Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  It was very quick, a thousand feet passed in the blink of an eye — Krong! — around him, a circle of white clouds billowed out of nowhere and then slowly dispersed away. He had broken through the sound barrier and in but a split second, he was already a few miles away!

  The movement skills of the Martial Masters are indeed, unbelievably incredible!

  Zhong Yue continued on marching forward, all of a sudden he launched himself up and started running in mid-air. The air compressed into tangible platforms with every step he took. Without the help of lightning nor wings, he was able to tread in the air, only leaving behind a series of explosive sounds as he stomped through the air!

  How will it be like, when the Martial Masters fight?

  Zhong Yue’s footsteps were restless, he marched in the air above the jade forest, and at the same time, cast the close quarter combat skills of the【Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art】.It was as if he had countless arms slashing and waving around at great speed, the surroundings suddenly became a blurred mirage filled with the after images of his arms swift movements. Each and every strike could invoke a tremble within the air, and were concomitant with explosive sounds like dragon whistles.

  Moments later, Zhong Yue felt that his stamina was unable to persist any longer. Quickly, he stopped and landed down on the ground. In his heart, he was shocked by the actions he took, Headmaster is right, Martial Masters are human war machines, it would be super dangerous to contend with a Martial Master in frontal combat! Despite me not even being a Martial Master, I am still able to do all these. If it were a true Martial Masters, how terribly strong would they be?

  Just now, when he was in mid-air casting the 【Jiao Dragon Winding Body Totem Art】, the strength that erupted out from his muscles was so strong that even he himself was shocked. His bones were filled with the power of the Jiao Dragon and as his muscles moved, it moved with the indomitable force of a dragon – strong and dreadful!

  Because he had visualized the Jiao Dragon, when he blasted the air, the sounds released would be like the sounds of a dragon whistling, trembling the ears!

  I will continue refining my body with the 【 Great Sun Prodigious Emanation Art 】, I can definitely strengthen my body to the level where I can rival with the Martial Masters!

  Zhong Yue attentively reviewed the strong and weak points of the Martial Masters and Qi Practitioners and thought to himself, But Martial Masters also have their own weaknesses, their physical energy consumption would be immense if they were to fight in the air, and their agility left a lot to be desired. There are many flaws and their endurance is subpar. Their prowess in the air cannot be compared to when on land. Between the Martial Masters and the Qi Practitioners, there are advantages and disadvantages to both paths. It’s hard to definitively regard one to be inherently superior to the other. But if I were to combine the advantages of both sides, I can make myself stronger.

  A scorching sun rose up from behind him and its golden rays shone on and refined his body. Not long later, he felt a tingling sensation as his wounds inflicted on him by the Sword Qis turned into scabs.

  An hour later, the scabs fell off to reveal smooth and flawless skin beneath – unblemished and unmarred.

  Not only that, the scarred wounds he had prior to this were also gradually disappearing as he continued to revolve the Great Sun Prodigious Emanation. This was the refining effect of the Great Sun Prodigious Emanation to the body, it could smite the impurities of the body, dredge the blood and heal the scars. And as the blood was now able to flow unhindered to every corner of his body, the impurities of his skin were also smelted away.

  The Great Sun Prodigious Emanation is really strong, I don’t even need the Yuling Paste to heal wounds anymore in the future. It alone is enough to heal them, and unlike from overuse of medicinal pills, it wouldn’t leave behind any hidden troubles. But I still need to prepare some Yuling Paste, the normal flesh wounds can be taken care of with the Great Sun Prodigious Emanation, but if it’s a more serious injury such broken bones or severed tendons, the efficacy of the Great Sun Prodigious Emanation would still not be not as good as the Yuling Paste.

  Zhong Yue lowered his head and inspected his body, his skin was effusing a lustrous glow, his muscles and skin were seemingly in perfect synergy; with but a slight move, he could erupt with immense strength stronger than before. Even the pumping of his heart was faster and more vigorous, as if it were a pounding drum with the blood flowing throughout his body akin to a torrential river!

  Wait till I have grasped the flying combat skill from the three-legged golden crow, then I can leave Swords Gate and return back to my territory in the monster land, the Falcon Ridge.

