by Tony Tran
As for Ling, she was given the bulk of all of the cultivation and technique manuals. Regardless of the contents of the manual, Ling would study it and try to locate recurrent information that can link one technique to another. From this she would be able to possibly create a technique of her own, much like the technique she was able to come up with after examining a manual about light magic.
Of course, Zhang and the other beauties were also able to get a few cultivation and technique manuals of their own that were to their tastes. Zhang choose a few body strengthening techniques and a few manuals that taught about close quarters combat, Ai chose a few manuals that enhanced his body, with one of them a movement technique that would allow her to drastically increase her speed for a short period of time, Lingqi picked a strange technique that could only be trained by poison users, Yuying whose techniques mainly revolved around undead and inscriptions, picked a few body enhancement techniques like Ai feeling it could come in handy.
Overall despite losing thousands of soldiers, it could be said that after his ascension, Zhang had an extremely large harvest since not only did he and the beauties obtain quite a bit of heavenly energy, they also obtained a fortune in goods that they normally would not be able to get in the Warring States Region. Well perhaps once the land is unified and its borders completely explored and mapped such treasures me appear, but for now as it is the Warring States Region is not a place that many high cultivators can be accommodated unless one relied on the Dragon’s Vein like Zhang.
Besides medical resources, various manuals, vast amounts of gold and riches, there was also an abundance of magical treasures and weapons that were forged from the parts of high ranking demonic beasts, unique materials and had been gathered from the all over the continent.
“I’ll be taking these.” Zhang said with a grin as he picked up a pair of beautiful swords that looked as if they were crafted out from the most delicate jade that could be found and were so, thin that they seemed like they would crumble upon clashing a single time with another object. But of course, it was without a doubt that they swords were not for mere decoration because by simply holding them one could tell that thousands upon thousands of lives had been claimed by it.
“Ai, you should take these.” Zhang said as he picked thin shirt constructed entirely of thousands of nearly transparent scales. Having dealt with the scales of various demonic beasts before, Zhang could tell that whatever beast was slain to make this shirt, it was a high level one and would definitely provide his wife with adequate protection.
“This one would be perfect for you.” Zhang said picking out another shirt made of demonic beast scales for Lingqi.
Compared to their armor constructed from mirage viper scales, it was obvious that the cache in front of them contained much higher level equipment that would not only increase their combat capabilities but also ensure their safety.
Soon enough, Zhang and the beauties were all reequipped with new armor and better weapons. Although Ai still chose to have the Queen of the Night whip as her main weapon, she was now armed with a beautiful short sword that dangled from her waist. On top of getting a new weapon, Ai also received a transparent ring that gave her the ability to summon a small puffy cloud to ride on. Meanwhile Ling was now equipped with a magical necklace that had the ability to produce water from essence, meaning that no matter what environment she was in as long as she had this necklace Ling would have a means to defend herself.
In Lingqi’s case, on top of obtaining a technique that revolved around poison, she also obtained a new pill cauldron and a pair of white gloves that were so, thin they appeared to be transparent. These gloves could be said to be a treasure sought after by all doctors or those who studied the field of medicine because they contained the ability to remove poison from a person’s body. Of course, this did not mean that there was no need to fear poison any longer, since the world is vast and filled with mysterious poisons that cannot be extract nor cured. Nonetheless. Lingqi was now much better equipped to deal with situations that needed her to display her medical skill.
While in Yuying’s case instead of picking out new weapons, after selecting a few manuals she disappeared to a secluded location on the Sky Fortress and began working on creating undead monsters out of the corpses of the dead saints. As excited as she was, Yuying couldn’t even sleep unless she at least got started on her experiments.
So as Zhang was counting the astronomical sum of riches they just got, Yuying could be seen in a large room where the only source of light are a few candles and a couple small windows that allowed moonlight to flow inside.
“Place them over there.” Yuying said to a few soldiers, who were helping her transport the corpses of the dead saints, as she pointed toward a few empty beds located in a far-off corner of the room.
Before the soldiers were finished moving the corpses, hundreds of beautiful young women who were all Yuying’s apprentices filed into the room, drawing a lot of attention from Yuying’s helpers. Although it was not the first time these men saw the female elite guard, it was still quite a spectacle to see them all together in one room. Since the beauties were their lord’s women and were princesses, none of the soldiers dared to look, however the female elite guard who were Yuying’s apprentices were a different story, prompting many love-sick stares.
With her apprentices, present and abundant help from a large group of soldiers, Yuying was going to turn one of the many empty halls within the Sky Fortress into a place where she can carry out various experiments and train new disciples.
Inscription arrays were laid out on the ground, furniture was brought in, and all sorts of other things were being done. Although Yuying wasn’t exactly sure what to do with the bodies of the dead saints yet, she knew that she needed have a properly equipped and prepared facility for when she did figure out what to do.
