the three experts, and the three of them flew towards safety.
Unfortunately, the Heavenly Warriors were very experienced when it came to such pursuits and at the very moment that Xue Wei and the Lightning Sparrow shot out, a palm descended onto Xue Wei.
It was impossible for Xue Wei to move in time, there was simply too little space for him to move. If he did move, the attack would land on Tie Haolong, and neither could possibly survive such a blow head-on. This was a Heavenly Warrior they were up against.
Right then, Xue Wei had decided to take the hit, using all of his Qi to form a barrier in front of him, However, before he could react, he felt someone pull his shoulder backward, tossing him down onto the back of the bird so that he ended up laying down on his elbows rather than standing up.
"Idiot!" Tie Haolong sneered. Everything was in slow-motion for Xue Wei. He fell so fast that he could not move, yet the thing that happened in front of his eyes took forever.
The palmstrike descended onto Tie Haolong, causing his chest to cave inwards. Blood gushed out of his mouth and he collapsed onto the back of the bird.
Although it looked as if it took forever to Xue Wei, it had in fact all happened in an instant as the Lightning Sparrow shot past the other Heavenly Warrior.
They had left the pincer attack and were now free to flee, but a sad chirp could be heard coming from the bird as they flew at a rapid speed towards the mountains again.
While they flew, Xue Wei quickly rolled the crumbled up Tie Haolong onto his back, only to see that his chest had been destroyed. His ribcage had been shattered, and his heart was punctured by the many splinters.
"No!" Xue Wei felt his eyes moisten and a low growl escaped his lips. "This can't be true! We escaped, you will survive!" he growled out, partially to convince himself.
"I... am going to die," Tie Haolong said with much difficulty and with a raspy voice. "I am... jealous of you... But I admire you..."
"Thank you... You made me feel like I was worth something... You came to save me..."
"I once said that I would make you call me your brother," Tie Haolong said with much effort, after which he coughed up more blood, "but I guess it is too late for that."
Xue Wei shook his head soundlessly as tears fell from his eyes. "You are my brother," he stated seriously with a sob, "and as your brother, I will make sure to avenge you!"
A slim smile appeared on Tie Haolong's face and he seemed content. "Thank... you..." he said before his eyes turned dim and his body limp. However, even in death, Tie Haolong held a gratified smile on his lips.
Chapter 51 - Departure
A roar split the heavens as Xue Wei let out his grief. It was heart-rending and filled with sorrow.
Xue Wei did not have many friends, and Tie Haolong was someone he considered an equal. Tie Haolong had tried to save him. He had been someone who had managed to tear down the walls of Xue Wei’s heart despite the short time they had known each other.
Xue Wei felt a gaping pain in his chest; he had never before experienced a loss of such magnitude, and although he had lost his parents at an early age, he had no recollections of it, which did not hurt as much as this did. Ignorance was bliss, after all.
Xue Wei cried. He was filled with agony, and the Lightning Sparrow was also crying by his side. Although the Lightning Sparrow did not know Tie Haolong, it could feel the grief in Xue Wei and reacted to this.
While the two, sparrow and young man, were lost in their sorrow of losing Tie Haolong, the capital was in an uproar.
The flying Primordial Beast Hunters tried to track down Xue Wei, but they could not do so. It was impossible to find them, no matter how much they searched.
All of them were aware that the Lightning Sparrow was incredibly fast. If it flew for a few days, it would be impossible for them to catch up. Due to this, they were searching half-heartedly.
The city itself was turned upside down by the brawl between the Outer City’s and the Inner City's citizens.
The palace guards were sent out to subdue the unruly bunch, and more than a thousand experts were sent to the prisons to cool down. Although the royalty was unhappy with the reaction these people had had, they dared not risk a revolution, and thus everyone was released again shortly after daybreak the following day.
Originally, the nobles had been split into two factions, one that had protected Xue Wei and defended his case, and another that was against him, claiming him to be a Primordial Beast or a beast accomplice.
Now that Xue Wei had appeared on the back of a Fierce Beast, the group who had previously protected him was quite hesitant. The ones who had been against him were now voicing their concerns even louder than before, and even the capital that previously had revolted started to waver.
Was this child truly a Primordial Beast? How was it possible for him to command a Fierce Beast if he was not? It was clear that he was not a Diviner, so how had he gotten his hands on this famous Lightning Sparrow that every beast hunter knew was the property of someone else?
Everyone was worried and started to second-guess themselves and their actions. Had all of them been blinded by their resp
ect for Xiao Lei and had the prosecutor been right all along?
Soon, as the facts started to dawn on everyone, the kingdom was once again united. All of them were of the impression that Xue Wei had been a traitor planted by the Primordial Beasts that had abused Xiao Lei and his kindness.
After a few days, the ones who had initiated the riot were now the ones who were proclaiming their hate for Xue Wei.
The rumors about someone planning to execute Xue Wei for the sake of besmirching Xiao Lei’s public image was quickly left alone. No one spoke about it any longer, and everyone involved, although still reverent of Xiao Lei, could not help but sigh at how he had been tricked by the Primordial Beasts.
After a few days, a company of a hundred experts was gathered in the palace. They were commanded by Captain Yuan Chao.
"Your task will be simple. All of you will chase down the traitor that goes under the name Xue Wei. He is to be killed on sight. He is to be executed with no questions asked."