  Zhong Yue left the jade forest and went back to the inner hall towards his cave dwelling.

  The jade forest was the place where he learned the jade sculpturing. Right now, the Swords gate headmaster was not there to guide him, and he had basically mastered the art of sculpting, there was no reason for him to stay there anymore. He was no longer confined to the rarer jade rocks from the jade forest, ordinary mountain rocks or woods would suffice from here on out. It would be a waste if he were to keep on using the fine and exquisite jade rocks for sculptings.

  Sculpting is also a way of cultivation, knowledge can be perceived from the totem carvings through sculpting, and it can teach the way to forge the soul weapons or the totem pillars. It can also be used to comprehend the cultivation techniques of the Martial Masters. At first glance, it may have seemed as if the headmaster had only taught me how to sculpt, but in actual fact, he had taught me much more than that.

  Zhong Yue was steeped in deep emotion, the him from before he entered the jade forest was vastly different the one that left it. Whether it be his mental spirit, appearance or prowess, they were all greatly improved, and all within a span of only a month.

  And most of all, the latent dangers that lingered as a result of his rapid charge past the Spirit Nurturing stage had finally been resolved – his foundation was now strong and sturdy!

  Zhong Yue heard the indistinct sounds of a bell ringing on his way back to his cave dwelling. In the air, sword rays continuously flashed by. He presumed those to be people traveling on their swords heading towards the source of the sounds.

  Zhong Yue stopped one of them to ask what was going on. The man said, “Something bad is happening, the Celestial Race had arrived, the inner hall masters are gathering the disciples over! Even the elders are moving!”

  “The Celestial Race?”

  Zhong Yue’s heart was stunned whereas Xin Huo was thrilled and overjoyed within his psyche ocean. He quickly said, “Celestial race? Will it be the Fuxi Celestial Race coming in search of their people? Brat Yue, quick, let’s go and have a look!”

  “Celestial Race? I’ve never seen a true member of the Celestial Race before, this is a good opportunity!”

  Zhong Yue’s spirit was roused, he followed the sounds of the bell and eventually reached to a ganoderma-like palace; nearly all of the inner hall disciples were gathered here, divided into eight groups according to their respective halls.

  There were many disciples in Swords Gate; every year would see an addition of 20 to 30 new Qi Practitioners, and there were a lot of them within their 80s and 90s that were still stranded at the Spirit Nurturing stage, unable to break through to the next level of the Spirit Body as One. This situation was so pervasive that throughout the past 80 years, the number of incumbent Qi Practitioners of the inner hall disciples numbered almost 2000 by now. The youngest was in their teens years old while the oldest would’ve reached over a hundred years of age with their hairs having already turned white-gray!

  The over thousand disciples were currently gathered right here. Thankfully, the terrace beside the palace was big enough to contain them all, so that it was not too pack and crowded.

  Zhong Yue had just arrived when a saintly aura burgeoned out from the palace. In the palace, voices of the You Yu Clan elder could be heard laughing while h
e spoke, “Senior Martial Brother Xiao comes all the way from the West Barren, I wonder what you seek from us?”

  In the palace, another voice, grand like an ancient bell, answered. The sound trembled the air and quivered the ears of the couple thousand disciples. “It’s a shame to say it out loud, but in my early days, I’d fallen in love with a human woman and we had a daughter, Chuqing. Half of the blood is of her human mother’s and the other half is mine. Hence, I plan to send her over to cultivate under Swords Gate so that she wouldn’t forget her origins. I wonder if Swords Gate may approve of my request?”

  You Yu Clan great elder answered, chuckled and said, “The Xiao Mang Celestial Race has temples in the West Barren, there, you have the great techniques of the Xiao Mang Celestial Race. The heritage of the celestial race is leagues beyond ours in the Swords Gate, so why would Senior Martial Brother Xiao intend to send over your lovely daughter to the humans?”

  “Senior Martial Brother Yu, there’s something you don’t know, the Xiao Mang Celestial Race values bloodline greatly. My daughter, being half-human, was neglected among the vast number of purebloods in the West Barren, and so she wasn’t permitted to learn the heritage of our ancestors. Even the guardian spirit in our temple had refused to give her its blessings.”

