A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248

by Translator: Johnchen

With Han Li’s exhibition of might, the two of them easily reached Elder Li’s residence and saw Ma Rong. They received news from Ma Rong that Elder Li and Zhang Xiuer had already ascended Setting Sun Summit.

  Upon hearing this grievous news, Li Feiyu’s face turned green.

  He knew that the current Setting Sun Summit was an extremely dangerous place. Zhang Xiuer entering that area was like setting a foot into the Gates of Hell.

  With the lack of a better option, the two of them discussed for a moment and came out of Elder Li’s residence, hurriedly heading towards to the direction of Setting Sun Summit. But upon their departure, there was a minor disturbance.

  When the two of them were about to leave, that loathsome fatty, the trusted aide of Sect Leader Wang, took out the command medallion and ordered them threateningly to stay behind or else he would deal with them according the Sect’s rules.

  Currently, Li Feiyu was very impatient as he was only concerned with Zhang Xiuer’s safety. He could care less about the Sect rules, so he extended his hand and knocked the long-winded fatty unconscious to the ground. Then, he ordered his subordinates to continue protecting everyone while he and Han Li turned and left quickly.

  When they reached the vicinity of Setting Sun Summit, the two of them were frightened by the sheer numbers of enemies. Knowing that it was impossible to charge forward, Han Li and Li Feiyu discussed with each other and came up with a brilliant plan.

  They knocked out two disciples of Broken Water Sect and changed into their clothes. Then, they took advantage of the dark sky and the crowd’s confusion to stealthily mix in with those who were about to attack the mountain, follow the stream of traffic, and easily reach Setting Sun Summit. There, Han Li and Li Feiyu had heard everything that Sect Leader Wang had said. Because Crooked Soul’s body was too conspicuous, they found an area at the bottom of the mountain in which they could hide him and left him there.

  After hearing that the Setting Sun Summit had kept such a deadly trump card that enabled it to perish with its enemies, Li Feiyu could not conceal his doubts and started to repeatedly ask Han Li, hoping that his good friend might set his heart at ease.

  “Regardless whether this is true or fake, the most important thing to us right now is to quickly enter the main hall and meet with your young beloved and secretly slip away. You must be aware that regardless whether the information is authentic or not, staying here is too dangerous!” Han Li finally replied in a low voice.

  “This is all true, but under the watchful eye of the crowd, how it is possible to go in secretly?” Li Feiyu asked, with a worried look on his face as he lowered his head.

  “Sigh. We can only wait and see if any opportunities arise later on.” Han Li was also feeling quite helpless.

  Just as the two of them hiding at the back of the crowd started to get agitated, the ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled. At first, it was just a slight tremor, but subsequently, it became quite violent. A lot of people were unable to stand and began to tumble one by one onto the ground. Following the summit’s trembling, there were also several mountain boulders that began to roll down.

  “Not good! The mountain peak is about to collapse. That surnamed Wang wants to bring us down along with him!” Some reckless person within the group shouted in a panic.

  When people heard this, the majority of them became even more panic-stricken. Some even disregarded previous Wang Juechu’s warning and frantically tried to escape towards the road’s intersection in an attempt to flee the mountain peak that they believed was about to collapse.

  Boom! A rumble of explosions rang out as the surrounding area started to collapse. The ground also shook more intensely.

  Hearing the loud noises, everyone thought that this was the start of the collapse of the mountain peak and couldn’t help but to give up all hope.

  At this moment, Jia Tianlong was alarmed and furious. Even though he was escorted by the loyal Iron Guards, he was at a loss in his heart, unsure of what to do.

  He couldn’t help but to look towards Monk Golden Light. Jia Tianlong smiled wrily after he clearly saw the look of panic on Monk Golden Light’s face.

  So this person was also unable to protect himself!

  Jia Tianlong’s initial admiration for this figure was immediately reduced.

  “Hehe! And here I thought people from Feral Wolf Gang were all fearless heroes. Turns out you are all a mob!” At this moment, Wang Juechan suddenly ridiculed. Despite the confusion at the summit, Wang Juechan’s words transmitted to everyone’s ears, clearly caused by pure skill.

