Archean Eon Art c1-766

by I Eat Tomatoes, Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi, 我吃西红柿

  “Young Master Meng is from a Godfiend family clan. His Godfiend foundation is naturally much stronger. Furthermore, from the looks of it, Young Master Meng’s saber arts are exquisite.”

  “Indeed… Young Master Meng’s saber arts have probably reached the peak of the Unity realm. In another year or two, there’s a chance he will comprehend Force. How can an ordinary Seamless realm compare with him?” As the guests discussed, some people boldly came to the severed arm and carefully took off the black glove. They saw the blood-red palm that was twice as large as an ordinary person’s.

  “Blood Fiend Hand?”

  “There are still people who cultivate such evil martial arts? Could it be Blood Hand Zhao Can?”

  “Blood Hand Zhao Can, he’s the second-in-command of the Blood Cloud Bandits. He’s an expert at the Seamless realm. Yet, he’s being pursued by Young Master Meng Chuan. Young Master Meng’s saber arts are truly formidable. He might really be able to comprehend Saber Force in another year or two.”

  “How can such an ordinary Seamless realm expert compare with geniuses like Young Master Meng?”

  There was a flurry of discussion in the brothel. There were quite a few daring people who went out to chase after the duo, but clearly, they were not as fast as Meng Chuan or Zhao Can—who had cast a forbidden technique.

  How did I expose myself? Eleventh Sister’s disguising techniques are already superb. No one can see through me. Could it be a slip of the tongue by that idiot or those courtesans? Zhao Can was filled with hatred and anxiety as he ran as fast as he could.

  Meng Chuan chased after him.

  After chasing for half a kilometer, the surroundings became quiet.

  Swoosh! Meng Chuan’s speed suddenly increased dramatically.

  What a joke.

  Having cultivated the Lightning Divine Body and comprehending Force, the speed he could unleash far exceeded Zhao Can’s. Zhao Can remained inferior despite using the forbidden Godfiend technique. Many people had been watching in Azure Cloud Brothel, so Meng Chuan had only used 30% of his strength, making him appear slightly stronger than Zhao Can. He had used 50% of his strength when cleaving off Zhao Can’s arm. His grandaunt had instructed him to wait until next year to reveal that he had comprehended Force.

  In front of others, he naturally had to keep a low profile.

  What? Realizing that Meng Chuan’s speed had suddenly increased, Zhao Can was driven to the brink of insanity. How can this be?

  The rapidly approaching Meng Chuan was a blur. Even the Seamless realm Zhao Can couldn’t make his figure out. He suddenly realized that a saber beam was coming towards him, so he raised his left hand to block it.

  The saber beam changed direction. It was extremely ghostly.

  The beam passed through one of his legs, and a leg flew up.

  Without using Saber Force, Meng Chuan could only use 50% of his strength. This strike contained 50% of his strength, but he had also imbued Power of the Soul into it, causing the saber beam to speed up by 30% as it approached Zhao Can. This caused Zhao Can to lose a leg despite casting the forbidden Godfiend technique.

  Zhao Can fell to the ground. He had already lost an arm and leg. He revealed a look of despair. His control over his body as a Seamless realm expert allowed him to reduce the bleeding from his leg and arm stumps.

  “Young Master Meng, I don’t have any enmity with you. There’s no need for you to kill me,” said Zhao Can immediately. There was no way for him to dodge with one leg missing. He had also lost an arm. Killing him was too easy. However, Zhao Can still wanted to live!

  He was an expert at the Seamless realm. Even if he lost an arm and leg, he could still live comfortably.

  “Oh? Didn’t you also take the lives of over three hundred people when you had no enmity with them?” Meng Chuan walked towards Zhao Can.

  “I have silver and treasures.” Zhao Can immediately took out a thick stack of silver notes with his left hand. “There’s nearly 40,000 silvers worth of banknotes here. Also, this is a Godfiend treasure.”

  Zhao Can took out the black metal piece wrapped in cloth. “This Godfiend treasure is worth 100,000 taels.”

  He didn’t say that the Blood Cloud Bandits had wanted to sell it for 100,000 taels but had failed to obtain a buyer.

  “These are yours. All yours, Young Master Meng,” said Zhao Can immediately. “As long as you spare my wretched life.”

