Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Worth
"So, what's the best thing you managed to snatch?" Jin Pei asked, his voice echoing through the vaulted corridors as he walked side-by-side with Ao Long.
And despite his injuries, his eyes held a glimmer of satisfaction. "I got a Grand Tier Heavenly Grade Battle Technique: Falling Heaven Palm."
In the intricate systems of the cultivation world, a distinction was always made between Cultivation Techniques and Battle Techniques.
While the former allowed a practitioner to gather Qi, expand their meridians, and step further into the path of immortality, Battle Techniques were the "expression" of that power—the means to shape and manipulate Qi into devastating physical and elemental effects.
Both, however, followed the same hierarchy of quality: Spirit, Earthly, Heavenly, and Supreme.
Ao Long adjusted his torn robes, his expression thoughtful. "Well, I secured a High Tier Heavenly Grade Defensive Array. Although it isn't quite as valuable as the manual that thief made off with, it is a foundation-level treasure. It's enough to ensure my kingdom can be protected from any foreign threats for ten thousand more years."
Defensive Arrays, or rather, arrays themselves, can be considered as Battle Techniques of nature, personally formed and crafted by Formation Masters.
However, if Battle Techniques were a single blow, Arrays were a dense, spiritual mechanism.
Formation Masters used mystical runes to tap into the natural Qi of the environment, turning the very landscape into a weapon or a shield within a specific, governed area.
"Nice," Jin Pei said, giving a thumbs up. "But don't let that thief get away. A High-Tier Cultivation Technique is pretty much the highest level of treasure we can get in Central Region, not counting the Imperial Capital. If he manages to slip through your fingers, you can be damn well sure that I'll be the one to hunt him down and take that manual for myself."
"Hm," Ao Long nodded coldly. "Unfortunately for you, you won't get the chance. I will not let him escape Blue Wind alive."
The two princes finally arrived back at the Great Hall, where the massive staircase led toward the altar of the Emperor.
They looked up and saw Shen Haoran, seated in a meditative posture on the 999th floor, bathed in a terrifying, golden-purple light.
The two immediately fell silent, and at this moment, their rivalry, their greed, and their pride vanished in the face of that sovereign aura.
They cupped their hands, bowed deeply in a show of absolute respect to the heir of the Shen Clan, and then turned to leave.
They had emptied out every side chamber they could find; there was no reason to linger in the presence of a dragon.
Not to mention Ao Long still needed to find Yun Li, and more importantly, he needed to return home and inform his father that the political landscape of the Eastern Region was about to be set ablaze.
He had actually searched the nearby halls for the "trash heir," but the boy was nowhere to be found, so he assumed that Yun Li must've already fled the realm to hide his spoils.
As the sound of their footsteps faded, Shen Haoran suddenly opened a single golden eye, observing their retreating backs for a fleeting second before closing it again, returning to the depths of his cultivation.
And just like that, time flew by, and a few minutes later, the silence was broken by the arrival of Luo Mingye and Xia Mengyao.
Both women—one still disguised as a man—had flushed faces, their breaths slightly hitched from the strange and intimate conversation they had just shared in the armory.
They stood at the base of the stairs, their eyes traveling upward until they rested on Haoran.
They observed the way his blonde hair caught the silver light, gently swaying from the rhythmic flicker of his golden purple Qi, and also the way his robe fluttered, giving him an even more majestic feeling.
They were utterly mesmerized, caught in the gravity of his presence.
"Go ahead and paint me; it'll last longer," Haoran said suddenly, his voice smooth and teasing.
"Ah!" The two jumped, startled by the sudden break in the silence.
They began to stammer, their faces turning various shades of crimson as they tried to construct coherent excuses that wouldn't come.
Haoran opened both eyes, staring down at them with an amused gaze. "Do the two of you need something? Or did you just come back to admire my presence? If it's the latter, then I don't blame me. Admire me as much as you like."
Although he doesn't usually show it, but Haoran had always, and absolutely believed, that his body was more perfect than even the most perfect diamond.
This belief is so absolutely that he once walked around the Imperial Palace completely naked after having some fun with a neglected Imperial Princess.
He didn't mind other people's gaze, nor was he feeling shame, after all, there is nothing shameful about his body.
"N-N-N-Nothing!" Mingye stuttered, her face as red as a sun-ripened tomato.
Mengyao facepalmed internally.
