Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  But even so, their bodies were still heavily injured, both of them having suffered at least a dozen sword wounds that crawled all over their bodies.

  All of a sudden, Xiao Chuqing’s disappointed voice sounded out in their ears, “Has the dignified and proud human race lost their guts? Sister Shui almost had her head separated from her body and died like a perished jade, and yet no one here is brave enough in helping her seek justice?”

  Zhong Yue cast his gaze over, gently smiled and said, “Junior Martial Sister Xiao, since you want to avenge her so much, why don’t you come and do the work yourself?”

  Cold rays flashed in Xiao Chuqing’s eyes which she repressed, she chortled, “I’m afraid that I would suffer the same shameful fate as that Senior Martial Sister Huang, getting all my clothes stripped off by senior martial brother and being forced to hide in the palace in fear of coming out….”

  Some of the young Qi Practitioners heard her words and their blood circulated energetically as their youthful minds painted obscene images of the young lady being stipped of her clothes by Zhong Yue’s Sword Qi.

  Evildoer…. Zhong Yue retracted his sights.

  The eight hall masters quickly stepped in and dismissed the crowd and summoned Zhong Yue and Tan Zhen over in admonishment, “Tan Zhen gathered the crowds and engaged in a fight, damaging the Lingzhi Stage and the Guest Palace. You are a common disciple of the eight halls and hence your punishment will be to repair the Lingzhi Stage and Guest Palace. After your work is done, you will serve as a menial laborer for ten days in each of the eight halls!”

  Tan Zhen’s face contorted in bitterness as he lamented, “Eight teachers, the Guest Palace is broken by Junior Martial Brother Zhong!”

  The eight hall masters looked at each other, and the hall master of the Hall of Sword Qi called Zhong Yue over and said, “Zhong Yue, today we will punish you … Oh right, what hall do you belong to? If you are not a disciple of my Hall of Sword Qi, then I don’t have the rights to punish you.”

  Zhong Yue bowed and greeted, he answered, “Report to the hall masters, I’ve yet to join any halls yet….”

  “Then join my Hall of Sword Qi!”

  The Hall of Sword Qi hall master smiled with his eyes laughing, “If you join my Hall of Sword Qi, I will exempt you from the punishment, but just this once.”

  “Join my Hall of Array Carvings, my Hall of Array Carvings never punishes our disciples!”

  “My Hall of Sword Hearts is the most considerate towards our disciples, you’d be showered with all sorts of benefits and solicitudes!”

  “My Hall of Weapon Refinery boasts of the best conditions of the eight halls, you can take any materials you like to forge your own soul weapon; it’s a shame to waste and we the Hall of Weapon Refinery are proud of such shameless acts.”

  ……

  Tan Zhen’s jaw nearly fell as he gazed at the eight hall masters trying to lure Zhong Yue into their own halls. He furiously and indignantly yelled out, “Dear teachers, aren’t you guys a little too biased?”

  “Silence!”

  The Hall master of the Hall of Sword Qi whispered lowly, “He is still not one of our disciples, we don’t have the rights to punish him; now he has damaged public facilities, the only ones that can punish him are the elders, but Elder Feng is a lazy man, Elder Feng will not punish him, wait until he has joined any of our halls and then we would have the rights to punish him.”

  The eight halls of the inner hall ... each and every hall master was responsible for one hall and their jurisdiction was limited to only their own hall. The hall master of Hall of Sword Hearts could not punish the disciples of the Hall of Sword Qi, likewise, the Hall of Totem Spirits could not discipline the disciples of the Hall of Sword Hearts. This was a rule laid down by the inner hall to avoid conflicts of powers and responsibilities.

  While the inner hall disciples would normally elect to join the halls according to their interests, ever since the founding of Swords Gate, none of the disciples have never ever not joined a hall. Zhong Yue was the first to have cultivated to the level of Rebirth without having joined any halls!

  Hence, the hall masters had no rights to chastise him even if they want to, the only ones that could exercise the rights were the elders.

  However, Elder Feng Shouzhu was clearly an arm-flinging shopkeeper, he would not even ask a single question even if Zhong Yue had stabbed a hole through the heavens; just now, the eight hall masters had already asked the old elder, and Old Feng’s reply was: “There are about over one thousand eight hundred inner hall disciples and only a dozen of them were beaten, and no casualties. How is this serious enough to warrant a punishment from me? Wait until he has beaten a thousand or eight hundred disciples to death, then you may come and look for me again.”

