Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  Chapter 70: I'm a Vegan |

  From the moment Zhong Yue dashed forward until he killed Sun Xiao, only a fleeting moment that spanned the blink of an eye had elapsed; the other four Qi Practitioners could not even stand up before the battle ended.

  Zhong Yue harbored the intention to kill Sun Xiao from the start; having the element of surprise, Zhong Yue caught Sun Xiao off guard and ambushed him to death, before his four friends could even react, he had already turned into a corpse!

  This was how a battle between a physique-refiner and Qi cultivator looked like, it was simple and crude, the battle often ended in the blink of an eye, leaving no windows for intervention!

  Although Zhong Yue was yet to become a Qi Practitioner, he could already face squarely with the corpse demons in the Devil Soul Forbidden Land; moreover, with his Sword Qi, he could slay sixteen corpse demons in one shot, hence, engaging him in close quarter combat would be extremely dangerous!

  The other four Qi Practitioners stood up; they were shocked and enraged, sounds of metallic keens could be heard as the four Qi Practitioners pulled out their soul weapons, killing intent engulfed them as they were ready to avenge the murder of their friend!

  Suddenly, when the four heard Zhong Yue introducing himself to the dead Sun Xiao, their faces shifted, and they quickly sheathed their soul weapons.

  ‘Long Yue, from the East Ocean, he must be from the dragon race!’

  The four Qi Practitioners looked at each other; their hearts shuddered in shock, A dragon here in the Savanna Wasteland, what is he doing here?

  The monster race was not a chivalrous race that followed the code of brotherhood, they may seem to be close on the surface, but at times of adversity, the only thing they cared about was ultimately themselves. As the four monster Qi Practitioners saw that Sun Xiao was already dead and Zhong Yue's identity as one from the dragon race – monster beasts with noble bloodline – they immediately relinquished the idea of avenging Sun Xiao.

  “Sun Xiao is dead, from now on, I am the landlord of his territory.”

  Zhong Yue turned around and said to the four, “The four of you are my neighbors? If I've any troubles in the future, I'll surely come and ask for help.”

  The four Qi Practitioners gazed at each other, and they cursed in their hearts; they used to be the one that came over to gossip about stuff or look for help, but now, this Long Yue killed Sun Xiao and overtook Sun Xiao's territory, and he was clearly a stingy man as he promptly stated that he would not hesitate to look for their help.

  “Brother Long Yue, do you have any beef with Sun Xiao?” The brawny man with tiger pelt asked.

  Zhong Yue shook his head and said, “No.”

  One of them, a monster with yellow face shouted out involuntarily, “Then why did you kill him?”

  Zhong Yue laughed and answered, “Four senior martial brothers, to be honest, this is the first time I ever leave my homeland, my parents once said that as one from the dragon race, I need to acquire my own fame and honor, to be recognized and acknowledged by the outside world. So, I've just been thinking, maybe getting myself a territory would be a good idea, and it was just serendipitous that I've come across this piece of land; well-established and filled with the humans, so I intended to claim it as my own. But Sun Xiao is the territory's lord; if I ask, surely he wouldn't hand it over. Hence, the only option is to get him out of the way.”

  The four Qi Practitioners stomped their legs in bewailment and lamented out loud,“ Brother Long Yue, how can you act so recklessly? Sun Xiao is the most hospitable monster around here, the most generous of all, how can you just kill him right away?”

  "Plus, the Gu Xia City is just nearby. The city lord, Gu Hongzi, takes charge of every land within a radius of million miles, there is more land around here than you can even ask for, all you need to do is just head to the city and register your profile, I'm sure City Lord Gu Hongzi would be more than happy to assign to you a territory that is not any inferior than here!”

  Zhong Yue was shocked, he stomped the ground and said, “Is that so? I've killed a respectable senior in an accident, what a sin I've done, the guilt in me devouring my heart ... Oh no, brothers, do the four of you plan to avenge Sun Xiao?”

  The yellow-faced Qi Practitioner quickly put up a smile and said, “How can we? If we wanted to, we would have done it already; don't be too sad, we know that you didn't want things to turn out like this too.”

