Limitless - Chapter 14: Wolf Fangs

Chapter 14: Wolf Fangs

The entire Black Tiger Gang was murdered?!

Xie Xiaotian did not need to ask who the perpetrators were. Other than the Chu Clan, there was no one else capable of this.

In the many years that the Black Tiger Gang roamed the streets of Qi Lu, they made their fair share of enemies, but they have always been relatively carefree.

Even though Fang Hu, the gang leader, was a peasant by birth, he had gradually risen to the upper castes over the past few years. They had dealings with many of the influential clans, including the Xies.

The Black Tiger Gang grew steadily and it eventually became Qi Lu’s biggest and most influential gang.

For a gang with such power and influence to be snuffed out in such a short time seemed impossible to many people.

It was more unbelievable that the Northern Chu Clan was behind this.

In the eyes of many, the Northern Chu Clan did not have such capabilities!

Even though they were extremely powerful in the North, they were not nearly as strong in other territories.

Yet, the truth had slapped all of them in the face!

The Northern Chu Clan was not only a pack of wolves in the North, they could roam as they pleased in Qi Lu.

They had travelled thousands of miles to hunt!

What shocked Xie Xiaotian was the speed with which the Chu Clan reacted!

The attempt on Chu Yu’s life on Mount Tai was just yesterday night, and the entire Black Tiger Gang was snuffed out tonight.

All within a day!

The Third Elder paled, much more than when he was treating Xie Tianyu just now, his face completely devoid of colour.

As an elder of one of the Underworld Clans that entered into the New Era, he was keenly aware that on the surface, the murder of the entire Black Tiger Gang by the Chu Clan was to avenge the attempt on Chu Yu, yet, it was actually a warning to the Xie Clan!

It was also a warning to all the other Underworld Clans!

This is the fate that will befall anyone who dares to touch a member of the Chu Clan!

Through this incident, the Northern Chu Clan had finally revealed those icy and ferocious fangs.

By now, in the eyes of many, the Chu Clan was no longer just Wolves in the North, they were a true pack of wolves!

Xie Xiaotian’s emotions could only be likened to a thousand alpacas passing over his heart.

He was shocked and furious!

Anyone who could enter this room was considered an elite of the Xie Clan. They quickly realised the severity of the issue at hand.

Just now, their two leaders were just talking about apologising to Chu Yu. That thought was now long gone.

Not many people knew that the Black Tiger Gang was a Xie Clan asset. Even though it wasn't fully subordinate to them, they were not far off.

The snuffing out of the Black Tiger Gang by the Chu Clan was akin to slapping the Xie Clan in the face.

How could the Xie Clan still apologise to a member of the Chu Clan at a time like this?

If they did so, everyone in the Xie Clan would not be able to face society anymore.

As the leader, his ability to make decisions to kill was ingrained in him. After hearing the news, he made his decision.

Looking at the Third Elder, he commanded, "Gather everyone in the group, surround and kill Chu Yu and retrieve Xiao Yue... kill anyone who stands in our way!"

Third Elder nodded, his eyes beaming, "I'll contact them right away!"

Xie Xiaotian looked to Xie Lu, "Xiao Lu, gather some men and begin to sweep the Chu Clan’s businesses in Yan Jing. Prepare to take over all of their assets!"

Xie Lu hesitated briefly, "What about the authorities..."

Xie Xiaotian replied confidently, "this is business between clans."

Xie Lu nodded, "I understand, I'll get to it right away." She turned and stepped out the door.

Third Elder also led everyone else out of the room.

Xie Xiaotian was left alone in the room.

After thinking for a few minutes, he picked up his phone and dialled.

The other party picked up quickly, but remained silent. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Xie Xiaotian’s tone immediately became extremely respectful, "Elder Su, apologies for disturbing you so late at night. It's about Xiao Yue... Xiao Yue is fine, but she got cheated by someone tonight..."

After he hung up, a cold iciness flashed across his eyes as he murmured, "Chu Clan, you may be the Wolves of the North, full of savagery. However, I would like to see how you can deal with Qing Qiu!"