  Following his words, the ground miraculously stopped trembling. It was as if the mountain peak had suppressed its anger in a split second, recovering its former tranquility.

  At this moment, the crowd discovered that the small stone hall had disappeared without a trace, leaving behind an astonishingly large hole. A few courageous people took two paces forward and looked down from the edge. They couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of the large, pitch-black hole. Since it was impossible to see the bottom of the hole, they knew that its depth was unfathomable.

  “Commander Jia, can this evidence be considered proof of what I have to say?” Wang Juechan coldly asked.

  Jia Tianlong’s face paled slightly. He did not reply immediately; instead, he surveyed his surroundings…

  Only to see that everyone beside him had panicked and uncertain looks on their faces. In addition to the ordinary gang members and other gangs’ members, even the Iron guards by his side had unsightly looks.

  Looking back, Jia Tianlong understood that he would be unable to accomplish his goal of completely annihilating Seven Mysterious Sect within a single night. It seemed that he needed to retreat first and consider the matter carefully once more before making a decision.

  “Whatever conditions you have, you can state them, but you should be well aware of the situation. Even though it’s like this, we are both tied, so don’t go overboard!” he exclaimed, not willing to accept the current outcome. As he turned his head around, there was a slight hint of extreme fury within his words.

  Chapter 85: Bloody Battle, Death Contract

  “I only have two conditions, and they are simple,” Wang Juechu expressionlessly said.

  “First, your men have to evacuate outside of my sect’s sphere of influence, and they have to do so in groups under the supervision of my sect’s disciples.” His tone hardened considerably.

  “Sure, that’s not a problem.” Jia Tianlong replied without hesitation.

  Seeing how his opponent answered so steadfastly, Wang Juechu coldly laughed as he directly told Jia Tianlong his second condition.

  “Second, both you and I have to sign a death contract and fight in a duel before you all can leave.”

  “Death contract!”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Has he gone mad!”

  ……

  As Wang Juechu’s sentence left his mouth, it caused a huge ruckus to break out among the crowd. All those who heard the sentence had varied expressions on their faces. Some were excited, some were ashen, while some were eager to see the outcome of the duel.

  After hearing Sect Leader Wang’s conditions, Jia Tianlong’s expression flickered before swiftly reverting back to its normal state.

  “Did I hear that condition incorrectly? Both of us sign a death contract and fight until there is only one survivor?” After his seemingly nonchalant question, Jia Tianlong broke out into a laugh.

  “No, your ears are fine. This is to collect the blood debt for Vice Sect Leader Wu and the others who died. Thus, I have no choice but to propose this: a death contract between you and me,” Wang Juechu stated coldly, staring directly at Jia Tianlong with his hand on his sword.

  Jia Tianlong laughed but did not give an immediate reply. His eyes flashed while he pondered. It appeared that he did not dare to treat this lightly and would only answer after deep contemplation.

  Voices broke out in discussion among the crowd. Even the o
blivious Han Li couldn’t take it anymore and chose to question Li Feiyu, who was standing by his side, instead.

  “What is a death contract? Seems like it’s something incredible!”

  “What? You don’t even know about death contracts? This is too inconceivable! Of all the ways to settle the disputes of Jiang Hu, this is, by far, the most famous and bloody method!” Stunned with amazement, Li Feiyu explained with a facial expression akin to the fascination of meeting a ghost.

  “You don’t say! You should know that I barely know anything beyond God Hand Valley and have no interest regarding matters of Jiang Hu. Is it really so strange that I did not know?” Han Li replied in a low tone, seemingly in a bad mood.

  “Oh! Right, true enough, I almost forgot.” Li Feiyu scratched his head in embarrassment.

