Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294

by Flying Alone 孤单地飞

  If these words were heard by Wu Song Lin, based on his understanding of Lian Guang Zu, he’d definitely be able to guess that the latter had come up with a wicked idea.

  “You arrange for him to stay in a more remote location… also, arrange for him to be taught by a teacher that has no disciples—you must not let Old Man Wu find him!”

  He was indeed two-faced! [ED/N: Literally black-bellied :3 ]

  The teacher in charge of enrollment could not help sweating, and nodded hesitatingly. This was the Headmaster, so he definitely had to obey his words. But Wu Song Lin was also the Headmaster of the Alchemy Department, plus he was also a Black Grade high level alchemist. In Rain Country, his status was more or less right below the Emperor of Rain Country. If Wu Song Lin really intended to rebuke him, would he able to withstand the consequences?

  Lian Guang Zu of course understood the possible consequences, and so he said, “After you’re done with this, take a vacation for half a year. You will still be paid your monthly salary during your vacation.”

  The teacher in charge of enrollment heard this, and was instantly delighted. This not only allowed him to lie low until Wu Song Lin calmed down, he could even be paid without working at all. This was naturally the best option for him.

  “Which teacher would be the best?” After Lian Guang Zu had left, the teacher in charge of enrollment thought furiously. “Ah, I’ve got it!” He smiled, “Old Mo!”

  “Old Mo?” Ling Han was carrying Hu Niu with one arm, while his other hand was holding onto a light bundle that only contained a few changes of clothing.

  The teacher in charge of enrollment said, “Old Mo’s real name is Mo Gao. He also used to be a genius of our Martial Arts Department, but later on, it was as if he had been possessed. He actually proclaimed that he wanted to create the ultimate sword arts technique in this world. The result was that his cultivation level stagnated and he did not advance any further. If it was not for the fact that the Headmaster sympathized with his talent and took him in as a teacher at the Academy…. ai!

  But in any case, the Headmaster intends to teach you personally, so you do not have to concern yourself with Old Mo’s cultivation level.”

  Ling Han was led by the teacher to an extremely remote location. There were only a bare few courtyards here, and they were all in shambles. The wild grass by the side of the pathway had already reached the height of his waist, so it was likely that no one had lived here for a very long time.

  “Peng, peng, peng,” the teacher stepped forward to knock on the door.

  After quite some time, a voice finally came from within, and said, “Who is it?”

  “Old Mo, it’s me!” The teacher said. From the looks of it, the two of them were quite familiar with each other.

  The door opened, and out walked a medium-sized man. He should have been less than forty years old, but his whole face was covered with a beard and he looked extremely disheveled—as he had not trimmed it in any way, it simply grew as it liked; thus, appearance-wise, he appeared like a man who was in his sixties or seventies.

  “What is it? If there’s nothing important, I have to go practice my sword techniques!” The man said. He was obviously Mo Gao.

  “I’m here to deliver a student to you!” The teacher pointed at Ling Han, and said, “His name is Ling Han! All right, I’ve delivered him successfully to you, so I’ll take my leave!”

  It was as if a fire had been lit under his behind. He immediately ran off, terrified that he would encounter Wu Song Lin. In that case, he’d really be trapped between a rock and a hard place.

  Ling Han stared at Mo Gao, and Mo Gao also stared back at Ling Han. For a moment, neither of them opened their mouths to speak.

  After a while, Mo Gao finally nodded, and said, “Since I’m a teacher here, I can’t really decline an assignment given to me by the Academy. In the future, you can just follow me to practice sword techniques.”

  “All right!” Ling Han was indifferent.

  “The few courtyards nearby are all empty. Just pick any which one to stay in!” Mo Gao turned back round and returned to where he had come from. “I’ll just leave this door open, and you can come in whenever you like. But it is strictly forbidden to disturb me when I’m practicing my sword techniques.”

  Ling Han shrugged, and together with Hu Niu, went off in search of an appropriate place of accommodation.

  The courtyards here were all in shambles, with dust coating every surface. He chose a slightly better courtyard, and began a cleaning campaign. The courtyard had to be habitable, right?

  Hu Niu too tried to give a hand, but naturally, she was more of a hindrance than of help. With a flop, bits of dust flew all around in the air and her small face was transformed into the face of a little floret cat, causing Ling Han to laugh loudly in spite of himself.

  After busying themselves for over half a day, they had at least managed to completely tidy up a single room. Ling Han did not go immediately to seek out Liu Yu Tong, and trusted that she would take good care of Ling Zi Xuan.

  “Anyone here?” A voice was heard from the doorway. Ling Han walked over to take a look, and there stood a young boy in his teens, who was pushing a small cart. There was a sack of rice, some meat, and vegetables on the cart.

  “Meat! Meat! Meat!” Hu Niu’s eyes had immediately lit up. She took a leap and pounced over, scaring the young boy so much that he had fallen onto his behind on the ground.

  He was here to deliver the food rations. It looked like Ling Han would be preparing his own meals in the future.

  Ling Han smiled, walked over and pulled the young boy up. He asked, “How many days is this food for?”