  Furthermore, for Zhong Yue to be able to compete with Tan Zhen end the duel with both sides suffering heavy wounds, it was only possible if he were to be one brimming with talent. The appreciation of talent is a universal trait shared by all. It was only natural for the eight hall masters to try and persuade him to join their halls.

  And as for the punishment, he would of course be exempt this time so that the hall masters could reserve the rights to punish him if he were to commit another transgression in the future.

  Zhong Yue looked at the eight smiling hall masters, he could somehow sense the malicious intent veneered behind those ostensibly warm smiles. He then asked probingly, “Dear hall masters, if I were to not join any of the halls, can I still sit in for the classes?”

  The hall master of the Hall of Soaring Vermillion hesitated for a moment and answered, “Regarding to this, the inner hall indeed doesn’t have any rules barring disciples from sitting in for the classes….”

  “Then I will not join any halls!” Zhong Yue said decisively.

  The other seven hall masters were almost unable to repress their urge to whack the hall master of Hall of Soaring Vermillion over the head. They were lamenting in their hearts, This brat is already a pain in the ass of the upper house, one who even dared to enter the female house, he is unbridled and undisciplined; and yet, you just had to say such things ... how great are you. Now, other than the elders, no one can ever punish him. We can only guess of the trouble he will cause the inner hall in the future!

  All of the eight hall masters left, Tan Zhen heaved a breath of relief and walked over to Zhong Yue, he whispered lowly and asked, “Junior Martial Brother Zhong, does that little woman Xiao Chuqing have some problems with you? Have the two of you met before?”

  Zhong Yue shook his head, a blurred expression suffused throughout his face, it was like a smile yet not a smile, he answered, “Well, we’ve never seen each other before, but it’s true that she wants my head and I want hers.”

  Tan Zhen received a substantial shock and quickly said, “Junior Martial Brother Zhong, are you addicted to beheading women? The last time, you had nearly beheaded Junior Martial Sister Shui Shui Qingyan! Cutting off women’s heads is not the way, you knock them into a swoon and bring them home….”

  In Zhong Yue’s psyche ocean, Xin Huo praised and said, “Brat Yue, this Han Tan Clan member is really my kind of guy. Back in those days, the previous inheritor of Xin Huo and I did the exact same things … En, he is indeed a good seedling worth nurturing!”

  Zhong Yue was speechless when he suddenly thought of something and asked, “Senior Martial Brother Tan Zhen is quite familiar with Shui Tu Clan’s Sword Cocoon sword skills? You’ve commented on my ways of manipulating the sword silks, saying that my Shui Tu Clan sword skill is seemingly right but actually wrong.”

  “I’m one of the son-in-laws of the Shui Tu Clan, of course I’m familiar with the Shui Tu Clan sword skill.”

  Tan Zhen smiled and responded, “The Sword Cocoons total 64 in number, and there are also 64 styles in the Sword Cocoons manipulation sword skill. From the 1st style to the 64th style, all of them were created by Elder Shui Zian of Shui Tu Clan. It is the secret method guarded away from outside
rs! I’ve been betrothed to a Shui Tu Clan daughter and that’s how I’ve learned the first 27 styles. But the【Sixty Four Sword Styles】are incompatible with my path of cultivation. I can’t cast this kind of sword skill. Oh yes, Junior Martial Brother Jun you’ve also learned the sword manipulation methods from the Jun Shan Clan? I’ve betrothed a Jun Shan Clan daughter and have dabbled a little bit in their techniques. I can tell that your sword skill contains the shadow of Jun Sixie’s zither sound sword manipulation technique.”

  Zhong Yue was stunned, he exclaimed out involuntarily, “You’ve betrothed a Shui Tu Clan daughter and also betrothed a Jun Shan Clan daughter? How can you be betrothed two times?”

  Tan Zhen was proud like a peacock when he answered, “Other than the Jun Shan Clan and Shui Tu Clan, I’ve also betrothed the daughters of Tao Lin Clan, You Yu Clan, Li Shan Clan. Among the top ten clans, I’ve settled with five of them, Hei-hei, if it weren’t for that Lei Hu Clan’s daughters all being built like black bears, I might’ve just betrothed one of them too….”