Xie Xiaotian had no idea that immediately after his conversation, Xiao Yue received a phone call.

Xiao Yue was extremely calm and easygoing. She was not easily unsettled, even when in strangers’ houses.

She was not yet asleep when her phone rang. In fact, she was deeply engrossed, watching an animated movie with Lord Thief.

She frowned when she saw who the caller was, but she picked up the phone anyways.

"Mm, yes, I’m no longer at his place, yes, there was a little incident. I’ll explain another time. Nope, I came over willingly. He said that he could cure my illness. Yes, I told him that I would kill him if he dared lie to me. Hmm? Then you all should not participate, and I won’t go back. Ok, I understand."

After Xiao Yue got off the phone, she said faintly, "Chu Yu, a group from the Xie Clan is coming to kill you."

Chu Yu’s voice reply came from upstairs, "Ok, I got it."

Lord Thief asked, a look of guilt on its face, "Are the people coming powerful?"

Xiao Yue looked at it, "Extremely" was her reply.

Lord Thief was spooked immediately, "Then we should escape quickly!"

"Why should we run?" Xiao Yue asked.

"If we don’t run, are we just to sit around here awaiting death? It goes without saying that these people are trying to take revenge for the person earlier tonight. I was the one who hit him, what am I waiting for if I don’t run now?" Lord Thief said righteously, without any realisation how much he sounded like a coward.

Chu Yu stood upstairs and said flatly, "If you run now, you can forget about ever coming back."

"Hehe, brother, I was just kidding. Am I such a cowardly bird? We are good brothers, we stick together through thick and thin!"

Even though Lord Thief put on a brave front, its eyes were scanning the room, looking for a good place to hide.

Xiao Yue looked at Lord Thief blankly before turning to Chu Yu, "I suggest you find a place to hide."

Just at this moment, a pleasant female voice was heard, "He doesn’t need to hide!"

With a whizz, Lord Thief flew to the refrigerator in the corner to hide.

Following which, the door was opened by someone with a key, and Lin Shimeng’s tall silhouette could be seen walking through.

Four elders followed behind her, their spiritual energy causing everyone to feel slightly stifled.

Upon entering, their gazes fixed immediately on Lord Thief hiding in the corner.

Being expert martial artists themselves, they were very sensitive towards spiritual energies. Upon entering the room, they could tell that this was an extraordinary bird.

Furthermore, Lord Thief did not have Chu Yu’s ability to hide his powers. His spiritual energy was easily felt by anyone of equal or higher cultivation.

When Lord Thief realized its cover was blown, it looked to Chu Yu nervously, "Chu Yu, who are they? Are they here to catch me? You have to stand up for me! Everything that I did today was for you!"

Lin Shimeng looked at the sparrow expressionlessly, wondering to herself how did Chu Yu find himself such an extraordinary pet. If not for the many witnesses pinning tonight’s attack on the bird, she would not believe that a bird with such weird spiritual energies could be capable of injuring Xie Tianyu with its wings.

Lin Shimeng looked at Chu Yu, who was walking down the steps. "Don’t fear, if the Xie Clan wants to get to you, they’ll have to defeat me first!" She said, her expression serious.

As Lin Shimeng, she paid extra attention to Xiao Yue, who was sitting in the corner.

Xiao Yue was still enjoying her animated movie, without any care for what was going on here, almost as if it did not concern her.

Chu Yu smiled, then cupped his fist in a show of respect, "Pleased to meet you!"

"Spare the courtesy master Chu, this is our duty."

The four elders returned Chu Yu’s greeting, their tone courteous.

Seeing as they were extremely powerful and here to help, Lord Thief perked up and flew to Chu Yu’s shoulder in an instant.

The palm sized sparrow perched arrogantly on Chu Yu’s shoulder.

"No matter who comes today, I will ensure that they will not return home!"

This stunned the others, "..."

Chu Yu’s phone rang that instant and he picked it up, "Brother."

From the other end, a solemn voice could be heard, "Do not fear, little brother."

Chu Yu smiled.