  The others quickly echoed to him, “Sun Xiao is dead, the dead will not come back to life, it is too late to lament now. Plus, we sure did hit it off well with brother Long Yue even though we've only just met, how will we fight with Brother Long Yue over such a small matter?”

  Zhong Yue heaved a breath a relief; just before this play, he was worried that the monster Qi Practitioners would dispute with him or worse, insist on avenging Sun Xiao despite him being one of the ‘dragon race’. Zhong Yue laughed and said, “My actions were reckless and my decisions immature, I've acted without prudence and careful investigating into the matter, and I've made a big mistake. Thankfully, the four senior brothers are kind and broad-minded, willing to accept my mistakes and give me a second chance....”

  The four Qi Practitioners smirked in their hearts, “This young dragon is indeed just a novice in life experience; after all, it is not us that died, how could we make enemies with a dragon for someone who is dead? Sun Xiao's death was not in vain, we'll be more than happy to be acknowledged as kind and broad-minded!”

  Zhong Yue invited them to seat, he placed his Fang Blade on the table and sat down, he said, “Brothers, Sun Xiao's territory....”

  “Of course it'll be handed over to Brother Long Yue!”

  The tiger pelt brawny man guffawed and said, “The strong lives and the weak dies, Sun Xiao was weak and was killed by Brother Long Yue, so he deserved it. As Brother Long Yue is now a territory's lord; it'll be easier for us to keep in touch.”

  Zhong Yue was hesitant to speak up, he said, “But the other neighbors don’t know about this, and if they come looking for trouble....”

  “That's easy.”

  The tiger pelt brawny man gazed at another white-faced Qi Practitioner, he said, “Bai Xiushi, let us pigeon post and notify the others, we’ll tell them that Sun Xiao is dead, and Brother Long Yue from the dragon race will be the new territory lord.”

  Bai Xiushi nodded and agreed, “This is indeed necessary to avoid further disputes.”

  The four Qi Practitioners visualized the flying pigeons and sent off the message in all directions.

  The yellow-faced Qi Practitioner's name was Huang Shulang, he gazed at the Fang Blade, and his heart thumped heavily as he asked, “Brother Long Yue, this soul weapon looks exceptional, may I ask what it is?”

  Zhong Yue answered insouciantly, “This is a soul weapon given by the elders when I left, it's called the Fang Blade, legend said that it was a god's fang, a soul weapon refined from the fang of a god.”

  “God's fang?”

  The four Qi Practitioners' hearts palpitated rapidly, Sun Xiao's Blood Coral was enough to make then envious, and yet, the young dragon Long Yue was able to possess a god's fang!

  This is the dragon race! This young dragon can have a god's fang as his soul weapon, he must be from a noble family within the dragon race, we must treat him nicely! When we have become friends, he will bring us endless benefits!

  Huang Shulang and the others waited for some time, but Zhong Yue was only asking questions without the slightest sign of treating them to a meal, seeing that he did not even summon his servants to serve them any young human ladies, they cursed in their hearts, This young dragon is perfectly fine in every other aspect except for his stinginess, he is not as generous as Sun Xiao. You've just killed Sun Xiao and became a lord yourself, shouldn't you have a feast and celebrate, and yet, here you are, but not mentioning anything at all, what a stingy man....

  All of a sudden, Zhong Yue summoned a servant over, the four Qi Practitioners were overjoyed,
Finally, he realizes the need to invite and serve the guests a feast....

  Zhong Yue instructed his servant, he said, “I'm your new master from now, I will set new rules. Pass the words, tell everyone you know, your new master is a vegan, I don't take any meats. Also, inform the passer-by Qi Practitioners that all of you are private possessions, Master Long Yue will need your worship to form an Immortal Dragon Soul; tell them if they eat you, then they are looking for trouble with Master Long Yue.”

  Upon hearing his words, the servant was in shock, and at the same, overjoyed, he quickly rushed out to spread the words.

  Worship his spirit? The Immortal Dragon Soul?

  The four Qi Practitioners were shocked, their hearts thumped quickly, This Long Yue must be from a strong background, his ambition is so high! He is preparing for his transcendent to a god!

  Zhong Yue then summoned another servant over, he said, ”Go and prepare some vegan cuisines and vegan wines, I'll have a toast with the four senior brothers, remember, vegan only, no meats, your master will get nausea from smelling meat.”

