by <unknown>
Tao Daier felt relieved as well and affirmed, “Senior Martial Sister, you are right.”
Yu Feiyan then smiled confidently and said proudly, “Even after risking his life in training, Zhong Yue is still not a Qi Practitioner. Other than that, even if I took the more orthodox path to train, I am still the best in the female house.”
Zhong Yue waited at the bottom of the cliff for a moment and he did not see Yu Feiyan jumping off the cliff. He was thinking that if Yu Feiyan jumped down and failed, he could still be able to save her from getting herself killed.
After all, Yu Feiyan was not an ill-hearted girl at all, it could be seen as her trying her best to save Zhong Yue yesterday.
“Brat Yue, not everyone has the same idiotic bravery as yours and not all of them have the same luck like yours to have someone like me!”
Xin Huo said proudly, “The girl looked like she is a determined girl but she is not like you at all. Although she has a congenial relationship with the other girl, she still does not trust her enough to leave her life in her hands. If she jumped off the cliff, the anxiousness she would feel from worrying about whether the other girl would wake her up in time would pose as a fatal distraction while cultivating. This would cause her to stop halfway and save herself before the other girl could do anything time after time. Just on account of that, she would not be able to train in the same method. You, however, have absolute trust in me and are able to entrust your life to me. You could even jump off a cliff on my word and because of that, you are able to improve at such a rapid speed as you could easily focus on your cultivation.”
Zhong Yue flipped the thought around in his mind a few times and realized that what Xin Huo said was indeed true. He could jump without hesitation when Xin Huo asked him to jump without thinking of the outcome of the possibility that Xin Huo failed to wake him up in time.
This is what people called unconditional trust!
Although it had only been a month time since his first fateful meeting with Xin Huo, he already viewed Xin Huo as someone he could always entrust his life to.
Therefore, he had absolute trust towards Xin Huo and because of that, he could focus solely on his training and smoothly improve his strength!
Sometimes, not only would one person face difficult challenges at the moment of life and death, the ostensible trust between people would also be tested in such situations.
The trust between Senior Martial Sister Yu and Senior Martial Sister Tao is not on the same level as mine and Xin Huo’s. It would be normal for her to give up and besides, if she could really trust Senior Martial Sister Tao like how I trust Xin Huo, the chances of her dying are still very high. After all, Senior Martial Sister Tao is not as experienced as Xin Huo.
When Zhong Yue climbed up the cliff again, Yu Feiyan was still standing at the side of the cliff. Her black clothes fluttered as the wind blew, striking a very attractive figure. She suddenly said, “Junior Martial Brother Zhong, you are trying so hard when you are training and because of this, I really want to compete with you. Let us see which is better, your foolhardy training method or my steady training! There are still two more months until the Lawless Battles held at the end of every year. This battle will determine who will be able to enter the Ethereal Palace! I hope I will see you there!”
“A battle at the end of the year? Ethereal Palace?” asked the clueless Zhong Yue.
“You knew nothing about Ethereal Palace?”
Tao Daier was surprised and she replied, “That’s right, you had only entered the upper house for about a month, it is natural that wouldn’t know of the Ethereal Palace. It is a place where one could sense the spirits in the earth, an ideal place to cultivate your spirit. Let’s say that you want to perceive the spirit of the sun, your soul will have to fly near the sun in order to beckon towards the spirit of the sun, but can your soul fly near the sun? If you were in the Ethereal Palace, you would be able to sense the spirits in the sun. The Ethereal Palace is the sacred place of the Swords Gate, only by being able to cultivate there, will you be acknowledged by the Swords Gate and be able to advance into Qi Practitioner.”
“Junior Martial Brother Zhong, the chance to become a Qi Practitioner comes only once a year. Your qualification to enter the Ethereal Palace depends on your performance at the year end battle.”