  “The death contract is often used by two parties who have great hatred and enmity towards each other. Before their battle, they would sign a life-death statement, stating that after they enter the battle, they would battle until there would only be a single survivor. If someone left halfway, not only would that person’s reputation plummet and face everyone’s disdain, anyone in the entirety of Jiang Hu would have the right to kill him. Because all the people of Jiang Hu believe that death contracts are extremely sacred, those who destroy or taint the essence of this contract will be annihilated as a warning to others.”

  “What’s more is that most of these battle are staged in arenas where people have often fought to death, consequently appearing even more bloody and cruel than normal. In recent years, the number of people using this method to resolve their disputes has lessened.”

  Li Feiyu slowly and elaborately explained.

  After hearing the explanation, Han Li furrowed his brows as he understood the true meaning of death contracts. He seemed to disapprove of Sect Leader Wang’s decision to enter into a death contract with Jia Tianlong. From his perspective, this would only end with one dead and one grievously injured. In the first place, if there was to be such an ending, it might as well not be started at all. Sect Leader Wang might as well just let the enemy go free or just kill the enemy straight away, saving himself from all this unnecessary trouble.

  “Fine, I agree. Let’s enter into a death contract.” After repeatedly deliberating, Jia Tianlong’s gaze roaming about before riveting on the figure of Monk Golden Light. Then, he made his final decision.

  Since Jia Tianlong’s opponent wanted to use this as an excuse to kill him, wasn’t this a good opportunity for him to remove the roots of the troublesome Seven Mysteries Sect?

  Jia Tianlong was very clear about what Wang Juechu was thinking. He obviously wanted the support of his three hidden martial uncles! But what a pity, he had already knew of their existences through reports from his spies and had already prepared countermeasures against them.

  With the immortal cultivator and his flying swords techniques by his side, his chances of winning the battle was definitely more than ninety percent.

  As long as he killed Wang Juechu as well as the remaining experts of the Seven Mysteries Sect during the deathmatch, it would be worth it. Even if his attack failed this time around, there was no cause for concern, because the next time he attacked, the Seven Mysteries Sect would no longer have any strength to resist. After all, nurturing an expert was not something that could be done within a single year.

  Thus, this was the reason why the cautious Jia Tianlong would now chose to take such a risk and agree to sign the death contract.

  “Sect Leader Wang! According to rules of the death contract, you should be the one to select the time and location of the battle. I will have no objections, but as for the number of fighters and methods of battle, I should be the one to decide, am I right?” An enigmatic smile spread on Jia Tianlong’s face.

  “Hmmp! You are right,” Wang Juechu answered somewhat unwillingly.

  “Okay, then. I want the number of people fighting to be a hundred; fifty men from each party in a battle royal.” With no signs of being courteous, Jia Tianlong directly stated his request.

  “Fifty people? Battle royal?” Sect Leader Wang’s cold face actually revealed a hint of surprise.

  Death contract battles allowed multiple people to take part to prevent one side’s strength to be greatly depleted. However, twenty or thirty people was already considered excessive, and Jia Tianlong’s proposed method of battle—battle royal—was rarely used in comparison to one-on-one battles.

  However, since it was Wang Juechu himself who requested the death contract battle, there was no way he could take back his words. Moreover, he was extremely confident in the battle prowess of his three senior martial uncles. Even if it was a battle royal, victory would most assuredly belong to his side.

  Moreover, as long as he was able to kill Jia Tianlong, it would be worth it no matter how great a price he had to pay. As long as this scheming Jia Tianlong died, he was sure that the forces under him would almost immediately try to fight to be the next gang leader, resulting in the gang splintering into different groups as they vied for power and authority. This would no longer make them a threat to Wang Juechu’s Seven Mysteries Sect.

  As he thought of this, Sect Leader Wang nodded his head, agreeing to his opponent’s request.

  “Men, go prepare the arena and the death contract!” Wang Juechu commanded in a stern voice to the people standing behind him.

  Chapter 86: A Sudden Change

  Following his orders, thirty brightly-dressed disciples rushed from the sect hall.