  “Using something on you to beg for mercy?” Meng Chuan continued walking over.

  “I’m the second-in-command of the Blood Cloud Bandits. I know the location of one of its treasure troves,” said Zhao Can immediately. “As long as you spare me and let me go, I’ll tell you.”

  Pfft.

  A saber beam flashed.

  When Meng Chuan came close, he imbued his saber with the Power of the Soul and easily cut Zhao Can’s neck.

  “You, you…” Zhao Can’s eyes widened. Why didn’t he give him a chance to live?

  “I don’t care about the treasures of you bandits,” said Meng Chuan calmly as he watched Zhao Can die.

  The Blood Cloud Bandits were powerful, with eight Seamless realm bandits, and a leader who grasped Force among them. However, that leader’s strength was barely on par with Meng Chuan’s. How could a bandit’s wealth be worth anything compared to the Meng family’s? Meng Chuan thought nothing of it. The valuable treasures he had used to build his Godfiend foundation was worth countless times more than the Blood Cloud Bandits’ entire wealth.

  Meng Chuan reached out to pick up the stack of banknotes and looked at the black metal piece that had been exposed. A Godfiend item? It seems to be very damaged. He did not think much of it and temporarily put it away.

  Chapter 41

  Meng Chuan glanced at Zhao Can’s corpse before taking out a small whistle from his belt and blowing it.

  As his Quintessential Energy flowed into the whistle, the whistling became ear-piercing. It spread out in all directions and could be heard for several miles. This whistle was used to gather the surrounding members of the Meng family. Only a hundred people with relatively higher status in the family clan possessed this whistle. Ordinary clansmen only had the standard-issue distress flares. They could activate the distress flare at critical moments, a signal that caused clansmen nearby to rush over and provide assistance.

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! One figure after another arrived.

  “Young Master Meng Chuan?” Most of the figures who arrived were experts working for the Meng family. A small number of them were members of the Meng family. The Meng family was large and powerful, so it employed many experts.

  “This is the corpse of the Blood Cloud Bandits’ second-in-command, Blood Hand Zhao Can.” Meng Chuan pointed at the corpse in front of him. “There’s also a Blood Cloud Bandit’s corpse in Azure Cloud Brothel. Take care of it.”

  “Yes,” everyone replied in unison.

  Meng Chuan nodded and left.

  At this moment, the group of gathered people started discussing.

  “Brother Wang, take some men to the Azure Cloud Brothel and deal with the Blood Cloud Bandit corpse. Also, find out what Young Master Meng Chuan did in the Azure Cloud Brothel,” an elder instructed. This elder was one of the nine exterior stewards of the Meng family. He enjoyed a rather high status in the Meng family, and his family had served the Meng family for three generations. Those who were placed in important positions despite not sharing the Meng surname were naturally talented.

  On the contrary, if the members of the Meng clan were mediocre, they would at best not starve to death. Their status was far inferior to that of the exterior chief steward.

  “Yes.” Immediately, over ten people headed to the Azure Cloud Brothel.

  “Blood Hand Zhao Can, a Seamless realm expert.” The elder looked at the corpse on the ground and exclaimed in surprise, “Young Master Meng Chuan is really becoming more powerful.”

  “Young Master Meng Chuan is still at the Mortal Shedding realm. To be able to ki
ll someone of a higher cultivation realm, he must have reached the peak of Unity. He isn’t too far from comprehending Saber Force.” The others around him exclaimed in amazement as well.

  …

  News of Meng Chuan killing two Blood Cloud bandits—with one of the deceased being Blood Hand Zhao Can—spread quickly. Azure Cloud Brothel was a place where people came and went, so many people paid attention to it. There were even some people who tried to follow the pursuit to watch “Meng Chuan vs. Blood Hand Zhao Can,” but they were just unable to keep up.

  When Meng Chuan later blew the whistle, he had attracted many curious bystanders apart from the Meng family personnel. Many people personally saw Zhao Can’s corpse.

  …

  Inside a private room in another brothel.

  Yun Fu’an was chatting with a friend, and there was also a beautiful courtesan waiting by his side. At this moment, the door opened, and another middle-aged man walked in with a smile.