“Han Shan, should I reanimate their bodies after patching them up or should I make a chimera?” Yuying asked one of her apprentices who was standing beside her.
“Master, if I remember correctly we don’t have all of the necessary materials to create a chimera.” Yuying’s apprentice named Han Shan replied respectfully.
“We would need some time to gather what we need but the outcome of doing so, would result in a stronger undead then a simply reanimated corpse. However, I’m not exactly sure what kind of a chimera should be made.” Yuying said with a sigh.
“If it’s your wish, master, we can gather an abundance of demonic beasts for you to choose from” Han Shan said.
“We can always use some of those Eagles being held in the lower levels, but just them alone won't be enough.” Yuying said before setting her thoughts aside and giving out directions on how to setup the experiment hall.
Unlike Lingqi’s medical hall that was filed with shelves full of medicinal herbs and possessed thousands of books in regards to various diseases, Yuying’s experiment hall had dozens of inscription arrays laid out on the ground and many cages lined against the walls. Of course, she wasn’t going to experiment on humans like those in the Order of the Blue Moon, but without a doubt the layout of her experiment hall was similar to theirs.
As Yuying focused most of her attention on getting the experiment hall up and running, time flew by and days passed as if they were a passing breeze.
Much to Zhang’s surprise upon the Sky Fortress’s return to the Golden Peak Province after a mere fifteen days after his ascension, he was greeted by a veil of silence. Even when using his divine sense to scan the area Zhang could not find a single person.
Little did Zhang know, new of his ascension and the appearance of a saint within the Aurora Kingdom had spread far and wide prompting many of the southern lords to surrender or abandon their people and head to sea with as much wealth as they could gather. Of the few who refused to submit, the lord of the Shadow Hex Province was one of the first to flee and with him the book that contained the second half of the Azure Dragon’s tale.
Surprisingly roughly
ten days after Zhang’s Ascension messengers representing the northern lords of the Warring States Region rode toward Aurora with signed scrolls of surrender.
As the northern lords saw it, if they surrendered to Aurora they would receive the protection of a saint level expert instead of confronting one or being dragged into war like the southern lords. Also, it was without a doubt that if they took the initiative to surrender, judging by what they’ve heard about Zhang, the northern lords would not suffer much loss.
Unlike the south, the north was much more united and unanimous in their decision to surrender since they were more likely to gain then suffer any losses.
Much like a dream over the Warring States Region was united under a single banner in just about a month or two following Zhang’s arrival at the Golden Peak Province. For the first time in thousands of years the region plagued with war could be said to be war free.
Emissaries from various kingdoms came one after the other in order to establish a positive connection as a date was selected for the Kingdom of Aurora to be established as one of the few empires within the Wulin Continent.
“Brother, look! Look! What’s that!?” Ai yelled excitedly as she spotted a procession entering into what would soon become Aurora’s imperial city. What would have been a newly constructed Aurora City was currently being remodeled to become an imperial city while an even larger capital city was being constructed around it.
“Those are Frost Horn Elephants.” Yuying said as looked at a pair of elephants whose tusks appeared to be made of ice while Ai was pointing at excitedly.
Currently the two of them along with the other two beauties were within the second floor of a large building that overlooked the would be imperial city’s main gate.
“Do you want one as a pet?” Zhang said with a grin as he appeared beside Ai.
“Can I?” Ai asked with a laugh.
“Silly girl.” Ling laughed as she also arrived out on the balcony where everyone was.
“I’ll be sure to ask the owner of those elephants to sell one to me at tonight’s banquet.” Zhang laughed.
“Another one? That’s the tenth on this week...” Lingqi said with a sigh.
As emissaries and other dignitaries kept arriving and celebrations regarding the creation of the Aurora Empire continued, Zhang and the beauties were forced to attend an almost never ending series of parties and banquets.
“Fighting the war was easier and more enjoyable than attending all of these gatherings.” Ai said with a frown.
“Do you know when mother and father will be arriving?” Lingqi asked with a smile as she was very much looking forward to learning more from Zhang’s mother.
“I’m not sure if they can because the Heilong Kingdom is currently under high alert due to sightings of the Siwang Empire’s naval fleet. I hear that they were last spotted heading south before disappearing.” Zhang said as he gazed up into the sky where the Sky Fortress was currently hovering above the imperial city, showing off Aurora’s might.
After Lord Tian Lan and his people were unloaded back in the Azure Mist Province with a sizable sum of money to being the process of constructing the province that they destroyed, Zhang and the beauties now have the entire fortress in the sky for their use.
A large variety of plans were to be executed not too long after the celebrations concluded in order to use the Sky Fortress to its full potential. Besides plans for the Sky Fortress, Zhang also had many plans in regards to managing the empire that would be implemented once things settled.