  None of these people uttered even a single word. In front of the hall, they wordlessly used wooden stakes and ropes to create the arena for the death fight. From their swift movements, it was evident that these people were proficient in martial arts, unlike the common low-ranking disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect

  Witnessing the site of the duel being created, Li Feiyu asked Han Li in distraught, “Don’t tell me that we’re going to hide here the whole time. Are we going to do nothing and idly watch their duel? This isn’t right!”

  “This isn’t right? Your young lover is currently not in danger and is actually quite safe. We’ll wait for the duel to finish. Once the Feral Wolf Gang evacuates, we’ll take advantage of the disorder and stealthily make our way to Young Lady Zhang. Since the survivors of the Seven Mysteries Sect will most likely want to use you as a scapegoat and place all the blame on you, the two of you have to escape to a faraway place where they can’t find you,” Han Li said indifferently. It seemed that he didn’t have a deep sense of belonging towards the Seven Mysteries Sect.

  “Wouldn’t that be eloping? That won’t do; Xiuer wouldn’t agree to it!” Li Feiyu shook his head as if he were beating a drum with it.

  “Then knock her out and take her away by force. By the time she wakes up, it would be too late to change anything. Isn’t that good enough?” Han Li replied nonchalantly.

  “You….” Li Feiyu angrily glared at Han Li, unable to speak another word.

  While these two individuals were completely engaged in a conversation with each other, Sect Leader Wang solemnly received two blood-red scrolls. These were the death contracts. He took one for himself and ordered someone to bring the other to Jia Tianlong, who was across from him.

  As Jia Tianlong accepted the document, his expression changed to one of solemness. He carefully opened the document and cautiously skimmed through it. Once he verified that there was no problem, he nodded his head and closed the document. He then began selecting soldiers to fight in the deathmatch.

  After filtering through his available men, he selected thirteen elite experts from the Feral Wolf Gang. In addition, he selected tens of martial artists with acceptable talents from the smaller gangs in order to lessen his own losses. In any case, once they signed their names on the death contract, these martial artists would have to fight with all their might in order to preserve their insignificant lives, regardless of whether or not they were willing. As for the remaining candidates, Jia Tianlong picked s
ome of his capable Iron Guards. Of course, Monk Golden Light was certain to take the stage. Jia Tianlong was completely counting on the great martial prowess of this Immortal cultivator’s flying sword technique.

  While Jia Tianlong was busy, he did not notice that Wang Juechu had returned to the stone hall. Until now, Jia Tianlong still hadn’t seen Sect Leader Wang return, making Jia Tianlong think that Wang Juechu was probably having difficulty deciding the candidates for the deathmatch.

  When the deathmatch stage had been thoroughly completed, Sect Leader Wang brought out three to four hundred people out from the hall.

  Within this crowd was a mixture of young and old disciples of both genders. However, each and every one of them had a spirited light in their eyes and walked with steady steps. It was evident they were the Seven Mysteries Sect’s elites. The ones Jia Tianlong was most cautious of were the three figures following behind Wang Juechu.

  The first individual wore a fluttering scholar’s jacket, and his face appeared intellectual and scholarly-like. The second was tall and sturdy with his chest bare. His full beard, resembling steel needles, gave him a valiant appearance that was incomparable. Last was a person wearing gray clothes. He carried a long sword on his back and had a cold expression.

  At first glance, these people seemed to be middle-aged men, thirty to forty years old. However, close examination revealed that they released an aura that exuded the passage of time, an aura equivalent to that of an elderly man of seventy to eighty years. It made onlookers feel like the ages of these middle-aged men did not match their young external appearances.

  (TL: “passage of time”: literally means the blue sea turned into mulberry fields. Figuratively, it represents the worldly passage of time or how time brings a great change to the world.)

  Jia Tianlong’s mind was clear. These three were definitely Wang Juechu’s three martial uncles. It seemed that the Seven Mysteries Sect would not hold anything back, even going as far as summoning its reserves.

  Thinking of this, Jia Tianlong leaned to the side and pointed his finger at those three martial uncles for the dwarf Mink Golden Light. He asked, “Monk. I don’t know how you feel about those three, but can you take them down?”