'With a response like that, you make us look even more guilty,' she thought, her heart racing.
Then, to save her friend from embarrassing herself further, she steeled herself as she stepped forward. "Young Master Shen... there is something I wanted to know. Is it alright if I ask a question?"
Haoran offered a small nod of permission.
"It's about our... condition," Mengyao said, her voice dropping. "Is it possible to have someone from the Shen Clan examine us? You see, something unexpected happened in the armory..."
Haoran's eyes suddenly narrowed before it glowed with a brilliant, piercing gold.
Mengyao and Mingye immediately felt a sudden chill, as if their very souls were being stripped naked and laid bare under a microscope.
This was Clairvoyance, one of the core skills of a Seer.
Though Haoran only possessed a rudimentary grasp of the Six Great Professions, his innate talent made his "dabbling" more effective than most people's life work.
And through this, he saw the crimson thread and the way their fates had been knotted together by the twin swords of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.
"Your fates are intertwined," Haoran said, his eyes returning to their normal golden hue. "This bond is absolute. Unless both of you reach the Heavenly Saint Realm and sever the karma yourselves, it is impossible to break without causing a total collapse of your cultivation foundations. No one in the Shen Clan, not even our Elders, can help you with this."
Of course, his clan's powerful Seers and Supreme Emperors can sever this, but it's too much trouble for two little girls that for him, doesn't have as much worth as Xueli.
"As expected..." Mengyao sighed, her shoulders slumping in helpless resignation.
"No..." Mingye groaned, clutching her head. "Am I really going to be single for the rest of my life because of a sword?!"
Haoran raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in his eyes. "If you're so worried about being single, just marry the same person. That would solve the karmic conflict and satisfy the bond of the swords."
"Then, Young Master Shen! Please marry us!" Mingye blurted out.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Mingye's eyes widened to the size of saucers as she realized she had just let her truest, most hidden thought escape.
Mengyao stared at her friend in absolute shock, stunned by her sheer, reckless boldness.
Haoran's expression shifted, a slow, playful smile spreading across his face. "Hoh? Then tell me... why should I do that?"
'Damn it, the arrow is already in the air. I have to bite the tip,' Mingye thought desperately. "Um... although we aren't on the level of the geniuses from the Imperial Capital... I think we are still qualified to be called geniuses in our own right! Not to mention... we are considered peerless beauties!"
Silence reclaimed the hall for several agonizing seconds.
Then, Haoran began to laugh.
"Hahahaha! Ah, it's been a while since I laughed that hard." He wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eye, his gaze sharpening once more. "Geniuses? So what? Peerless beauties? And then? In my world, those are as common as grains of sand, and in my eyes, you both are currently nothing more than ordinary people.."
His face turned deathly serious. "As long as the two of you do not possess any qualities that I find interesting, you will remain nothing more than a pair of skin and bones. Leave now. You currently possess nothing that interests me."
Mingye went quiet, her head bowing low as she felt a bitter, dejected sting in her chest.
'You kept a woman from this Desolate Region by your side...' she thought, thinking of Xueli. 'How is she better than me?'
"Then... you're saying there is a chance? Is that it, Young Master Shen?" Mengyao asked, her voice steady as she patted her friend's shoulder.
Haoran looked at her, his smile unreadable. "Maybe."
With that, he closed his eyes, the conversation over.
"I see." Mengyao nodded respectfully. She turned to Mingye. "Stop moping around. Let's go back."
"O-Oh." Mingye's liveliness returned in a flash as she processed his last word.
A chance! He said maybe!
But she remained silent, hopping in joy as she walked beside her friend.
And as they walked back through the silver corridors, Mingye couldn't help but whisper, "I didn't know you also wanted to marry Young Master Shen, Sister Mengyao."
"I don't," Mengyao sighed, her voice weary. "But... haaa. Now I have to find a way to explain to my junior brother that I can't be with him. The swords won't allow it."
Mingye blinked. "Err... are the two of you Dao Companions?"
"No," Mengyao shook her head. "But we made a promise and I told him that once he made a name for himself and caught up to me, we would get married. It was a goal for him."
"This... I'm so sorry," Mingye said, feeling a genuine pang of guilt.
"No need to worry," Mengyao said, forcing a small chuckle. "Although I care for my junior brother, it was always platonic on my end. I was just swept up in the moment when he made that promise to me and I agreed. This bond... it simply makes the choice for me."