  The ‘Senior Martial Brother Xiao’ sighed and said, “I’m forced to do so, I have no choice but to send my daughter here to Swords Gate as I didn’t want to see her future ruined. To tell you the truth, my daughter is also an innate spirit body. Chuqing, show your spirit and let Elder Yu take a look.”

  “Yes,” a young and sweet voice sounded out in the palace.

  Warm and bright rays emitted out of the palace, it was like mercury splashing down on the ground. The rays were mild and yet possessed a saintly aura along with a nearly imperceptible and inexplicably ethereal air. It shone all the way from inside of the palace to outside, as if the moon itself had risen in the palace!

  Moments later in the place, the You Yu Clan grand elder’s voice was shuddering as he stammered, “The Innate Moon Spirit Body….”

  The ‘Senior Martial Brother Xiao’ smiled and said, “That’s right, my daughter is an Innate Moon Spirit Body, and at the same time as having half of the blood from the Xiao Mang Celestial Race. I hear that in Swords Gate, there are five innate spirit bodies that are analogous to the five celestial stars. But they are after all, a level below the moon celestial. The Innate Moon Spirit Body is one that can rival with the Innate Sun Spirit Body! Senior Martial Brother Yu, I wonder if Swords Gate is willing to accept my lovely daughter?”

  While outside of the palace, the hairs on Zhong Yue’s skin bristled up, his bones quivered, and a frigid sensation engulfed his soul!

  The Innate Moon Spirit Body!

  But the moon was already hollowed out, the spirit in it had disappeared, and in its place was the statue of a multi-armed god, the spirit of a god!

  Without the moon spirit, how could there be an Innate Moon Spirit Body?

  No other race can birth an Innate Moon Spirit Body other than the terribly strong celestial race that stole the moon’s core and the moon spirit!

  Zhong Yue gazed at the palace, his limbs were shuddering from the cold, These two celestials in the palace are from the celestial race that stole the moon’s core and the moon spirit! This celestial race, they arranged for their half-blood celestial to infiltrate Swords Gate, what are they trying to do?

  “Hahaha, since its the Innate Moon Spirit Body, how can Swords Gate decline her?”

  In the palace, the elders held a small discussion, Elder Lei Hong smiled and said, “Senior Martial Brother Xiao, don’t you worry, if you are willing to send your lovely daughter over to us, we the Swords Gate will surely not treat her poorly. From now on, your lovely daughter will be one of our Swords Gate inner hall disciple!”

  “Good, good! Alright, my lovely daughter will be handed over to all you senior martial brothers!”

  Sounds of footsteps came, Zhong Yue lifted his head up and look over, Grand Elder Yu and the other elders were sending that ‘Senior Martial Brother Xiao’ off from the palace, and beside them, was a little young girl between 14 and 15 years of age subserviently following beside the ‘Senior Martial Brother Xiao’.

  The air of the young lady was saintly like the moon – pure and holy. It was as if she was born to attract attention from other, a riveting figure that incited all to stare fixedly at her angelic figure.

  But all Zhong Yue could feel was danger, extreme danger!

  Kill her! An impulse suddenly took root firmly within Zhong Yue’s heart.

  Chapter 98: The Two Celestial Envoys |

  Zhong Yue tried his utmost to avoid staring at that Xiao Chuqing lest she sensed his killing intent as he said in his heart, “I must kill her!”

  Xin Huo said, “It’ll be quite hard, although this little heifer is still young, she is strong. She is also at the level of Rebirth but her atman is the innate moon spirit, way stronger than yours! The innate spirit body, they pose as difficult opponents. Their atman is naturally stronger than ordinary ones. They possess inherently superior strength and can exercise finer control over their power … wait, something’s not right … this Xiao Chuqing is a false Innate Moon Spirit Body!”

  Zhong Yue’s heart shifted, he asked, “How do you tell?”

  “The moon spirit has disappeared, most probably kept within the Xiao Mang Celestial Race, the moon’s core and moon spirit was taken away from the moon. Surely, there won’t be any eruption of moon celestial planetary force anymore, so how could there still be a Moon Innate Spirit Body? Without the innate moon spirit, the moon spirit she held must have been acquired through cultivation.”

