by Tinalynge
Chapter 25 - Young Master Baili
Xue Wei took a long glance at Yuan Bailong as he caught up, and a smile spread across his lips. Xue Wei understood the other man’s thoughts, and he understood that the other man had suddenly had an epiphany.
There was no doubt about it.. This was a disaster for the entire academy; in fact, it was a disaster for the entire continent, but it was also an opportunity for those who had improved their Qi levels, such as the Yuan and Gu families, to rise above the masses.
With this new opportunity at the forefront of his mind, Yuan Bailong was able to remain calm despite this worrying situation. He was curious about what had happened to the Soul Tower, but it was no longer a necessity to do all in his power to fix it.
It was not only him who thought like this. While Yuan Bailong had needed Xue Wei to make him realize it, the majority of the Yuan and the Gu family had already understood this part, and they were all looking exceptionally laid back amongst those in front of the Soul Tower.
“Are you okay?” Xue Wei worriedly asked the small girl in his arms. The closer he got to the Soul Tower, the more uncomfortable she became, visibly starting to squirm in his arms and beginning to look spooked as they got closer.
“There is something there that I do not like,” the girl whined in his arms. “It is calling for me, but it is also scaring me,” she continued, as Xue Wei nodded his head. It seemed that the Soul Tower’s issues actually had something to do with Luoluo.
But what about the bloodied marks then? Xue Wei was still confused. “During these years you have never left the forbidden area?” he asked Luoluo gently.
“Never,” she answered straightforwardly and with determination.
Xue Wei nodded his head but considered it was possible for her to have encountered the Soul Tower before she was locked up within the forbidden area.
Currently, the Soul Tower was closed. No one could enter it apart from elders of the academy, who were all busy trying to figure out what was happening with the tower and its lack of soul power.
Xue Wei, Xue Luoluo and Yuan Bailong stood next to each other at the edge of the square, right in front of the Soul Tower. The entire square was filled with anguished people who were brimming with worry and despair.
The Soul Tower was the reason behind the high cultivation base within Yan Dalu. Although they still had the great support of their bloodline, without the aid of the Soul Tower, their cultivation base would not be able to advance nearly as rapidly as it had previously.
If they no longer had the support of the Soul Tower, their spiritual energy cultivators would no longer be able to dominate the continent. In fact, many Primordial Beasts would be able to challenge them due to their Qi cultivation—even some normal humans who had a talent for Qi cultivation would be equal to the spiritual energy cultivators.
Xue Wei glanced at the petrified students and could not help but chuckle slightly. He always believed that, although there were methods and external aids to help increase one’s cultivation, it was not a good thing to become too reliant on them. Being too dependant on such outside factors meant that one could easily fall into despair when they were no longer available.
Nothing can last forever; the only thing that one could fully trust was one’s strength that was gained through one’s own hard work. Although the Soul Tower was able to assist them, it had become a crutch in the end, one that became a major pillar for their entire society. Only those experts that went to the Garden of Shadow, and therefore had access to the Soul Tower, were capable of becoming something in Yan Dalu’s society.
It seemed that Yuan Bailong also understood this at the current point in time, and he patted his chest, feeling much more at ease with himself, content in the knowledge that if this pillar had truly crumbled, his family wouldn’t fall with it.
Xue Wei stayed for some time at the square and observed everything around him. He saw how the other experts either turned lifeless or got so worked up that they could barely stand still.
“What is everyone waiting for?” Xue Wei asked a person by his side.
The one who was standing there gave a small glance at Xue Wei before answering curtly, “The principal is inside the Soul Tower right now. We are waiting for him to give us an answer regarding what is happening.”
Xue Wei nodded his head and began contemplating what the answer might be. He turned to look at Luoluo in his arms, seeing she was still feeling rather uncomfortable, restlessly moving around in his arms, and clearly not at all happy with the current situation.
Looking at her anguished little face, Xue Wei did not need to spend much longer to consider what to do. Since he had welcomed her as his little sister, there was no doubt she would become his family in the future, so when she was uncomfortable, he did not need to waste more time thinking. He just had to get them out of here so that she could calm down, and he could always return later when he was alone.
With his mind made up, Xue Wei returned to their courtyard, an ever-present smile adorning his lips as he carried the small child away in his embrace.
He just could not help but feel that she was adorable, like a small figure who depended on him to protect her. Although he was unsure of what she was really like, her mind was currently that of a child, and in her mental state, she needed someone to protect her, to cherish her, and to keep her company.
In a way, it did not feel as if he had just picked up any small child, or even gained a little sister figure; it was more like he had gotten himself a daughter.
When he was a child, Xue Wei had always felt loved. He had been deeply cherished and looked after by his father in the years before his death. After losing his memories, Xue Wei had been cared for by Xiao Lei, and although many looked down upon him and hated him due to his inability to cultivate, he had never felt unloved by those close to him.