  “Ten days,” the young boy said, “After ten days, I’ll come back to deliver some more food.”

  Ling Han shook his head, and said, “This is not enough, there’s only enough here for a single day.”

  “One day?” The young boy was shocked, and his eyes swept over Ling Han in doubt. No matter how it was, he really could not see how it was possible that Ling Han would have such a huge appetite.

  “Never mind, just deliver the food here. Money’s no issue,” Ling Han said, smiling.

  “The Academy does not have any regulations on the daily amount of food, but are you guys sure you can finish eating so much?” The young boy was in disbelief.

  Ling Han did not bother to explain himself. In truth, the one with such a huge appetite was not himself, but Hu Niu.

  The young boy unloaded the food from the cart, and pushing the cart, he departed. Hu Niu immediately started to jump around Ling Han, looking very impatient.

  “Don’t rush, it’s not even night yet!” Ling Han said with a laugh.

  Hu Niu was instantly displeased and pouted, baring her teeth at Ling Han.

  Ling Han laughed loudly and said, “I won’t be cooking today. We’ll go and walk around the city. We’ll have to buy new blankets and other essentials, as well as prepare a few more changes of clothing. After we’re done shopping, we can go eat.”

  “Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat!” Hearing the word ‘eat’, the little girl immediately began to jump around again, her earlier displeasure completely gone.

  Ling Han brought the little girl and went out. He had already applied for permission from Lian Guang Zu so that the girl could stay with him here. Otherwise, if she had to stay outside the Academy grounds, Ling Han really had no idea who would be capable of caring for her.

  He held onto Hu Niu’s hand and walked to allow the girl to get used to walking with two legs, and not keep thinking about walking around on all fours.

  “Come see, come see, Zhu Wu Jiu is challenging Nangong Ji!” They hadn’t even left the grounds of the Academy before hearing this announcement from a student who appeared to be extremely excited.

  Chapter 96

  Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu

  Ling Han could not help feeling moved and followed at the heels of the advancing crowd.

  There were more and more
people joining the crowd, and as they discussed the details about the battle between Zhu Wu Jiu and Nangong Ji, Ling Han very quickly came to understand the background of these two young men.

  Zhu Wu Jiu and Nangong Ji were both Ordinary Disciples of Hu Yang Academy, but Nangong Ji was ranked in the top ten strongest Ordinary Disciples, and was an elite martial artist that was qualified enough to issue a challenge to the True Disciples in a bid to join their ranks. Zhu Wu Jiu was slightly inferior to him, but ability-wise, he was definitely ranked within the top twenty Ordinary Disciples, so he was really not that bad.

  “Why is Zhu Wu Jiu still so dead-set on fighting with Nangong Ji?”

  “There’s nothing to be done about it, who asked Elder Brother Disciple Nangong to sacrifice Elder Sister Disciple Han Juan to save his own life during their previous practical training trip. You’ve got to understand, Elder Sister Disciple Han Juan was Zhu Wu Jiu’s lover, so how could he not go crazy?”

  “I heard that Elder Sister Disciple Han Juan actually died because of Elder Brother Disciple Nangong. She had been injured by his sword, and that was why she had fallen behind and was forced into a life-and-death battle with the Silvery Light Beast. That’s how Elder Brother Disciple Nangong managed to buy the time to flee with his life.”

  “Shh, how could you so openly speak of such things? Be careful that Nangong Ji won’t make trouble for you later. He’s the Fifth Young Master of the Nangong Clan, and his Third Elder Brother, Nangong Xing, is even a True Disciple with the cultivation level of the third layer of Gushing Spring Tier!”

  “But Zhu Wu Jiu is indeed faithful. He obviously knows that the Nangong Clan is not to be trifled with, yet he would still challenge Nangong Ji to a duel every year. Just last year, he was so heavily injured that he had almost lost his life. Never thought that he’d issue a challenge again this year.”

  “It’s a pity that Zhu Wu Jiu is really not that talented. He only has an Earth Grade low level Spirit Base and he comes from a poor family, so he can’t obtain any additional resources for his development. The gap between him and Nangong Ji would only become wider and wider.”

  When Ling Han heard the people around him discussing the history between Zhu Wu Jiu and Nangong Ji, he could not help but feel slightly curious about this Zhu Wu Jiu.

  The crowd soon arrived at the Martial Training Court of the Academy, and they could see there was someone standing within, so the others very naturally did not step into the court. Sparring was an allowed practice of Hu Yang Academy, and as long as both sides of the battle agreed, they’d be able to carry out their battle in the Martial Training Court.

  The doctrine was to be as merciful as possible, but even if the fighters did not manage to restrain themselves in time, they wouldn’t be punished too harshly. After all, weapons were blind. However, if anyone dared to deliberately injure their opponent, the Academy would hand out a very severe punishment.

  For example, if one of the fighters had already admitted defeat or fallen unconscious—or had otherwise completely lost the ability to defend themselves—yet their opponent continued to attack them, this would be considered a breach of the rules that’d be met with a severe punishment.