  Zhong Yue’s eyes opened wide, staring at him in disbelief, Tan Zhen laughed and said, “Junior Martial Brother Zhong, if the clans seek for eternal survival and strengths, they will have to draw, attract and entice the young and talented to join them. While they all have their own knowledge teaching halls, outsiders are forbidden from entering. The only way to enter is to become their son-in-law. It was just serendipitous that I’ve fairly close relations with quite a few young girls from the five top clans. Hence, I’ve visited all five clans on the same day and proposed a betrothal which they gladly accepted. The following day when they’ve realized I’ve proposed five engagements consecutively and that all five had accepted, they could only lament that it was too late for regrets; and that’s how I became a son-in-law of all five top clans.”

  “Does this even work?”

  Zhong Yue startled, he asked, “How is that the five top clans didn’t obliterate you?”

  “Nope they didn’t, but the five martial sisters nearly took my life,” Tan Zhen said in vexation.

  ‘Senior Martial Brother Tan, how about you teach me the【Sixty Four Sword Styles】and I will return the favor teaching you the techniques of the Martial Masters?”

  Rays flashed in Zhong Yue’s eyes, he smiled, “The ways of Martial Masters suits you better while I’m more compatible with the【Sixty Four Sword Styles】, a mutual exchange, beneficial to the both of us. Our prowess can then improve greatly.”

  Tan Zhen had long been attracted to the techniques of the Martial Masters. He was moved as he heard the suggestion, but he was hesitating, “The【Sixty Four Sword Styles】of the Shui Tu Clan can’t be divulged to outsiders. If I were to reveal it to others, then when the Shui Tu Clan steps in….”

  Zhong Yue smiled and answered, “It’s just an ordinary exchange of knowledge, we are just testing and grinding our knowledge, exchanging our insights on cultivation ... this wouldn’t be counted as divulging clan secrets, would it?”

  Tan Zhen’s eyes brightened up and he nodded his head fervidly, “Yes! This shouldn’t be a problem then … Let’s go, to your cave dwelling, we will hold this ordinary exchange of knowledge there!”

  ….

  “Xiao Chuqing, you are too reckless, you’ve publicly provoked the Qi Practitioners to besiege the Zhong Shan Clan member, this is only beating the grass and alert the snake. Now his guard and suspicions have been raised against you.”

  ‘Shui Qingyan’ locked her brows, she looked at Xiao Chuqing and said, “And now that he is suspicions of you, it’ll only be harder to kill him now!”

  “Tian Mother, you’ve wronged me.”

  Xiao Chuqing chortled and said, “I’m also just helping you redress your grievances. But this time, that Zhong Shan Clan member’s prowess really surprised me. The higher-ups of my race had sent me over to investigate and find out who saved Jun Sixie away, and that person traveled with the Jiao Dragons, the footsteps left behind are of the dragons. And this Zhong Shan Clan member is also an expert in controlling dragons, he is very suspicious….”

  Chapter 103: The Hints Left Behind |

  “You are saying that, the one that saved Jun Sixie back from the Savanna Wasteland not long ago is this Zhong Shan Clan member?”

  ‘Shui Qingyan’ was shocked as she began to conjecture, “Unlikely… in Swords Gate Mountain, there are many Qi Practitioners who are proficient in the draconic arts. The Zhong Shan Clan member would have been in the Ethereal Palace manifesting a spirit at that time, how could he have been all the way in the monster race? Furthermore, the expert to Jun Sixie’s rescue, Swords Gate will not send over a little brat that has just manifested a spirit, they would at least send over an expert at the level of hall masters or elders….”

  Xiao Chuqing furrowed her brows and said, “That man teleported to the moon through the volcano bottom of Gu Xia City and came back the same way, then the person’s traces were spotted in the Savanna Wasteland. This person must have just bumped into the dying Jun Sixie by chance, rather than being sent over by Swords Gate. From the traces left behind by the battles in the Savanna Wasteland could only have been made by one who is at the level of Rebirth, hence, this person must be in Swords Gate’s inner hall. This is why I am here to investigate. But if the Zhong Shan Clan member was in the Ethereal Palace, then it’s true that he wouldn’t be in there in the monster race….”

  The two ladies, one a god of the demon race and the other a young beauty from the celestial race, yet the both of them were lost as to how the events had transpired.