  After he finished his orders, he turned and apologized to the four Qi Practitioners, “Pardon me brothers, I'm a vegan from young, born to be a vegan, I can't tolerate any meat.”

  Bai Xiushi, Huang Shulang, and the others turned bitterly sour, they forced a smile and said, "It's alright Brother Long Yue, the vegan cuisines ... En, it's fine, we'll pass. The four successors of Swords Gate are now in Gu Xia City; the young and strong monster cultivators will have a duel with them soon, the battle will surely be spectacular and breathtaking, we will come another day and visit again.”

  Zhong Yue was surprised, he asked, “Swords Gate four young successors?”

  “It seems like Brother Long Yue doesn't know about it at all.”

  The brawny man with tiger pelt, Hu Wensheng, smiled and said, “We were here to invite Sun Xiao along to the Gu Xia City but since he is dead now, why don't Brother Long Yue come along? You've claimed this territory, and had become the lord, but you will still need to report and register yourself in the Gu Xia City.”

  Zhong Yue was moved, he then nodded and accepted the invitation, he thought in his heart, Xin Huo said that the teleportation portal is just nearby, so why don't I go to the Gu Xia City first and substantiate my current identity as a dragon Qi Practitioner, then I'll depart and search for the teleportation portal!’

  Hu Wensheng smiled, “If that's case, then we shall not delay any longer, we'll depart now!”

  The four Qi Practitioners cast their psyche, and monstrous clouds emerged around them, lifting them into the air, Zhong Yue hesitated for a second, then he said honestly, “Four senior brothers, to speak the truth, I'm still not a Qi Practitioner yet, although I can flitter around with the lightning, I can't stay in the air for long.”

  “Brother Long Yue is still not a Qi Practitioner?”

  They were all shocked, he was not a Qi Practitioner, and yet he was able to slash Sun Xiao dead in one strike, his prowess was indeed worthy of his identity as a dragon!

  “Don’t worry, we will lift you a ride.”

  Flashes of lightning crackled beneath Zhong Yue's feet and he bolted into the air, the four Qi Practitioners quickly surrounded him in the middle and Zhong Yue was lifted in the air without exerting any energy himself; the monstrous clouds billowed their way towards the Gu Xia City.

  After four hours of traveling, mountains came into their view, and slowly, the outline of a prominent mountain emerged, It was steep and perilous, and far taller than the others, surrounded by monstrous clouds that glimmered rays of rainbow under the sun.

  Bai Xiushi pointed out his finger, smiled and said, “The Gu Xia City is right there on that mountain, take a look Brother Long Yue!”

  Zhong Yue lifted his head, a vast and mighty mountain that spanned at least a few hundreds of miles in radius came into his sights, it was way more majestic and grand than the other mountains. It was steep and perilous with precipitous edges; but there was only half of the mountain left as if something had sliced off the top half from the middle of the mountainside, on top of it stood an ancient and archaic city that took the land of a hundred miles in radius.

  Above the ancient city, monstrous clouds and monster auras engulfed the air making it look as if rainbow clouds were floating around – the scene was purely breathtaking.

  Suddenly, in Zhong Yue's psyche ocean, out of nowhere, Xin Huo blurted, “Which bastard was it that dared build a city on top of my teleportation portal?”

  Chapter 71: Gu Xia, The Monster's City |

  Zhong Yue's soul heard the mumblings and he was shocked as he shouted out involuntarily, “Teleportation portal? Xin Huo, beneath this city, is the teleportation portal you and the last Xin Huo inheritor built?”

  The little flame sat on top of his soul's head, Xin Huo nodded and said, “Yup, I personally selected this place to set up the teleportation portal because this mountain is actually an active volcano. The fire energy in it contains an unearthly sum of power that can maintain the operation of the teleportation portal so that it would not cease as time elapsed. These monster country bumpkins dared to build a city on top of my teleportation portal; if it weren't because for the fact that my teleportation portal is continually siphoning the energy from the volcano, these monsters would be fully cooked by now.”

  Zhong Yue could hear Huang Shulang introducing the city to him, “Brother Long Yue, this is astonishing isn't? The Gu Xia City is an ancient city that stood strong since millions of years ago!”