"Still... I'm sorry for dragging you into this," Mingye whispered.
"Hey, don't be like that," Mengyao said, bumping her shoulder. "At least this way, we can be like real sisters. Always together, right?"
Mingye offered a small smile, but she remained silent, her mind already drifting back to the golden-haired youth sitting at the top of the world.
Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Outside
Yun Li staggered out of the silver gate, his chest heaving as the crisp, cold air of the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range filled his lungs.
He looked around, and the landscape he had arrived at was now unrecognizable.
Where once towering peaks and ancient, impenetrable forests had stood, there was now a sprawling wasteland—a massive chunk of the mountain range had been completely flattened by the war between the guardian of the youths and those old rouge cultivators, which literally opened a path from the secluded Eastern Region to the vast world beyond the Empire's reaches.
"Young Master!"
Just then, a blurred streak of white light landed before him.
It was Old Hao, the guardian Yun Li's father had assigned to him.
The old man's white hair and beard were matted with dirt and dried gore, his robes shredded by the shockwaves of the war that had raged outside.
But despite his battered state and the aura of exhaustion clinging to him, the sheer pressure of a Nirvana Rebirth Realm expert still rippled from his body.
Yun Li surveyed the area. The grand war had largely concluded, and many of the Profound Arks had already departed, and those who remained, a handful of elders and weary youths, were frantically packing their belongings, eager to put distance between themselves and the Shen Clan's shadow.
Or perhaps, they found some hidden treasures inside and were eager to leave and hide.
"Young Master Yun," another voice called out.
Turning his head, Yun Li noticed someone familiar, it was Old Hei, the guardian of Ao Long.
He stepped forward, his eyes searching Yun Li's face with desperate intensity. "May I ask... how is the Crown Prince doing now? Why has he not emerged?"
Yun Li looked at him, remembering the humiliation he felt in that hall and cupped his hands with a practiced, respectful dip. "Elder, the Crown Prince is still searching for treasures within the side chambers. The Heir of the Shen Clan has... essentially claimed the main inheritance. He threatened to slaughter anyone who dared to compete for the core legacy. Your Prince, being wise, decided to focus on the other rewards instead."
A shadow flickered at the distance, but not one seems to have noticed.
"The Shen Clan's heir?" Old Hei's entire body trembled before he let out a long, ragged sigh that seemed to age him a decade. "Ah, forget it... forget it. The moment that person appeared, this outcome was already written in the stars. To survive his presence is already a blessing."
Yun Li raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing.
He had actually intentionally framed his words to gauge the reaction of a veteran like Old Hei, hoping to see a spark of resentment or a desire for rebellion, yet there was none.
It was understandable, as had only been in this world for a year and has yet to quite grasp the power structure of this world, and so to his "transmigrator" mind, the Shen Clan was just one family.
In the stories he knew, and even in history itself, many powerful empires were toppled by alliances.
Surely a group of Kingdoms working together could suppress a single clan?
But as he looked around, he saw no anger.
He saw only the helpless, hollow expressions of men who had seen a god and realized their own insignificance.
Even his own guardian, Old Hao, stood with his head slightly bowed.
'Are the Shen Clan really that powerful?' Yun Li wondered, a cold chill settling in his stomach. 'What is the Imperial Family of this damn empire doing? How can they allow a single clan to grow so dominant that their name alone silences these old monsters?'
He couldn't understand. The Blue Wind Kingdom suppresses their Yun Clan after they grew a little stronger, so how come the Shen Clan are still okay even though they are that powerful?
No, maybe the Imperial Family is far more powerful than the Shen Clan are? Yes, that is the most logical explanation.
It makes no sense otherwise.
Yun Li was already convinced by his reasoning.
However, what he didn't know was that the Imperial Family weren't afraid of Shen Clan growing even stronger not because they are even more powerful, but simply because they knew that the Shen Clan, who are focus on their goal of once again reaching for Immortal Path, couldn't be bother to chain or entangle themselves with the Imperial Luck.
"Forgive me, Old Hei, but the trials were arduous and I am very tired. I wish to return to our clan and report to my father," Yun Li said, cupping his hands.
Old Hei nodded, "Hmm. I'm sure you must be tired. I won't take up much of your time, then. Go on."
Yun Li nodded and turned towards his guardian, "Old Hao, let's go.
Old Hao didn't waste a second as he immediately summoned a sleek, white Profound Ark from his storage ring.