"Elder brother, I am not scared."

"Our people have already intercepted them. I am relieved to hear that Lin Shimeng is over there with you."

"Brother, please be careful." Chu Yu whispered into the phone.

"Rest assured, I am fine. Tonight’s battle will be tough, remember to stay safe. Other than your usual bodyguards, I have sent to other experts to protect you in the shadows."

Chu Yu sniffled, "Brother..."

"Come on, you’re all grown up, don’t start crying on me! Ok, that’s all for now. Remember, your safety is of utmost priority!" Chu Liang’s casual laughter came over the phone

Everyone in the room heard the exchange.

Lin Shimeng sighed and muttered to herself, "It seems that it would be a sleepless night in the capital."

"Where is the enemy? I will kill whoever comes!" Lord Thief squawked arrogantly.

Having heard from Chu Liang that the Xie Clan was going to be intercepted, the bird regained its arrogance.

Bam!

An icy gust of wind hit them from afar.

It was directed straight at Chu Yu, like and arrow.

Lord Thief squawked loudly and disappeared to the corner.

It stood atop the refrigerator, acting like a bird specimen.

Lin Shimeng and the four elders turned their gazes instantly towards the fallen window, looking to the horizon. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

From afar, a silhouette rushed towards them at a speed faster than the speed of sound!

His chilling, murderous aura was locked on Chu Yu!

One of the elders said solemnly, "We will go out to meet him!"

Lin Shimeng nodded, "Be extra careful!"

Limitless - Chapter 13: Xie Clan

 Chapter 13: Xie Clan

The middle aged matriarch was not a quintessential b*tch with long hair and no foresight. As the wife of Xie Xiaotian, she was from a reputable underworld clan.

She had immense elegance and excellent temperament.

Her son was the only person in the world who could cause her to be this flustered.

Having been slapped, tears were forming on the edges of her eyes. She was humiliated and did not speak.

Xie Xiaotian looked to his sides and said solemnly, "Bring the missus to the room to rest."

Two girls stepped forward and supported the matriarch out of the hall.

Xie Xiaotian looked at the Xie Lu, as well as the Third Elder and some others before saying, "Come with me, all of you."

In the other room, Xie Xiaotian sat there with the Third Elder. The others stood around, not daring to make a sound.

A pin drop silence descended upon the room.

After a moment of silence, Xie Xiaotian nodded at Xie Lu, "Speak."

"Yes sir." Xie Lu nodded obediently, and began to narrate the story that resulted in the hatred between Xie Tianyu and Chu Yu.

"Lin Shimeng was born into a large underworld clan. She had trained in a technique known as the Sutra of Internal Reflection..."

Xie Xiaotian did not like to interrupt others, but he was shocked by this revelation. He took a deep breath and looked at Xie Lu, "Sutra of Internal Reflection?"

Xie Lu nodded and whispered, "I'm not too sure what is so mystical about that cultivation method, I've never heard of it before."

"Of course you've never heard of it before... This is a legacy method passed down from thousands of years ago, meant specially to cultivate the internal organs." Xie Xiaotian murmured.

"I'm sorry master, I, I had no idea that this was so important..." Xie Lu’s expression betrayed her fear.

Even though they have assimilated into society, many of these ancient underworld clans and gangs retained many of their ancient practices.

For example, their greetings as well as their... distinctive hierarchical concepts!

Xie Lu was a talent that Xie Xiaotian cultivated from young. Other than the fact that she had average looks, she was relatively stellar in almost every other aspect.

By placing her at Xie Tianyu’s side, she could serve two purposes. Firstly, she could aid him and secondly, she could gather intel on him for Xie Xiaotian.

Xie Lu had performed well all this while, and Xie Xiaotian regarded her highly. Yet, to Xie Lu, she regarded Xie Xiaotian with awe and deference.

"I don’t blame you." Xie Xiaotian encouraged, "Please continue"

Having heard the words Sutra of Internal Reflection, Xie Xiaotian finally understood why Xie Tianyu wanted to kill Chu Yu.

Yet, he had no idea how Xie Tianyu knew about this Sutra.