So, for a while it wouldn’t be much of an understatement to say that Zhang and the beauties will be heads over heels in work and responsibilities.
But of course, there was nothing that our heroes could not tackle if they put their minds to it as shown by the unbelievable feat of uniting the Warring States Region and in Zhang’s case becoming a saint before reaching the age of twenty-five.
Chapter 77: Lanyu
While the lands ruled by Aurora was filled to the brim with a festive mood and beautiful decorations lined every street corner, that was not true for other places. Under the gaze of the watchful moon and cradled by the gentle waves of the sea, hundreds of ships littered the water’s surface. Where they are headed, no one knows but one thing that is certain is that despite sailing together out in the lonely sea these ships did not serve a single master as four or five different symbols and images could be seen fluttering in the gentle breeze.
These ships, of course, belonged to the various provincial lords that had fled the Warring States Region before it’s unification. Since they had left long before any of the forces of Aurora arrived and did not leave a single trace as to where they were headed, they were able to escape from Zhang’s grasp despite the amazing speeds that the Sky Fortress could move at.
Atop a large ship that stood out amongst the rest, a small round table was set atop the ship’s upper deck. If one looked closely than six men with varying ages and appearances could be seen sitting underneath the moonlight as dozens of torches danced and flickered not too far from them.
“How much longer until we reach the Lanyu Continent?” One of the men at the table asked as a few beautiful young women dressed in skimpy outfits exited a door that led to the lower decks and began dancing.
“There’s no need to rush since revenge is a dish best served cold.” Another man at the table said as he sipped a cup of wine.
“The thought of those smug bastards enjoying their days leisurely as we have to flee, makes my blood boil.” The man that spoke first sputtered as his brows furrowed.
“If the Lanyu Empire is willing to lend us their aid then let alone the Southern Region, the entire Warring States Region and perhaps a few of its neighboring kingdoms will be ours for the taking.” A third individual said.
“Judging by the pace that we are moving, it should take a few more months to a year before we reach the Lanyu Continent so, there is no need to work yourself up now.” Someone else at the table spoke.
“I must thank you brother, Niao Feng, for lending us the use of your Golden Winged Eagles.” Someone said to Niao Feng who had been sitting in silence and sipping a cup of wine.
“No need to thank me, since you're willing to loan me a few of my ships and guide us to the Lanyu Continent to ask for aid, it’s only natural that I lend a helping hand.” Niao Feng said with a slight smile.
After failing to steal Zhang’s heavenly energy and witnessing Zhang ‘s battle with Xue Huo and the lesser saints, Niao Feng had ordered his men to quickly pack their things and fled the Golden Peak Province to ensure the safety of the sacred egg that his family has been guarding for countless years. But with no destination in mind and no other form of transport besides the Golden Winged Eagles, Niao Feng, and his people did not know where to go.
That was when they found themselves in the Shadow Hex Province restocking on various supplies and as one thing led to another, Niao Feng and his people found themselves headed toward the Lanyu Continent along with a few other forces led by other fleeing provincial lords.
At first, Niao Feng was fairly surprised as to how the lord of the Shadow Hex Province knew the location of the Lanyu Continent when there was little to no communication between the two landmasses and what little communication that did occur was amongst various traveling saints who roamed the open sea and the endless land. But after he committed to joining their trip, Niao Feng had lent out the strength of his Golden Winged Eagles and had them pull the ships during the day, thus increasing the fleet’s speed drastically making it so, that by the time Zhang’s Sky Fortress reached the Shadow Hex Province there was not a single trace of their departure.
“Do you think they’ll take up our cause? Considering the people, we will have to convince to aid us are saints.” Someone said.
“It should almost be exactly a thousand years and some odd years since the last time anyone from the Lanyu Continent appeared on the lands of our Wulin Continent and if I recall my clan’s ancestral tex
t correctly the event that prompted the saints of the Lanyu Continent to attack is nearing. If we play our cards right they might allow us to govern over the lands they conquer and since the two continents are a considerable distance apart from each other we won’t have to answer to anyone.” The previous lord of the Shadow Hex Province said with a grin.
“A thousand years ago? Wasn’t that around the time the Heilong Kingdom was founded after some great calamity occurred?” Someone asked.
“The calamity that resulted in the creation of the Heilong Kingdom is directly related to the invasion of the saints of the Lanyu Continent. That year hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of people perished and countless saints fell from the sky. Niao Feng said with a sigh.
========================================================================
While Niao Feng and the other various lords that fled the Warring States Region continued heading toward a new mysterious land and while the Siwang Empire’s naval fleet also disappeared without a trace, the war-ravaged land that now belonged to the Aurora Empire was undergoing a miraculous change.