  “Brother Zhang, we’ve been waiting for you for almost an hour,” Yun Fu’an said with a smile. “You need to drink as a forfeit!”

  “You all know about my tigress wife at home. There’s nothing I could do about it. I only managed to sneak out until now.” The middle-aged man smiled as he sat down. He raised his head and downed a cup of alcohol. Next to him, a beautiful courtesan immediately filled his cup. The middle-aged man excitedly continued, “There’s a big piece of news I want to share with the two of you.”

  “What big news?” asked another rich-looking man casually as he embraced a courtesan.

  “About two hours ago, something big happened at Azure Cloud Brothel,” the middle-aged man said. “That Meng family’s Meng Chuan went to the Azure Cloud Brothel…” As he spoke, he even glanced at Yun Fu’an.

  Yun Fu’an’s eyelids twitched.

  “What’s the big deal with him going to Azure Cloud Brothel?” the wealthy-looking man said with a smile. “Only half of those serving in the military manage to return alive. And most of them return with disabilities. It’s common to go to a brothel before they serve the military.”

  “He didn’t go to Azure Cloud Brothel for the women, but for two men,” the middle-aged man said smugly. This stunned Yun Fu’an and the wealthy-looking man.

  The middle-aged man continued, “They were two senior Blood Cloud Bandits. Meng Chuan went to the Azure Cloud Brothel and killed one bandit first. Then, he pursued another infamous bandit—Blood Hand Zhao Can.”

  “Blood Hand Zhao Can?” Yun Fu’an and the wealthy-looking man were alarmed.

  Zhao Can had one arm sliced off at the scene. He then immediately fled in panic. Meng Chuan chased after him for about half a kilometer and killed him,” the middle-aged man said in amazement. “He’s impressive. Really impressive.”

  Yun Fu’an couldn’t help but say, “He can kill Blood Hand Zhao Can? That’s an expert at the Seamless realm. I estimate Meng Chuan to at most be at the late-stage of the Mortal Shedding realm.”

  “Could he have comprehended Force?” the middle-aged man guessed.

  “Impossible.” Yun Fu’an immediately said, “If he had comprehended Force, all those people at Azure Cloud Brothel would have identified it. The news would have already spread throughout the city by now if that were the case.”

  “That’s right. It’s impossible for him to have comprehended Force.” The wealthy-looking man added, “He only reached the Unity realm last year. How can he be that fast? If he really did… he should be able to kill Blood Hand Zhao Can in the Azure Cloud Brothel. And in fact, since he’s adept at speed, for him to kill Zhao Can only after half a kilometer means that the difference between them isn’t too great.”

  “What Brother Bai says makes sense.” Yun Fu’an nodded.

  “Both your families know that Fairy Meng’s severe injuries means that she can only live for a few more years,” said the wealthy-looking man with a smile. “With him achieving the secret technique at fifteen, she will definitely try her best to groom him. With Fairy Meng’s eighty years of experience as a Godfiend and all her grooming, Meng Chuan’s Godfiend foundation must be very robust. Although he is at the late-stages of the Mortal Shedding realm, the gap between his physical body and Blood Hand Zhao Can’s is probably not that great. Him being capable of suppressing Zhao Can is clearly because he’s at a higher realm in saber arts. He should have reached the peak of the Unity realm. Perhaps he will be able to comprehend Saber Force in two to three years.”

  “Comprehend Force within two or three years?” Yun Fu’an snickered. “Brother Bai, I admit that he’s a genius, but it won’t be that easy for his saber art to breakthrough. Perhaps he will only achieve Force after he’s twenty.”

  “Don’t underestimate him.” The wealthy-looking man shook his head. “Our Bai family has been keeping tabs. Meng Chuan draws his saber and strikes crossbow arrows daily, doing it eight thousand times a day. It’s said that he also cultivates in other ways… He’s indeed extraordinarily diligent.”

  “Yes, yes, yes. He’s diligent. But if diligence is useful, there won’t be so few Godfiends,” Yun Fu’an continued. If the engagement hadn’t been annulled, he would naturally be happy to see Meng Chuan grow stronger. However, after annulling the engagement, he hoped that Meng Chuan would become as unpromising as possible. Most people were like that. If Yun Fu’an could still compose himself under such circumstances, the Three Heroes of the Yun Family would have become the Four Heroes of the Yun family.