  Xin Huo whispered lowly, he said, “She is the same as you, reaching out to the spirit from proximity to manifest the strongest spirit. But you manifested the sun spirit whereas hers is the moon spirit. Because the spirit she manifested was the strongest moon spirit, the others have mistaken her as the Innate Moon Spirit Body. Nonetheless, her prowess is stronger than yours, the sun spirit and moon spirit are mutually synergistic; simultaneously engendering and repressing each other. Her atman is stronger than yours, you are not her match – it’d be wise to avoid provoking her.”

  “Xin Huo, even if I don’t provoke her, it’s likely that she would be the one finding me.”

  Within his psyche ocean, Zhong Yue shook his head and said, “Don’t you find it odd? Not long after I return from the moon, the Xiao Mang Celestial Race sends over this half-blood human Moon Innate Spirit Body, Xiao Chuqing here. I’d guess that they intend to lure the man who had escaped from the moon this way, in order to protect the secret of the celestial race.”

  “You knew that they are trying to lure you out, then why do you still want to kill her?”

  Xin Huo was curious, he said, “You should hide, hide deeply. If you act recklessly, you would attract the attention of the celestial aces. At that point, your life will be at stake!”

  Zhong Yue nodded and answered, “You are right, but the Great Wilderness is the sole territory of humanity, not the celestials. The Xiao Mang Celestial Race planted this Xiao Chuqing in here with an insidious conspiracy. And their target is me, how could I just accept this? Furthermore, I suspect that it’ll not take very long for them to find me out if they really put their mind to it. At that time, It’ll be even more dangerous.”

  Xin Huo gave it a thought and said, “Then this is bad, Swords Gate forbids the disciples from hurting each other, and the little heifer is here in Swords Gate to lure you out. If you engage with her, you’ll be falling right into the celestial race’s trap.”

  Zhong Yue nodded and said, “Relax, I won’t act recklessly. If I were to act, it would only be when I can end her in one blow, leaving behind no trace at all!”

  That ‘Senior Martial Brother Xiao’ had left and only Xiao Chuqing remained. Zhong Yue’s pupils constricted as he saw another young lady walking over and grabbing her hand. A chorus of laughter and ch
atter emanated from their interaction as the two young ladies appeared to have immediately become friends.

  These two ladies, one like a goddess from the moon and the other like a nymph from the water. Both of whose appearances and grace were at the acme of perfection; and now with the two of them standing together like sisters, the Qi Practitioners around inextricably found their eyes riveted to their figures. Meanwhile, some of the female Qi Practitioners lowered their heads in shame at the inferiority in their appearance.

  Zhong Yue locked his brows, “Tian Myriad Mother? They are joining hands?”

  The young lady in front of the palace was precisely ‘Shui Qingyan’, Tian Myriad Mother. She looked innocently jovial as she conversed with that Xiao Chuqing.

  “So many things going on in Swords Gate, first demons, then celestials and now, the demons and celestials in alliance.”

  Xin Huo laughed out darkly, “The celestials and demons have always been incorrigibly feuding factions since time immemorial, not even blood could wash off the hatred accrued between them throughout the generations. But all of a sudden, they’ve managed to set aside their grievance and join hands together to entrap the Swords Gate ... how interesting.”

  Zhong Yue took in a deep breath of air, the two young ladies were indeed peerlessly beautiful, seeming to kindle an instinct of protection in others, but all he felt was an overwhelming compulsion to destroy the two of them.

  Swords Gate Golden Summit – the old man locked his brows on his wrinkled face, he mumbled, “The Innate Moon Spirit Body has emerged. Water, Gold, Fire, Earth and Wood, the five elemental innate spirit bodies have already congregated together within Swords Gate, now with the Innate Moon Spirit Body and the Zhong Shan Clan suspected to be of the Innate Sun Spirit Body, our Swords Gate has all seven innate spirit bodies. We have reached a crossroads at the intersection of fortune and calamity. and our fate at the end of one of these roads would be far more extreme than with just the five celestials … *cough *cough, can the humans of the Great Wilderness safely pass this tribulation? I must try and endure on for a few more years … *cough *cough *cough!”