The vessel hovered silently, its hull inscribed with defensive runes as he led Yun Li inside, and with a sudden, violent crack of displaced air, the ark vanished into a streak of white light, heading toward the Yun Clan's territory.
But seconds after they departed, the gate flickered once more and two princes, Jin Pei and Ao Long emerged, looking like survivors of a shipwreck.
Although they already healed themselves with pills, their torn and bloodied robes still tells the harsh battle they had.
"Crown Prince!" Old Hei cried out in pure, unfiltered joy, rushing toward Ao Long. "Welcome back! How was your—
"Old Hei!" Ao Long didn't offer a greeting; he let out a guttural scream of rage as he cut Old Hei off, "Tell me! Did that trash Yun Li already leave?! Did you see him?!"
Old Hei blinked, taken aback by the sheer venom in the Prince's voice. "Y-Yes... you just missed him, Crown Prince. His ark departed only moments ago."
"Quick! Hurry! We have to follow them!" Ao Long urged, grabbing Old Hei's arm. "Take out the royal ark now! He has something that belongs to the Blue Wind Kingdom! We cannot let him reach the Yun Clan!"
"O-Okay!" Old Hei, sensing the urgency, summoned the Blue Wind's primary ark.
Ao Long leaped onto the deck before the ramp was even fully lowered, with Old Hei following close behind.
The ark's runes then glowed to life, and with a streak of azure light, it vanished in hot pursuit.
Nearby, Jin Pei's guardian stepped forward. "Crown Prince, you must have gained much from this adventure, no? You seem... different."
Jin Pei wiped a smudge of dirt from his face and let out a hearty laugh. "Yeah. I got treasures, sure. But more than that, I found a rival and a friend. As expected, you can't be a real Cultivator without a rival to push you!"
N
The old man smiled, seeing the growth in the boy's spirit. Back then, Jin Pei was incredibly egocentric, believing himself to have no equal, but now, it seems he had finally matured.
The King can now rest assured, the Kingdom finally has a true heir.
"Alright, let's go. I want to sleep."
The old man said no more and directly summoned their ark and led Jin Pei inside, the Sun Bird Kingdom's vessel taking flight toward the horizon.
There was silence outside the gate, broken only by the howling of the wind.
Then finally, a few minutes later, the silver mist parted one last time for Xia Mengyao and Luo Mingye.
And as they stepped onto the flattened earth, two powerful women, both radiating the aura of the Nirvana Rebirth Realm, standing on the sky immediately came sown to greet them.
"Young Miss, how was your trip? Did you find anything you needed?" one of the women asked Mingye, her tone doting.
"Yep. I think I might've gained a husband, and a sister wife if all things go well." Mingye said nonchalantly, her eyes drifting toward the clouds.
"Huh?" The guardian froze, her mouth agape.
Meanwhile, the other woman turned to Mengyao. "Young Master... the Madam is now asking you to return at once. She is quite furious that you sneaked out without her permission. She has been pacing the halls of the Sect days and has become quite irritable."
Mengyao offered a faint, tired smile. "I know. I'll apologize and take whatever punishment she deems fit. Let's go."
The two girls bid each other a lingering farewell, their gazes reflecting the secret bond that now tied them together.
They then boarded their respective arks, taking one final glance at the stone gate before they vanished into the distance.
The wasteland immediately fell silent, the howling of the winds the only sound to be heard.
But at the entrance of the gate, where the silver light pulsed one last time before going dormant, a shadow flickered.
It was a silhouette that didn't belong to any of the youths, a lingering presence, standing guard, as if waiting for something, or someone, to return.
Chapter 49: Chapter 49: 2 Years, Huo Yue
Two years.
It has been two years since the silver gates of the Bright Silver Emperor's tomb first groaned open, and in that time, the Eastern Region has been remade in fire and blood.
The fragile peace that once held the desolate lands together has shattered, replaced by a landscape of shifting loyalties and escalating war.
The catalyst for the chaos had occurred exactly one year ago, during the finals of the Youth Regional Battle Tournament where the world watched in horror as one of the members of the renowned Ogre Academy was exposed as a reincarnated Demonic Beast.
And that revelation was met with cold, clinical brutality; the "student" was slaughtered on the spot, her essence refined into pills and her bones forged into artifacts.
In the ensuing madness, Tang Shan, the leader of the Ogre Seven, tried to save her and had even revealed himself as a survivor of the Tang Clan—the former strongest power of the Eastern Region.