Yu Feiyan started walking away and said, “However, you only practiced the【Spring Thunder Swords Skill】. With just that, you will not be able to achieve much in the battle, not to mention the top ten. Besides, you will need a good soul weapon and a good totem pillar as this is a lawless Battles! Tao-tao, let’s go.”
As the two girls left, Zhong Yue confusingly asked, “Xin Huo, is manifesting a spirit that hard?”
“It is indeed very troublesome. However, I kind of feel like manifesting spirit in the Ethereal Palace is a little bit too unreliable.”
Xin Huo then said, “During the era of the Sui Sovereign, the descendants of the Sui Sovereign were all of the Yanzi race. I remember when they wanted to sense the spirits, they would just board a dragon-airship and fly straight to the sun. In order to obtain the highest class spirit of the sun – the spirit of the Sun’s Golden Crow, one would have to sense the spirits right beside of the sun. If you were sensing the spirits in this so-called Ethereal Palace, I guess you could only obtain a normal spirit of fire. Besides, the other celestial races’ descendants will also head straight towards the origin of all spirits and sense them there.”
Upon hearing his words, Zhong Yue felt like he could see a huge dragon airship flying in the galaxy heading towards the sun. He could not help but imagine the awe-inspiring scene in his mind.
“Who could even reach the side of the sun to sense the spirits now?” said Zhong Yue.
“Of course it would be me!”
The complacent Xin Huo laughed and said, “It doesn’t matter if you want to manifest the spirit of the sun or the spirit of the moon, I could easily help you to achieve either way. However, what the little girl said just now was very true. You are still far from reaching that level. It’s not that you had little techniques but your foundation is not solid enough. If your achievements can impress me, I will send you to the side of the sun or the moon for you to cultivate your spirit!”
Zhong Yue’s heart thumped faster as he heard what Xin Huo said and he asked, “How are you going to send me there?”
“When I traveled to this place with the previous Xin Huo inheritor, that old brat was already too old for anything. I then asked him to leave some arrangements for the next Xin Huo inheritor; hence, we left two portals that could directly reach the side of the sun and moon.”
Xin Huo laughed and said again, “If you could reach a certain level that impresses me, I wouldn’t mind letting you enjoy some special treatment typically afforded only to pure-blood Xin Huo inheritors. The only caveat is that I have no idea whether or not the portal is still in usable condition … Come, let us continue with your training!”
After over ten days, as Zhong Yue continued his cultivation regardless of the hindrance imposed by the weather and environment. The Yuling Pellets had also come to near the point of depletion, leaving only around three hundred of them remaining.
As a result of the strenuous training, Zhong Yue’s psyche ocean had expanded into the size of three thousand mus, just like a huge lake. As he started unleashing the power in his psyche ocean, his psyche erupted fiercely and he emitted a strong aura.
Other than that, the repeated scaling up and jumping off of the cliff helped him exercise his control the lightning Jiao Dragon, enabling him to control it like an extension of his own body. The fusion of the【Spring Thunder Swords Skill】and the【Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art】had also become even more seamless and exquisite. He could also control the lightning and fly for miles at high speed. However, it would take a toll on his psyche as it carried a huge psyche consumption, unlike the other techniques meant for flight.
After achieving his current level, he could
feel that his progress was beginning to stagnate.
This training method could no longer bring him much risk anymore, thereby decreasing the rate at which he succeeded in entering the state of extremity.
Tomorrow is another knowledge impartment day where the Qi Practitioners will have a talk in the upper house to educate the upper house disciples. Elder Pu has promised to fabricate me two good soul weapons and he should be done making them by now. I wonder what kind of soul weapons he made.
Inevitably, Zhong Yue felt excited as this would be his first time getting in touch with such high-classed valuable items like soul weapons.
Chapter 24: Ruthless |
For these few tens of days, Zhong Yue had been immersed in cultivation. As such, he had been cut off from the affairs of the upper house. He only returned back to the upper house the day that the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion was to reopen and the upper house disciples he encountered were all conversing about the annual Lawless Battles held at years end.