  …

  The news caused an uproar in the outside world, and the Meng family clan was in an even more agitated, ebullient mood. There were heated discussions everywhere.

  At the Mirror Lake Meng Manor.

  “Chuan’er, you went out to have dinner with Qiyue. When you were on the way back, you scurried off to kill two Blood Cloud Bandits?” Meng Dajiang looked at his son, not knowing what to say.

  “Dad, you know that I can sense auras within half a kilometer,” said Meng Chuan. “I sensed the two bloody auras from a distance. The auras were thicker than executioners’ who specialize in beheading others at the government court. That’s why I proceeded to carry out investigations. I heard their conversations from a hundred feet away and identified the disguised Zhao Can. Two Blood Cloud Bandits already deserve death, much less Blood Hand Zhao Can.”

  Meng Dajiang nodded slightly.

  “Dad, don’t worry. I didn’t use Saber Force. All I used was strength slightly greater than Blood Hand Zhao Can’s. I only killed him when there was no one around,” said Meng Chuan. He could sense the surroundings of half a kilometer, so he knew very well if there was anyone else around.

  “Alright.”

  Meng Dajiang nodded with a smile. “Now, people are saying that your saber arts have reached the peak of the Unity realm and that you aren’t far from comprehending Saber Force. Sometime in the middle of next year, we can announce that you have achieved Saber Force. It will be considered quite natural. By the way, the government court has verified that it’s indeed Blood Hand Zhao Can. The other deceased was checked for tattoos and has been identified as a Blood Cloud Bandit.”

  “The cash and treasures they have on them—as well as weapons when converted to silver— together with the Imperial Court’s bounty amounts to a total of 160,000 taels.” Meng Dajiang took out a stack of banknotes. “This is a gift from the family clan. Your spoils of war.”

  “Zhao Can took out plenty of money to beg for mercy before he died,” said Meng Chuan with a smile. “Dad, you don’t have to give it to me.”

  “Your spoils of war will naturally be yours. You’ve grown up, so you should deal with them yourself.” Meng Dajiang the cash over.

  Meng Chuan had no choice but to accept it.

  Tens of thousands of silver taels… That was equivalent to the total wealth of wealthy families like the Zhou family. Even for the Blood Cloud Bandits, that was a huge sum of money.

  But to a Godfiend family like the Meng family, they thought nothing of it.

/>   …

  He returned to his room and leaned against the bed. Under the night light, Meng Chuan flipped through the thick stack of notes. Including the money he had received from Zhao Can, there was a total of 50,000 taels of silver.

  Even at my age, the most I’ve ever had on me was five thousand taels of silver. Meng Chuan sighed. Although he was famous and highly valued by the family, he didn’t earn any money. The family gave him a small monthly allowance, and his father gave him some pocket money. He didn’t spend much money, and over time, he had only accumulated five thousand taels of silver after all this while. He was far inferior to many wealthy businessmen.

  Yet, he had received so much in one day.

  After taking a look, he casually put the money aside, and his gaze fell on the black metal piece wrapped in cotton cloth.

  Compared to the banknotes, he was even more curious about the Godfiend item. However, he didn’t have many expectations. After all, it was too damaged.

  This damaged piece of black metal. Meng Chuan picked up the piece of black metal, and an incomparably domineering Godfiend aura spread out from the black metal piece. This prompted Meng Chuan to take a more careful look. Although his room was only lit by the moonlight, Meng Chuan didn’t need to rely on his eyes to “look” at things. His senses penetrated every inch of the black metal piece.

  As he examined it, the piece of black metal had an invisible attraction that affected him.

  In an instant, he felt his consciousness being pulled into the black metal piece.

  Chapter 42

  As his consciousness was drawn in, he saw a stalwart man with disheveled hair standing at the top of a mountain. The surrounding mountains stretched out afar as a river ran through the valley. The sun hung high in the sky.

  However, even those mountains, rivers, and sun seemed lacking in front of that man.

  From afar, the stalwart man looked in Meng Chuan’s direction and finally picked up a rough black saber beside him. It was also very long.

  Boom!

  He looked coldly at Meng Chuan and swung his saber.