"Your mission might take years. It might take you out of the familiar settings of the Heping Kingdom, but never forget, you are hunting him because he is a Primordial Beast or an associate of the Primordial Beasts. He is our enemy, and he has caused serious damage to our kingdom. We need him dead!"
"Do not return before he has died."
These were Yuan Chao’s orders, and his company of hundred men all nodded their heads in unison and called out, "Understood!"
All of these men were experts that had long since reached the Earth or Sky Warrior rank. All of them had long since finished their ten years in the army, but they had decided to stay there to make a career for themselves.
This company was one of the strongest companies that the Kingdom of Heping had available. Only a few were stronger, as this company consisted mainly of Sky Warriors.
The day following that, the group left the capital and set out towards the direction that they had seen the Lightning Sparrow fly with Xue Wei and Tie Haolong.
Meanwhile, Xue Wei burned Tie Haolong. He gathered his ashes and was at a loss for what he should do with them.
Should he scatter them on the mountain top? Should he scatter them over the capital? What was the right decision? He simply did not know, but after considering it for some time, he buried his ashes at the location where he had called him his brother.
"We became family here, so although it is not the greatest memories, it is one I will never forget," Xue Wei muttered to himself.
"I will have to leave the Kingdom of Heping soon, but I swear to you that one day I will return. And when I do, I will ensure that they all pay for what they did to you!"
Xue Wei said, his words heartfelt. He truly wished for Tie Haolong to hear him, but he knew that Tie Haolong had long since entered the circle of reincarnation. He would never hear Xue Wei's voice again.
Sighing, Xue Wei looked at the Lightning Sparrow. "This is where our roads will part ways," Xue Wei said as he gently patted the Lightning Sparrow's head. "If I travel with you, I will be easy to notice. Also you have done so much for me already, so it is only fair that you finally get to enjoy your new-found freedom."
The Lightning Sparrow chirped with a bit of sadness, but its eyes were resolute and it nodded its head.
After this, it spread its wings and swept up to the sky, screeching out loud before it vanished into the distance. It was gone in a blink of an eye, leaving Xue Wei all alone.
Far away, in an unknown dark place, Xiao Lei was sitting in a lotus position, slowly inhaling and exhaling, trying his best to calm himself.
While the room was lavish, there was an unmistakable heavy atmosphere around him, and it was clear that he was not there because he wished to be so.
He was focused on cultivating and increasing his strength when suddenly a laughter erupted in the room and an alluring woman with silver hair appeared in the doorway.
"Well, you seem to be spending the time leisurely!" she said. He completely ignored her, continuing to cultivate.
"I saw your little toy not so long ago," she continued, and this time her words caused a reaction. Xiao Lei was still quiet, but he opened an eye and glanced at her with a bone-chilling gaze.
This did not seem to faze her though, as she continued. "There is this rumor that he has a relationship with that phony prophet," she continued. To this, Xiao Lei’s eyes widened slightly.
"Don't worry, I already checked. He is still useable for us, so who cares what relationship he has with that old man."
"Anyways, I managed to cut him, I framed him, and now he is being hunted down for being a Primordial Beast. You should have seen them," she started laughing.
"I am not really sure if he is still alive though," she seemed to be pondering something, "I made sure he lost a whole lot of blood, and then I dropped him from a high altitude. Even if he is still alive, he will have lost at least a layer of skin, if not two or three."
Xiao Lei's eyes were alit with anger. Before the woman had time to react, he turned into a blur and appeared in front of her, arm raised. A flat hand placed a slap right on her cheek, sending her flying into the room, so far that she slammed into the wall. When she fell to the ground, her entire face was swollen.
"Touch him again, and you will die," Xiao Lei said with a dangerously low voice, but Chu Huiyin, who had a hand on her cheek, could not help but laugh as she spat out blood.
"You are a captive! Primordial Beast Hunter Xiao Lei, do you think that you would have been able to accomplish what you have without our help? Now it is time to pay back, and you stay like a good boy within this chamber until we allow you to come out again."
It was clear that Chu Huiyin was having fun, but although she spoke as such, her eyes were darting from side to side, showing fear in her expression.
Xiao Lei snorted. "You think that you guys are enough to defeat me?"
"I am here because of our deal. I will honor my part, you will honor yours."
"But if I hear that any of you have killed him, then I will kill you all – and don't question me, you know I am capable of doing so."
When Xiao Lei threatened Chu Huiyin, her body shivered uncontrollably. She had an urge to throw herself prostrate on the ground, seeking to do nothing but admit her wrongdoings and beg for forgiveness.
Trembling, Chu Huiyin decided to escape the room. She fled with her tail between her legs.
Xiao Lei snickered when he saw her leave. "I know you hate him more than anyone else in this world, but I will not let anyone lay a hand on him. Even if he will hate me in the future, I will do what I can to keep him safe. I cannot afford to let him become the enemy of both humans and Primordial Beasts."
Afterword
Thank you all for reading Condemning the Heavens book 1. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, then you can read even more, for free, on https://www.wuxiaworld.com/novel/condeming-the-heavens where I release a new chapter every single day.
I also have a patreon account where you can get merchandise from my stories, exclusive art and early release on chapters. If you are interested, then head over to www.patreon.com/tinalynge to have a look.
Thank you so much for your time, I hope you will continue to support me when book three – Stars are Falling is released!