Now that he saw this small child—even smaller than he had been when he was persecuted as trash— all alone in the world, neglected, and with no one to care about her, he felt his heart clench. Although he was not a soft person, he still felt that such a poor child deserved to be given the warmth of a family and the caring of friends.
Since he was more than capable of caring for this child, then why not do it?
He could not help but repeatedly shake his head; feeling so incredibly sentimental and out of character for him. This little girl certainly had some secrets that might be intriguing once they were revealed, but there was still something more, something special about her that made him want to dote on her.
In fact, she was more than capable of looking after herself. Her strength was in no way inferior to Bai Tianyi—it might even be even greater, but her current maturity was far from his.
Returning to the courtyard, Xue Wei fussed about Luoluo for some time to ensure that she was no longer in discomfort after being close to the Soul Tower, and then he went to find Lin Xiao.
“Look after Luoluo,” Xue Wei told Lin Xiao. “I need to go out and check something,” he continued. Lin Xiao, who had absolutely no idea as to how one would look after a kid, could only stare with wide open eyes as Xue Wei left the courtyard as quickly as he had returned, leaving all the possible troubles that might arise to him instead.
The moment Xue Wei stepped foot outside of the courtyard, he instantly felt someone trailing him. Frowning, he wondered who this was and what their purpose might be.
If he could sense them, then it was obvious that their strength was not as profound as his; however, he noticed that there were actually quite a few people, so it could become troublesome to deal with them, in case they had some evil intentions for following him as so many had had before.
“I can always transform if things go wrong,” Xue Wei muttered to himself as he started searching for an abandoned alleyway to confront the pursuers. He was used to being chased and leaving no witnesses was always the best way to solve issues.
Unfortunately, the entire academy was filled with people—especially now that panic w
as spreading around because of the Soul Tower. People were abustle, rushing to try to gain any information.
With that in mind, Xue Wei could only really consider one place suitable to confront his pursuers, and that place was right in front of the forbidden area. Although it was not completely deserted, it was rare for people to go there unless they had some explicit purpose to be there, and right now everyone would prefer to be at the Soul Tower.
As he reached the forbidden area, he stopped in his tracks and turned around. “Since you have followed me this far, why not show yourselves?” he asked with a smirk on his face. As expected: there was no one else here, Xue Wei confirmed after looking around. The wide open, square-shaped space in front of the forbidden area was the ideal place to deal with these people.
“To think that young master Xue is so alert,” a voice dawdled just before a young man and his entourage appeared next to Xue Wei. This young man was not at all foreign to Xue Wei. He was precisely the young master of the Baili family.
“Are you here to get some information, or perhaps you already have the information you need?” Xue Wei did not need to think long before knowing that the young master was here because he wanted the knowledge he had about Qi cultivation.
“The Baili family is quite fast,” he continued before the young Baili master could say anything, “to come looking for me just as the Soul Tower has broken down, it makes me feel that I am quite valuable in their eyes.”
“You are,” the young master did not deny it. “Before, we didn’t care too much about the Yuan and Gu families when they started branching out into the Qi realm. But now that there is a chance that Qi will become as influential as spiritual energy here in Yan Dalu, they undoubtedly have an advantage—something we are rather unhappy about,” he continued explaining.
“What does that have to do with me?” Xue Wei asked with a smile on his face, yet one that did not reach his eyes.
“We are not completely unaware that their rapid development of quite a few Qi cultivators is due to your assistance.” Young master Baili was straight forward when he spoke, “I require the same assistance you gave them for the Baili family, I also request that you terminate your current dealings with the Yuan and the Gu families.
“I am quite sure that you have much more at your disposal than what you have used so far,” he said, self-righteously, and as if the decision had already been made and that Xue Wei had no choice but to comply. “Give us the best of the best and our family will not treat you badly.”
Xue Wei started chuckling when he heard this, and then he shook his head.
“I am afraid that is impossible,” he said with a faux-apologetical expression on his face. “I already decided for whom to work with, and I am not going to change it halfway through.”
Young master Baili’s face turned ugly upon hearing this, his eyes narrowed, and his brows furrowed.
“Are you sure that you wish to go against the Baili family for the sake of the Gu and Yuan families? Be aware that—although there are three major families in Yan Dalu, and even if they are two while we are only one—both of them combined cannot amount to as much as the Baili family does.”
Xue Wei laughed out loud after hearing this, “That might have been so in the past,” he readily agreed, “but now the Yuan and Gu families have me supporting them, so they are not likely to be easily overthrown anymore.”
There was a strange confidence in Xue Wei’s voice as he uttered those words. Although he was not considered a strong expert in Yan Dalu, he did indeed have many tricks up his sleeves, so no one should take him lightly.
Chapter 26 - Weakness
Xue Wei was aware that a fight was going to break out after declining the young master of the Baili family, but he was not too worried about it.