Cultivation techniques at the level of the Sutra of Internal Reflection were closely guarded secrets. They would not even be shared between husband and wife!

Lin Shimeng’s tutors would have never allowed it to happen.

There were rules guarding the spread of cultivation techniques. For the clans and sects of the underworld, their cultivation techniques were even more closely guarded secrets.

Yet, if he was able to get together with Lin Shimeng, there was a chance that Xie Tianyu could have gotten his hands on the technique.

Xie Lu nodded, then continued, "At various high end receptions, Lin Shimeng and Chu Yu gave off the vibe that they were a couple. Yet, they have been this way since their childhood. Anyone who dared mock Chu Yu would be ruthlessly subdued by Lin Shimeng. Even if she couldn’t beat them, she would not give up. As a result, if Chu Yu did not die, there was no chance for anyone else to get close to her." noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Xie Xiaotian nodded, then scrunched his eyebrows, deep in thought. He sighed, "This child... is still too young!"

Third Elder nodded slightly in agreement, sighing as well.

Xie Lu looked at Xie Xiaotian in confusion.

Xie Xiaotian laughed bitterly, "How could someone who would inherit the Sutra of Internal Reflection get close to uncultivable trash like Chu Yu? Even if they are childhood friends, they would still be... impossible!"

Third Elder replied, "There is a 90% probability that Chu Yu... is being used as a shield. Alternatively, he knew that he was being used, and was doing it for Ms Lin willingly."

Xie Lu was clever. She understood what was being said immediately, her expression showing that she was deep in thought.

After which she replied, "The reason why young master sent people to kill Chu Yu today... is because Lin Shimeng told him that if he tried to harm Chu Yu again, she would not let him off."

The Third Elder sighed, "Even if Lin Shimeng was just using Chu Yu has her shield, they would have some emotional connection. Then again, it could be this attitude of hers that triggered Tianyu."

Xie Xiaotian nodded in agreement, he knew his son best.

Xie Xiaotian looked towards Xie Lu, "Please, continue."

"Ok." Xie Lu nodded, "Young master felt that Chu Yu was an obstacle to him, and prepared to dispose of Chu Yu secretly, choosing to work with the Black Tiger Gang of Qi Lu. He had plans to keep himself out of the picture, but yet the leader of the Black Tiger Gang, Fang Hu, was not easy to deal with. In giving orders to his subordinates, he had exposed Young Master’s involvement. If not for that, tonight’s incidents may have been avoided."

The Third Elder replied flatly, "The risk is shared equally, self-preservation is still the priority. The Northern Chu Clan is not a faction that the his Black Tiger Gang can trifle with."

Xie Xiaotian nodded in agreement, "The Black Tiger Gang... is still useful."

Xie Lu continued to narrate the two events of today, after which, a sense of quiet came over the room.

After a long pause, the Third Elder spoke slowly, "If that is the case, Chu Yu has a pet with the power of Acupoint Charging Stage Seven by his side? Was that the same bird that killed five of our men today? So, was this the bird that... protected him on Mount Tai?"

Xie Lu nodded, "It seems that way, for now."

Xie Xiaotian looked at Xie Lu, "You’re saying that Chu Yu is still unable to engage in cultivation?"

Xie Lu nodded again, "Based on the information that we have on hand, there is nothing to prove that Chu Yu was faking it all along."

Xie Lu looked at Xie Xiaotian, "It is possible for someone to act like a ruined mess for a couple of years, but, 16 years... it’s very difficult in my opinion."

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

A youth in the room spoke, "Exactly, furthermore, during these 16 years, he was not hiding out in a secluded area. Everyone observing him would agree with the assessment that he was ruined."

Xie Lu continued, "Actually, his actions today tell us that he is someone with a bad temper. He does not bear grudges, but he also does not pick his battles. To be honest... I think that there is no reason to fear him, he is reckless but brainless."

The Third Elder nodded in agreement, "Exactly, if it were our guys, I’m afraid... we would not do things this way."