But it was for naught.
If his father, Tang Mao, was still alive, perhaps things would've been different. But unfortunately, he died in the hands of Qinq'er.
So Tang Shan was suppressed and was about to be killed as well, but just as the executioner's blade was about to fall, the hidden remnants of the Tang Clan staged a daring rescue, whisking him away into the shadows.
Enraged by the presence of "monsters" and "rebels" in her domain, the Queen of the Spirit Kingdom, who doubled as the Supreme Pope of the Spirit Hall, issued a decree of absolute extermination.
The Ogre Academy was razed to the ground.
Those who remained loyal were slaughtered while those who fled were scattered like dust in the wind, forced to seek refuge in the dregs of lesser academies.
Angered by the overbearing tyranny of the Spirit Hall, the remaining Kingdoms and Sects formed the Grand Allied Front to wage war against the Pope.
Truthfully, they expected a swift victory through sheer numbers, but they had underestimated the depth of the Spirit Hall's foundations.
It was during this war where the Pope unleashed twenty Spirit Ascension Realm experts—monsters who swept through the battlefield like a force of nature, suppressing the Allied Front at every turn.
The Allied Kingdoms turned to the Seven Great Clans, said to possess strength comparable to the Spirit Hall when combined, but the response was bleak.
Two had already knelt to the Spirit Hall.
The Tang Clan, the strongest of the Seven remained in hiding and were hunted down by the Spirit Hall for harboring Tang Shan.
And the Ning Clan—the richest of the seven—clung to a precarious, profit-driven neutrality.
Only three clans joined the Front, leaving the war in a brutal, grinding stalemate where only the cultivators bled, while the common folk watched from the sidelines in terror.
Amidst this geopolitical storm, far away in the scorching expanse of the Great Tao Desert, a figure walked across the shifting dunes.
She was an incredibly beautiful woman with hair as red as a sunset, her silhouette obscured by a heavy brown cloak.
Strapped to her back was a weapon that defied logic: a massive, obsidian-and-crimson ruler that seemed to pulse with a low, volcanic heat.
This girl was Huo Yue.
Two years had transformed the girl into a woman, her cultivation, once stunted and "trash," had surged forward with a terrifying momentum, reaching the 7th Stage of the Core Refinement Realm—a speed that dwarfed her previous reputation as a child prodigy.
"Master, are you absolutely sure there is a Heavenly Flame located in this furnace of a place?" Huo Yue asked, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.
Just then, her ring pulsed with a soft, ethereal light as a voice echoed in her mind. "Of course! Centuries ago, I discovered the aura of the 'Blue Lily Earth Flame' in a hidden ruin buried beneath these sands. Since I already possessed my own Heavenly Flame at the time, I left it as a gift for a future fated one."
"You better be right," Huo Yue muttered, her eyes scanning the horizon. "I don't want to damage my skin with all this dry heat. What if Haoran doesn't want me anymore because I look like a piece of sun-dried leather?"
"You..." Fairy Liu, the remnant spirit hidden within the ring, was left momentarily speechless. "You are already a Rank 4 Alchemist! Forging Beauty-Retaining Pills or skin-soothing elixirs is as easy for you as breathing! Why are you worrying about such trivialities?"
"Eh? But then I won't be all-natural! What if Haoran dislikes artificial beauty?"
"You... You unfilial disciple...!" Fairy Liu retreated into the depths of the ring, refusing to dignify the comment with a response.
Huo Yue hummed a cheerful tune as she continued her trek.
Despite her constant teasing, the bond between her and her master was the bedrock of her strength.
Every step she took was for her own ascent, but every breakthrough was a tribute to the man and woman who had set her on this path.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted from the far eastern side of the desert, sending a pillar of sand and fire screaming into the violet sky.
Huo Yue stopped, her hand instinctively drifting to the hilt of the red-and-black ruler, her expression turned thoughtful. "Master, should we go check it out? That didn't sound like a natural sandstorm."
"...That is up to you, child. But where there is conflict, there is often opportunity," the voice replied tiredly.
"Let's go!" Huo Yue grinned, her eyes flashing with a predatory excitement.
She had a feeling that whatever—or whoever—was causing that commotion would definitely be more interesting than counting grains of sand.
*
*
*
Deep in the eastern expanse of the Great Tao Desert, where the shifting dunes hold secrets of both life and death, a desperate hunt was nearing its end.