I’ve only entered the upper house for a short period time. I didn’t know that they actually placed such importance on the battles!
As he walked towards the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion, he could feel the serious atmosphere that permeated all around the upper house disciples and he inwardly said, But it is natural for them as it’s irrelevant whether they are from the poor, rich or the noble families – they would still be kicked out if they couldn’t manifest their own spirit by sixteen years old. Therefore, this battle must be the hope of all upper house disciples! Of course, if I could reach the requirement stipulated by Xing Huo, I wouldn’t even need to get into Ethereal Palace. But his requirement is so exorbitant that it could be considered impossible. With my standard now, I am still far from achieving his requirements.”
Outside of the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion, there were already some disciples who decided to compete with each other. The aspects in which they competed were not only limited to themselves but also their totem pillars, soul weapons and other precious items.
Hundreds upon hundreds of upper house disciples would form a makeshift stage as they surrounded two disciples competing with each other in a circle as they employed various methods and means to defeat their foes.
Zhong Yue even saw some forming feathery wings with their psyche and bringing the battle to the air. Soul weapons were flying everywhere and their owners were also using all sorts of skills to best their opponents.
“What is this? Why are there so many new faces in the upper house suddenly?”
Zhong Yue looked carefully and he realized that the two sides that were competing were the upper house disciples and some new faces. Suddenly, one upper house disciple fighting in the air was struck down and fell very hard onto the ground. Luckily, he only suffered injuries instead of losing his life.
Obviously, this was not just pure competition at all as those from the upper house disciples wouldn't be so cruel so as to severely injure each other. These new faces didn’t even show any sign of holding back at all!
Pu——
Suddenly, Zhong Yue saw one familiar figure being hurled away from the competition, falling to the ground helplessly.
Zhong Yue materialized the lightning dragon with his psyche and prevented that person from falling onto the ground. He walked towards him and asked, “Senior Martial Brother He, what happened? Who are these people?”
The person who was hurled away was He Chengchuan! He wiped away the blood trickling out from his mouth and said angrily, “These guys are those outer disciples who were training in the inner hall, they are here to ask for a fight!”
“The outer disciples who trained in the inner hall?”
Zhong Yue was confused for a moment but he immediately understood the meaning of what He Chengchuan said. In order to become an inner hall disciple and to train under the hall masters or elders, one would have had to cultivate out a spirit, thereby becoming a Qi Practitioner. The larger clans, however, reserve the privilege of being able to send some of its core disciples from the clan to train under these Qi Practitioners.
For example, Yu Feiyan from the You Yu Clan is one of them. She could seek advice from the Qi Practitioners of the You Yu Clan to aid her in her cultivation at her leisure. However, she didn’t like to stay in the inner hall as opposed to the core disciples that hailed from the other clans and so in turn they had little to no contact with the upper house disciples.
Although these people trained in the inner hall, they are still considered as outer disciples. Many of these people would usually rush here in order to participate in the annual Lawless Battles at the end of every year.
As for why they challenged the upper house disciples, it was because they wanted to understand the strength of the hidden aces among the upper house disciples as they knew nothing about them.
There has always been a saying that said, “Only by knowing yourself and your enemy, would you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
“These people are the core disciples of the Shui Tu Clan and Li Shan Clan of the top ten clans. Not only was I beaten up, Senior Martial Sister Ting was also beaten!”
He Chengchuan spat out the blood in his mouth and he seethed, “They have crossed the line! We agreed not to injure anyone but they severely injured Senior Martial Sister Ting!”
“Shui Tu Clan?”
Zhong Yue could feel the anger threatening to overwhelm him from the inside but he continued to maintain his veneer of tranquility, Shui Tu Clan! Qi Practitioners from Shui Tu Clan fraternized with the demons and they helped Tian Myriad Mother to escape. The higher-ups from Shui Tu Clan summoned Shui Qingyan and cost her her life and soul as Tian Myriad Mother possessed her! Hahaha….