  Ling Han looked at the man that was standing in the Martial Training Court. He seemed to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He was a tall man who bore a long sword on his back. He could not really be considered handsome, but his gaze was very intimidating. Usually, others probably dared not look him directly in the eye.

  “Why isn’t Nangong Ji here yet?”

  “He’s the one being challenged, so of course he has to put on some appropriate airs.”

  “I say, how many times has Zhu Wu Jiu challenged Nangong Ji already?”

  “This should be the fifth time, right?”

  “That means that four years have passed!”

  “This guy’s perseverance is really a scary thing. With each battle, he would be severely injured and close to death, yet he would still grit his teeth and survive regardless, making others can’t help but admire his determination.”

  While waiting, the crowd continued to talk among themselves. They were all expressing sympathy and admiration for Zhu Wu Jiu.

  “Yi?”

  The corners of Ling Han’s lips turned up slightly into a grin as he thought, ‘I never thought that I’d be able to encounter someone with a special constitution! His body is surrounded by ripples of faint silvery light, plus the others said that he did not die even after receiving a critical injury four times. Instead, he very quickly recovered. This person must be a member of the Silver Moon Race!’

  The Silver Moon Race was born with the Silver Moon constitution. This was a constitution that had powerful abilities of recovery, and their bodies themselves could be considered a divine healing pill. As a result, the numbers of this race were pitifully low.

  …They had been hunted down and killed by others, concocted into alchemical pills.

  ‘I had originally thought that after ten thousand years had passed, this race would have gone extinct. I never thought that I’d be able to encounter one of its members today!

  Fine, for the sake of the Silver Moon King, I’ll give him a helping hand.’

  Ten thousand years ago, Ling Han entered the territory of the Silver Moon Race to collect some medicinal ingredients. He was very cordially received by the leader of the Silver Moon Race of the time, the Silver Moon King. Unfortunately, not long after that, the Silver Moon Race was wiped out. Ling Han’s cultivation level at that time was still too low, so there was nothing he could do to help. Later on, when he had joined the ranks of Heaven Tier cultivators, the culprits responsible for the obliteration of the Silver Moon Race had all died of old age.

  This was one of Ling Han’s regrets.

  “Hahaha, Zhu Wu Jiu, how many times must you fail before you understand that you will never be a match for me!” Meanwhile, a young man strode into the Martial Training Court, a powerful aura emanating from his person.

  Ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier, and he was at the peak period!

  If he did not have such ability, how else could he have managed to secure his place among the top ten strongest Ordinary Disciples?

  Compared to him, Zhu Wu Jiu was very much inferior, with a cultivation level of only the seventh layer of Element Gathering Tier. Yet everyone knew that cultivation level did not represent one’s battle prowess. Since Zhu Wu Jiu was able to rank among the top twenty, it could be seen that his actual battle prowess far surpassed his own cultivation level.

  “Speak less nonsense, make your move!” Zhu Wu Jiu immediately drew out his sword and made a gesture with it.

  Nangong Ji’s face was filled with arrogance. He too made a gesture, and this signified that both fighters had agreed to begin this battle.

  “Xiu,” Zhu Wu Jiu rushed forwards, and as his sword swept in an arch, cold light danced about.

  Nangong Ji was completely indifferent to this. He was an elite in the top ten, and compared to him, what could a mere Zhu Wu Jiu count as?

  “Ding, ding, ding, ding…”

  The two fighters were quickly embroiled in a fierce exchange of blows. Nangong Ji was very obviously having the upper hand in this battle. He looked very relaxed, and even managed to mock and ridicule his opponent as the battle went on to attack Zhu Wu Jiu’s morale. However, in truth, in his heart concealed a deep dread towards Zhu Wu Jiu.

  In the previous four battles, he had acted to kill Zhu Wu Jiu. Though the latter would not die immediately, if the injury dragged on for another two or three days, he’d definitely die. And, based on Zhu Wu Jiu’s family background, there was no way he’d be able to afford high grade healing pills to heal his injuries.

  Yet this guy not only did not die, he recovered from his wounds without any kind of aftereffects. After such miraculous recovery occurred four times, of course Nangong Ji would feel dread.

  He knew his own guilt, and Zhu Wu Jiu was the only person that had relations with Han
Juan, so as long as Zhu Wu Jiu was still alive, he would continue to be uneasy. This may lead to the day of his breakthrough to Gushing Spring Tier coming so slowly it would seem like forever! [1]

  As a result, he intended to be absolutely merciless today. He definitely had to kill Zhu Wu Jiu right on the spot today.

  Defeating and killing were two completely different issues; the difficulty level was completely different. Thus, if he wanted to kill Zhu Wu Jiu, then he needed to create an opportunity wherein he could kill Zhu Wu Jiu in a single strike. After the battle, he’d be able to shift the blame away from himself by saying he had not managed to restrain himself in time.

  The two fighters continued to battle for a while, and Nangong Ji, with his much more superior ability, finally found an excellent opportunity. He stabbed with his sword, creating three flashes of cold light which headed directly for Zhu Wu Jiu’s heart.

  This was not Sword Qi. He had just stabbed so quickly that he had created two afterimages.