Zhu Ziyan sprinted across the scorching sands, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps.
Her long black hair, streaked with subtle strands of purple, whipped behind her, and her feline ears twitching frantically to catch the sounds of her pursuers.
Her black, skintight bodysuit was torn and soaked with crimson; a deep gash along her side bled heavily, painting the golden sand with her life's essence.
Behind her, six men followed with the relentless persistence of desert jackals, with all of them being seasoned cultivators at the 4th and 5th stages of the Foundation Establishment realm, their auras flared in a sickening display of predatory greed.
Zhu Ziyan gritted her teeth as she thought about how she ended up in this situation.
Two years ago, she had been a rising star of the Ogre Seven, one of the most talented youths in this era, but when the Spirit Hall's shadow fell over Ogre Academy, she had be the first to flee the academy.
Her fiancé, Tai Yuhao, had pleaded with her to stand and fight for their "honor", and she had only looked at him like he was a madman before turning her back on the academy forever.
'What a joke,' she thought, clutching her bleeding side.
She had never stayed with Tai Yuhao because of love; she stayed because his strength was like a shield, but when that shield cracked, she will flee.
Loyalty was a luxury for the dead, and she never wanted to die.
Facts proved that she was correct as Tai Yuhao and the fools who remained at the academy were now nothing more than fertilizer for the Spirit Hall's ambition.
In the two years since, she had lived a shadow's life.
Rejected by every reputable institution for her past associations, she had joined the Grand Order, a mysterious ancient mercenary guild.
Then, with the constant life-and-death struggle, she had been tempered her into a weapon and had surged from the 9th Stage of Qi Gathering to the 7th Stage of Foundation Establishment at just twenty years old.
But her luck finally had run out.
During a high-risk mission, she had secured a mysterious, ancient map, and word had leaked, and now, the jackals had caught her scent.
"Give it up, Zhu Ziyan!" one of the men roared, his voice distorted by the desert wind. "You can't run forever in this heat!"
"Give us the map and we might give you a quick death!" another screamed, his eyes gleaming with malice.
Ziyan remained silent, her jaw set, and just as she crested a dune, a sharp twang echoed behind her.
"Ah!?" An arrow, infused with wind-attribute Qi, whistled through the air and pierced her thigh as she let out a sharp cry of agony, her legs giving out as she tumbled down the sandbank.
She tried to crawl, her fingers digging into the hot sand, but a heavy boot suddenly slammed down on her hand, crushing her fingers into the grit.
"Hehehe, if you had just handed it over, you wouldn't be suffering like this," sneered the leader of the group, grinding his heel into her hand.
The others caught up, surrounding her in a circle of filth.
Just then, one of the men licked his lips, his gaze wandering over the curves of her tattered bodysuit.
"Hehehe, Boss... look at her. She's a real beauty, isn't she? How about we have our way with her before we finish the job?"
"Oh, I heard about that fiancé of hers, Tai Yuhao," another mocked, his voice full of lewd suggestion. "He was a famous womanizer, always had a different girl on each arm. Such a pervert must have trained you quite well, right? Why don't you show us the skills you learned from him?"
Ziyan gritted her teeth, her eyes cold even in her despair. In fact, she prepared to bite her own tongue, ready to end her life before her chastity and dignity was stripped away.
One of the men crouched down, holding a jagged knife in his hand. "Let's see what you're hiding under this tight suit. With breasts this huge, that Tai Yuhao probably enjoyed himself every night, didn't he?"
But as he reached out to rip the fabric, a crisp, clear female voice rang out from above, cutting through the heavy atmosphere like a blade of ice.
"Hey! A bunch of creeps ganging up on a wounded girl... have you no shame at all!?"
The men spun around, startled.
There, standing on the crest of a nearby sand hill, was a woman bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun.
Her long red hair flowed like a river of fire, and in her hand, she gripped a massive, intimidating black-and-red ruler.
It was Huo Yue, she stared down at them, her eyes narrowed with a killing intent that made the air temperature drop.
"Fuck off, brat! This is Grand Order business! It's none of your concern!" the leader barked.
"That's right! Get lost if you don't want to be the next one we play with!"
Huo Yue didn't respond with words, but her grip tightened on the ruler, and her 7th Stage Core Refinement aura erupted like a volcano.