“You seem to be very skillful. Interested in dueling with me?”
The disciple who injured He Chengchuan looked at Zhong Yue as he laughed and said, “Judging from the realistic Jiao Dragon and the roaring thunder totem with traces of【Spring Thunder Swords Skill】hidden it, I assume you must be a disciple under Elder Pu? I’ve sought advice and instruction from the disciples under Elder Pu and so far they appeared failed to live up to expectations. I can see that you are quite different from them, being able to combine the Jiao Dragon totem and thunder totem patterns together, you must be one who perceived the true quintessence … you must have some capability.”
As an experienced disciple who trained under a Qi Practitioner, it could be said that he could see things that the others could not.
Zhong Yue remained expressionless and he said softly, “Which are you? Shui Tu Clan or Li Shan Clan?”
That disciple laughed and said, “Shui Tu Clan’s Shui Lingshan.”
Zhong Yue nodded and walked forward. He Chengchuan endured his pain and quickly grabbed his hand and said, “Junior Martial Brother Zhong, don’t be too serious. The Shui Tu Clan is one of the top ten clans in the Great Wilderness. You’ve already offended the Tian Feng Clan, try not to pile on another enmity with another major clan….”
Zhong Yue gently shook off his hands and gave him a smile, “Senior Martial Brother He, don’t worry, I know what to do.”
“Don’t be too serious?”
That Shui Lingshan from Shui Tu Clan could not hold back his laughter and said, “Perhaps you should ask me to go softer on him? To be honest, while I dueled with him, I only used about seventy percent of my strength. My junior martial brother, you could just use your full strength without holding back. I hope you could live up to my expectations.”
“Alright.”
When they were around ten feet apart, Zhong Yue squinted his eyes and whispered, Shui Tu Clan….
BOOM!
The quartz slabs under his legs suddenly cracked into thousand pieces and flew in every direction. The ground Zhong Yue stood on suddenly sank and a footprint faintly resembling the mark of a Jiao Dragon’s claw that was ten times bigger than any average human feet appeared. It looked like a fierce Jiao Dragon unleashed its strength and cracked open the ground asunder!<
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Zhong Yue’s body shot out and as he dashed forward, a dragon roared so loud as if it could reach up into the skies, harbinger the end of the world while around his body, a Jiao Dragon could be seen winding up around him quickly!
Shui Lingshan blinked and as he opened his eyes again, Zhong Yue could be seen standing in front of him with his arms raised up with a dragon claw fiercely slamming on his chest!
Dong!
A loud sound like the sound of a drum resounded and followed which was the unmistakable sound of cracking bone. Shui Lingshan’s body could then be seen bending unnaturally as he flew towards the back before crashing into a thick pillar in front of the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion. He did not stop flying towards the back after slamming into the pillar, instead, he continued rolling on the ground for another few hundred feet like a ragdoll cut from its string – the kinetic energy of Zhong Yue’s attack seemingly refusing to disperse!
The other battles that were still ongoing in front of the Knowledge Teaching Pavilion suddenly stopped because of the attack delivered by Zhong Yue as a series of loud explosions followed his attack – immensely shocking to the extreme.
The terrifying strength erupted in that split second was just simply inconceivable!
At that moment, all the battles stopped and all the disciples looked over towards them.
“Brother Lingshan!”
Two Shui Tu Clan disciples shouted in shock and quickly rushed towards Shui Lingshan and helped him to get up. Shui Lingshan could not even move and there was a crater on his chest as a few bones of his rib cage were shattered.
“Such heavy injuries?”
The two Shui Tu Clan disciple face changed and stared at Zhong Yue fiercely while shouting, “Was this even necessary?”
“I’ve already gone soft on him, I did not even use my full strength.”
Zhong Yue remained calm and expressionless as he continued, “I only used seventy percent of my strength, he would’ve died if I used my full strength.”