  He carefully gazed around and whispered lowly to Zhong Yue, “I hear that there lies a big secret in the city, something about a godly array hiding beneath it, almighty and powerful! All the previous city lords tried to crack the seal and open the array, countless lives were sacrificed but none of them succeed!

  Hu Wensheng nodded, his expression was filled with fascination as he added, “I also heard that there are the treasures of a god in the array, whoever gets their hands on it can rule the whole East Wild, and claim dominion over the Great Wilderness, he would become the supreme leader of this heaven and earth!”

  Zhong Yue blinked his eyes, his soul in the psyche ocean asked, “Xin Huo, what treasures have you placed in the array?”

  Xin Huo was also baffled, he replied, “Nothing, it's just a simple array that functioned as a teleportation portal. I was just afraid that someone might accidentally enter the array and so I’d placed a stratum of seals and slaughtering arrays on the outer rim. Probably a little too much....”

  Could it be that the monster cultivators have mistaken the portal as a coffer that held valuable treasures in it because of the seals and slaughtering arrays? Zhong Yue was stunned as he made an assumption in his heart.

  Bai Xiushi said, “All these years, there were indeed some unearthly strong cultivators at the level of magnates that entered the seals, but sadly, even they couldn't fully break the seals and slaughtering arrays, most of them even died in their attempts. However, there is a rumor about an unimaginable pearl appearing in the array, it's aura was unworldly, and it bears an extremely frigid Qi within it, it would surely be the god's treasure!”

  “It must be the moon.”

  Xin Huo contemplated for moments before he realized it, “The teleportation portal's destination is the moon, hence, it is possible for the array to show the images of the moon.”

  Hu Wensheng sighed and continued, “When the pearl appeared, it shone bright like a moon, elegant and graceful. It seemed close at grasp, but was always beyond reach. Those that were there were on the verge of losing their sanity; everyone wanted the lunar exquisite gem, lives were sacrificed, but none succeeded in its acquisition. The closest approach was by a magnate cultivator that managed to reach to the pearl. He reached his hands out and grabbed it, but he couldn't lift it up at all, in the end, he was overwhelmed and exhausted, and he died in the array.”

  Zhong Yue's face turned eccentric as he thought to himself, Trying to grab and lift
the moon? What an interesting thought that is.

  “So did the Xian Kong City give up?”

  Zhong Yue smirked and said, “An infinite treasure is just right underneath, how can you not try and claim it?”

  Hu Wensheng said right away, “Of course not! The precious treasure left behind by the ancient gods, how is it possible for us to just give up? I hear that City Lord Gu Hongzi is also planning to explore the volcano. Although he is not a magnate, his prowess mustn't be underestimated either, in addition to his high intelligence, he will definitely be able to unveil the treasure beneath the city!”

  Upon hearing the words, Zhong Yue was feeling relief, he said, “When the treasure is unveiled, it'll definitely be earth shaking!”

  “Definitely! The rise of monsters will be unstoppable!”

  The Gua Xia City was getting nearer; his heart trembled in shock as Zhong Yue measured it with his eyes. The city was like a military fortress, an impenetrable keep with walls engraved with marvelous totem carvings; there were also wooden pillars surrounding the walls, they were tall and long, and spaced in intervals of a few tens of feet – they were all totem god pillars!

  While every thousand feet, there would be statues of beast gods of myriad kinds standing tall, they were all three to five hundred feet tall; solemn, majestic and dignified. Their existence suffused the air with surges of a wicked and nefarious aura that could seemingly devour one's soul!

  As they got closer to the city, the statues of the beast gods were getting clearer, Zhong Yue's heart palpitated as he noticed that the totem carvings were engraved on the statues three-dimensionally!

  The ordinary totem carvings are usually done on a clean and smooth two-dimensional plane, such as the totem pillars, the totem carvings would not twists and meanders, or otherwise, the power in it will leak out and be impaired.’

  Zhong Yue's eyes glimmered, he thought to himself, But these totem carvings followed all around the shapes of the beast gods statues, this must be a type of profound engraving art. Could it be that these totem carvings can bring the statues to life? En, this method of engraving is quite similar to the ones that used by the previous headmasters I've seen in the Devil Soul Forbidden Land. It is indeed worth investing some time and research on!’