"You want something to play with? Fine, I'll give you" she whispered.e swung the massive ruler in a wide, horizontal arc. "Wave Splitting Flame!"
A colossal, crescent-shaped blade of dark crimson fire roared forth.
It traveled with such speed that the men didn't even have time to scream as the flames sliced through five of the pursuers, bisecting them instantly before the intense heat reduced their remains to gray ash blowing in the wind.
The only survivor was the one who had been crouched over Ziyan, but he shrieked in terror, falling back onto his buttocks, his crotch dampening as he stared at the charred earth where his comrades had stood a second ago.
Huo Yue leapt down from the hill, landing softly in the sand before she walked toward the trembling man, the tip of her heavy ruler leaving a smoldering trail behind her.
She pointed the weapon at his throat.
"Scum like you... you don't really deserve the air you breathe," she said, her voice devoid of mercy.
Without hesitation, she brought the flat of the ruler down, and the impact cracked the man's skull like an eggshell, killing him instantly.
Zhu Ziyan lay in the sand, staring up at the majestic, red-haired figure of her savior in a daze.
The setting sun silhouetted Huo Yue, making her look like a goddess of war descended from the heavens.
Chapter 50: Chapter 50: 2 Years
"Oh, so you're a former member of the Ogre Seven?" Huo Yue asked, her tone casual as she maintained a steady pace through the cooling evening sands. "You guys reached the finals two years ago and have a high chance if winning if it wasn't for that girl."
Ziyan nodded, but her lips remained pressed in a thin line as she trailed a half-step behind Huo Yue, her eyes constantly scanning the red-haired woman's silhouette.
This woman... Ziyan thought, her heart still racing from the display of power she had witnessed.
Huo Yue looked to be no older than herself, yet she was already a Core Formation expert—a realm that felt like a distant mountain peak to most.
This level of talent, not to mention the Ogre Seven's leader, Tang Shan, perhaps even in the gilded halls of the Central Region, such a person would be hailed as a peerless genius.
No, she definitely will!
"Now that you mention it, I think I heard the name Zhu Ziyan during my travels..." Huo Yue began to muse, tapping her chin as she searched through the library of rumors she'd gathered over the last two years.
Was it from some rumors?
Did someone with similar name offended her previously?
He couldn't really remember, but that name was truly familiar.
Just then, on her fingers, the ring pulsed as a telepathic message was sent to his brain.
"It's the name those twins from that hotel in the border city kept mentioning," Fairy Liu reminded her with a dry chuckle. "The ones who tried to poison your tea out of sheer bitterness."
"Aha!" Huo Yue slammed her fist into her palm, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You are that 'thieving cat' those twins said stole their man! Zhu Ziyan of the Ogre Academy! Hahaha! Did you really steal their man? For someone who looked so cold, you are actually quite bold huh?"
Ziyan's ears flattened slightly against her head, and she let out a weary, helpless sigh. "In my eyes, they were the ones who stole my fiancé. But there is no need to dwell on the past. Tai Yuhao is dead, and the 'man' they fought over is now nothing more than a ghost."
"Oh? Your fiancé must have been quite the womanizer then. I've met a lot of women across these two years who cursed and hated your name because of that man," Huo Yue chuckled, completely unfazed by the scandal.
In truth, Huo Yue held no real prejudice against men who had many women, provided they weren't complete assholes about it.
Her own father had married two wives at the same time, and after her biological mother passed away, she had been raised with nothing but love by her stepmother.
She had seen firsthand that a home could be harmonious even with multiple partners.
Besides, she was fairly certain Haoran was a bit of a womanizer himself—or at least, he had the aura of a man who would take whatever he absolutely fancied without asking the heavens for permission.
Truly the epitome of pride and greed.
She actually knew a lot about men in general, after all her older half-brothers, terrified that their precious sister would be tricked by some bottom-tier scumbag, had spent years drilling "the nature of men" into her.
They'd taught her the subtle signs of a liar, how to spot a man who actually had the spine to protect what was his, and even have her memorised those Bro Codes or something.
They actually looked oddly suspicious then, as if they are sneaking in some contraband.
"I don't want to talk about him," Ziyan muttered, her gaze dropping to her boots.
"Alright, alright. I won't pester you," Huo Yue shrugged, adjusting the heavy weight of the black-and-red ruler on her back. "Anyway, there's a small trading town a few days up ahead. Once we've arrived and you've patched up those wounds, let's go our separate ways."