The worst case scenario was that he would have to transform, but he was no longer in Chang’an. Beasts were not frowned upon here. Although they were considered inferior to the multi-eyed experts, they were not hated.
At the same time, he had not heard anything about Sovereign Beasts while being here, so it was likely that they were unaware of their existence. Since they did not know about them, Xue Wei felt no fear about being captured; instead, he would just be categorized as a stronger Primordial Beast.
Sensing Xue Wei’s calmness, young master Baili felt uncomfortable, but after considering the amount of people he had on his side, he quickly regained his confidence again.
Sneering, young master Baili gestured for his men to surround Xue Wei, his face was menacing, and he was looking anything but pleased.
“Don’t refuse the toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!” he said, his voice remaining calm and collected despite its raised volume, while his eyes were filled with malice.
“Do you have what it takes to threaten me?” Xue Wei asked with a slight smile on his face as he looked at the young man, mockingly. He could not help but feel that the experts in Yan Dalu were rather confusing.
All of the people surrounding him were Earth or Sky Knights, but they were all spiritual energy cultivators, and thus their physical strength was severely lacking.
Still, they had spread out and prepared to attack him, the spiritual energy beginning to materialize in the air around them, but Xue Wei stayed as calm as before.
Within his body, both the golden and the azure dragon spirits were on alert. They were pouring spiritual energy and Qi through his meridians, getting ready to burst out at any moment.
Although his spiritual energy was only at the third layer of the Earth Knight rank, thus quite a bit beneath the Sky Knight rank, he was still not to be belittled. He had the golden dragon and the blood of the Azure Dragon flowing through his veins. He was more than capable of jumping across realms to fight those stronger than him.
Still, if he wanted to fight this group of experts, then he had to fight in his original form. It was simply the only way for him to confidently overpower the number of experts that were surrounding him.
Having reached this conclusion, Xue Wei quickly allowed for the azure dragon spirit within his core to spread the energy throughout his body. His figure started to expand, and azure scales erupted from his skin and claws appeared on his hands and feet.
Xue Wei was not hesitant at all and decided to fully take on the form of an azure dragon.
His body was so massive that it could hardly fit in the square anymore. His transformation happened in mere moments, and it shocked the spiritual energy users that had thought that beating Xue Wei would be as easy as taking a walk in the park.
Spiritual energy had some advantages in a fight where there was a distance between the two parties, but now that he was this massive, it was impossible for them to back away. And, since none of them had strengthened their bodies or focused on Qi, they would be squashed as easily as flies.
Xue Wei was not actually interested in the intrigues of the capital within Yan Dalu or the struggle between the three major families, but he hated being threatened.
“So tell me, were you planning on killing me or just beating me up?” Xue Wei asked with a mocking tone. His body coiled around itself, and he observed the ones who had previously surrounded him now turning pale from fear.
“W-we... we... we wanted to convince you to work... w-work with us... We did not... d-did not want to beat you...” one of them managed to splutter out, trembling with fear. The one who had finally spoken was one of the followers, but he was not dumb and understood that if he said that they wanted to beat him up or to kill him, they would be done for. They would get a beating if they were lucky, but if their luck ran out, their lives would be forfeited.
A gleam appeared in Xue Wei’s eyes. “Usually I would kill anyone who saw me in this shape,” he said with a drawl in his voice, dragging out the words and scaring the life out of the people present.
“But I am no longer in Chang’an, so I guess that things could change.” He seemed as if he was mulling over their fates, and the ones surrounding him quickly
agreed to his words out of fear.
“Great dragon, please do not be insulted by our behavior.”
“Great dragon, this lowly one could not see how important your esteemed self was, please be magnanimous and let us off.”
“Great dragon, please be the bigger man... o-or dragon... and let us free, we have eyes, but failed to see Mount Tai.”
Just like this, all of them kept calling out, but the killing intent within Xue Wei was still growing. He did not believe for one second that they would leave him alone, but he had to take other things into consideration.
If he killed them, then the Baili family would come after him. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that beating them would also make the Baili family come after him, as thrashing them would invoke their ire and be a slap in their faces.
Since killing or beating them would make him at odds with the Baili family, then he had two options. One was to kill them and just get it over with, and the other was to just let them go.
Actually, there was only one option. Having been threatened, there was no way that he was just going to let them go, and thus he had already chosen to act.
Being in dragon form, he could still use the martial art skills that he had been given by Xiao Lei, a benefit of being a half-breed, and he did not hesitate at all.
Forbidden Rush!
Xue Wei activated the movement technique and coiled around the first person that he could.
With a slash of his magnificent claws, the head was severed clean from the body. He then released him, letting the body collapse to the floor, and painting a pool of red underneath him.
Azure Light Finger!
A beam of energy erupted from his clawed hands and shot into the forehead of the young Baili master.