  ‘Shui Qingyan’s’ heart shifted and she said, “The messenger had tried to eradicate Zhong Yue before, we will have to ask them for more details on whether Zhong Yue has left the Swords Gate in this period of time.”

  “The messenger….”

  Xiao Chuqing’s eyes flashed; clearly, she was very aware and alerted about this celestial messenger that was placed in charge of the Great Wilderness. She smiled and said, “Such a small matter, it’s not worth troubling the messenger. The person had left footprints on the moon, we only need to compare those prints to Zhong Yue’s to know if he was that person! He had just fought with Tan Zhen, his footprints must still be here around the cliff!”

  ‘Shui Qingyan’ cast her gaze over and her heart turned vigilant, This celestial woman, she doesn’t seem to be brainless, I mustn’t underestimate her. She comes over and ingratiates herself to me. She probably knows that her influence in Swords Gate in weak and her prowess is not too strong, that’s why she is trying to rope me in and stand against the celestial messenger hidden in Swords Gate … how ingenious!

  The two young ladies moved over to the slope of the cliff and inspected carefully and their faces darkened. There were many footprints left behind but they all belonged to Tan Zhen, none of them was Zhong Yue’s bar for a huge dragon claw mark that most probably had been left behind when Zhong Yue’s psyche formed the Jiao Dragons curling on his legs!

  “I don’t believe that this Zhong Shan Clan didn’t leave even a single footprint behind after fighting so long with Tan Zhen!”

  Xiao Chuqing alighted down to the forest which was the stage of Zhong Yue’s and Tan Zhen’s duel. Her face turned dark again as she saw that the woods were all chaotically strewn about. The place where they fought was cratered in the shape of a huge palm, it was left behind by Zhong Yue when he was suppressing the smokes, and the mark of the palm swept away all of the footprints on the ground!

  “This Zhong Shan Clan is very suspicious, otherwise he wouldn’t have erased all of his footprints!”

  ‘Shui Qingyan’ pondered deeply and said, “Even if he did leave behind one or two footprints, he wouldn’t be so heavily suspected, yet he had deliberately erased all of his footprints. This is very very suspicious!”

  Xiao Chuqing nodded and agreed, “This was why I’ve shown my moon atman in front of everyone, I want that person to know my true face and to lure them out. This person would do everything to guard again
st me, and the more they act in preparation, the more clues they would inadvertently leave behind. While this Zhong Shan Clan member has already left behind a tiny hint which makes him worthy to be suspected! Sadly, he didn’t reveal his soul weapon, the traces of soul weapons were still lingering in the Savanna Wasteland where the battle had taken place, we would’ve been able to deduce whether or not he was that person if he had revealed his soul weapons!”

  “Soul weapons?” “Shui Qingyan” asked curiously.

  “In the Savanna Wasteland, that person had fought with monster Qi Practitioners and left behind clues regarding the soul weapons. The person had two soul weapons, a saber and another had seemed to house a number of Sword Qis!”

  Xiao Chuqing’s eyes flashed, she continued, “If the Zhong Shan Clan member had brought out his soul weapon, then we can tell if it’s him. Sadly, he hadn’t used any soul weapon while dueling with Tan Zhen.”

  ‘Shui Qingyan’ chortled, she asked, “I’m dying to know, why is the Xiao Mang Celestial Race clambering all over the place trying to kill a human brat that had only gone to the moon, can Chuqing tell me the reason?”

  Xiao Chuqing chortled and said, “I’m also unsure of the details, I’m just following the orders I was given.”

  The two young ladies continued to stare at each other, the distrust the one harbored towards the other was palpable in their gazes.

  ….

  “The Shui Tu Clan’s【Sixty Four Sword Styles】is indeed a profound secret technique, no wonder Elder Shui Zian’s Sword Cocoons can be listed in the Ten Malefic Weapons, Elder Shui Zian’s talents are really incredible.”

  Zhong Yue and Tan Zhen were currently in the middle of “exchanging knowledge”, he had finally learned the first 27 sword styles of the【Sixty Four Sword Styles】. The【Sixty Four Sword Styles】was a sword manipulation method to form a slaughtering array – both a sword array and a fearsome sword skill. Zhong Yue had fought with the Shui Tu Clan disciples who practiced the sword skill, hence, he was not unfamiliar with it. However, at that time, he could not see the profundity of such sword skill.