Ziyan remained silent, staring at Huo Yue's back.
A beat later, her curiosity got the better of her. "Hey.. do you mind if I ask what you plan to do? The Spirit Hall is tightening its grip and the allied forces are struggling to escape. Are you going to join the war? With your talent and potential, the Allied Front would pay a king's ransom for your loyalty."
"Hmmmm?" Huo Yue trailed off, looking up at the first stars appearing in the desert sky. "Depends on my mood, I guess. My hometown is tucked away in a pretty secluded corner of the outskirts; the war probably won't reach those old mountains. For now, I just want to finish exploring the Eastern Region. Once I'm bored here, I'll head to the Central Region."
Ziyan's voice was barely a whisper. "Central Region... as expected. You certainly have the talent to stand out even in a place like that."
"Maybe," Huo Yue chuckled softly, her thoughts drifting to a certain golden-haired youth who was likely waiting for her somewhere in those distant lands.
"....By the way," Ziyan said, her voice regaining some strength. "I've told you my name, and I'm curious about yours. Is it alright to ask? If you don't mind me asking of course, you can refuse if you want."
"No, it's fine. My name is Shen Huo," Huo Yue lied smoothly.
"Divine Fire?" Ziyan muttered. The name was incredibly domineering, even for a high-level cultivator.
It sounded less like a name and more like a title of a goddess.
"Yep. Pretty cool, huh?" Huo Yue praised herself internally for the quick thinking. It was a perfect blend of Haoran's surname and her own.
Suddenly, Ziyan stopped walking.
Huo Yue paused and turned back, raising a confused eyebrow. "What's wrong? Tired? We can rest if you want. We've still got two days of sand-walking until we hit the town, and you're still bleeding a bit."
"Sister Shen," Ziyan spoke, her voice devoid of its previous hesitation as dhe looked up, her feline eyes burning with a sudden, sharp determination. "Can you... can you allow me to accompany you on your journey?"
Huo Yue blinked, her mouth hanging open slightly.
"Come again?"
*
*
*
At this moment, within the sacred stillness of the Bright Silver Emperor's inheritance realm, the air atop the 999th step suddenly thickened, turning into a pressurized vortex of golden and purple energy.
BOOM!
A thunderous resonance erupted from Shen Haoran's chest, the sound of a spiritual gate being blown off its hinges as the Dragon Core within him spun with frantic, celestial speed, pulling in the ambient silver starlight and refining it into the domineering Qi of the Shen Clan.
In that singular moment of enlightenment and compression, his cultivation surged, breaking through the bottlenecks to reach the 5th Stage of the Golden Core Realm.
He stood up slowly, his every movement radiating a calm, supreme grace as he patted the invisible dust from his white-and-gold robes, his eyes scanning the silver mist.
He could feel the law of diminishing returns taking hold; the crushing pressure of the Imperial Steps, which had once acted as a magnificent forge for his Infinity Dragon God Divine Physique, was now little more than a mild weight.
His body had already gained a permanent resistance to this level of gravity.
This training was now no longer useful, but still, it did help him increase his strength, the Heaven Dou Academy is truly way too generous right?
"Congratulations once more, Young Master," the spirit of Lei Yin appeared, his spectral form slightly more stable but still bowing his head in a gesture of profound, involuntary respect. "To advance two stages within the Golden Core realm in such a short timespan... your talent is truly a calamity for your enemies."
Haoran ignored the praise, his gaze fixed on the center of the altar. "How much longer until she finishes inheriting your legacy?"
He was staring at Xueli. She was suspended in the air, curled into a protective fetal position, her body was wreathed in a cocoon of silver light, making her look more regal.
The powers of the Bright Silver Emperor was weaving her body together, reconstructing her meridians and soul into something the Eastern Region had never seen before.
"It should be within this week, Young Master," Lei Yin replied, his voice a melodic whisper. "The reconstruction of her bloodline is almost complete, and she is now currently in the final stage of soul-tempering."
"I see," Haoran murmured, his golden eyes reflecting the swirling silver light. "Then I shall wait for one more week."
He didn't mind the delay. For a cultivator of his caliber, a week was but a blink of an eye, a moment of meditation in the grand river of time.
He settled back onto the summit, not to cultivate, but to observe, watching the birth of a new power.
And for Haoran, the investment of time was worth every penny; he was not just waiting for a follower, but for a weapon that he had personally helped forge.