Xie Xiaotian said flatly, "Find a chance, kill him off, don’t leave any evidence behind."

Only he could have given such an order, after all, Tianyu was his son.

"If my guess is correct, this bird was recently acquired. Else, judging by his character, he would have flaunted it a long time ago." Xie Lu added.

Xie Xiaotian nodded in agreement, "Anything else?"

Xie Lu was just about to shake her head when she remembered, "Oh right, I forgot something. Ms Yue followed Chu Yu..."

"Hmm?" Xie Xiaotian’s eyebrows scrunched up in an instant.

This was the first time the whole night that Xie Xiaotian was this serious. Even with Tianyu injured and his cultivation advancement stymied, he was not as stern.

"Xiao Yue left?" The Third Elder stood up, his face filled with surprise.

Xie Lu felt as if she had made another mistake. At her level, the information she could access was extremely limited.

Many news within the Xie Clan were classified, and only elders and above were privy to such information.

For example, Xiao Yue, in the eyes of Xie Lu, was merely a pretty girl from an influential clan. Even though Xie Tianyu respected Xiao Yue, he had never made a fuss over it.

Xie Lu could not understand why Xiao Yue’s departure caused the two leaders to lose their composure.

"Yes, yes exactly. Chu Yu said that Xiao Yue was sick, and that he could cure her, so Xiao Yue left with him." Xie Lu added.

"That simple?" everyone present was shocked speechless.

"Damn it!" Xie Xiaotian’s face turned ugly in an instant. He grit his teeth, "What if... the Northern Chu Clan also knows about her identity?"

The Third Elder shook his head, "That shouldn’t be the case..."

Xie Xiaotian crossed his hands behind his back and paced back and forth, as if deciding on the next course of action.

After a while, Xie Xiaotian looked to the Third Elder, "Tomorrow, prepare a substantial gift. We shall go... to apologise to Chu Yu! Afterwards, we must invite Xiao Yue back!"

Third Elder nodded in agreement, "This is the only course of action as things are."

Xie Lu and the others in the room looked stunned, their tongues twisted.

The leader of the Xie Clan, as well as the Third Elder... were going to apologise to someone from a different clan caste?

All in order to get back a girl who seemed to be of importance to them?

Xiao Yue... what exactly is her true identity?

However, if Xie Xiaotian and the Third Elder did not elaborate, they did not dare to probe. Yet, this had already set off many questions in their minds.

The incidents of tonight may have already spread to the entire Yan Jing city, maybe even the entire mainland.

If both the leader and the Third Elder of the Xie Clan were to apologise to Chu Yu with gifts... how was the Xie Clan ever going to be able to find a foothold in society after this?

They could not bring themselves to believe that their leaders had not considered these consequences. This made their decision all the more puzzling, and harder to stomach.

Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door.

Xie Xiaotian frowned slightly and whispered, "Come in."

A young gentleman opened the door and reported, "Sir, there has been trouble, the Black Tiger Gang of Qi Lu... the leader Fang Hu has been killed, and the entire Black Tiger Gang, from top to bottom, has been murdered!" noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"What!" shock overcoming Xie Xiaotian.

Everyone in the room was also shocked to the point of speechlessness.

True Martial World - Chapter 25: Self-mutilating Cultivation

Yi Yun spent a whole night refining the desolate bone, but he could not absorb the energy within the desolate bone without inhibitions.

Yi Yun realized that there was a limit to his absorption before he felt a feeling of fullness. Just like when eating a meal, there would be a point where one couldn't eat anymore.

If he carried on absorbing the energy, he would feel a turbulent flow of energy within his body, making his body feel numb.

At this point, Yi Yun felt full of strength, and needed to vent it.

He couldn't wait to go up to the mountains to cultivate!

After arduously waiting till dawn, the day shift came to swap out Yi Yun. Yi Yun raced to the back mountains. He had originally jogged at a slow speed to the mountain entrance, but when there was no one around, he began to run like the wind!

He was like an agile antelope. A simple jump covered five to six meters.

A three-meter high boulder was bypassed with a leap, and a five-meter-tall tree was crossed through the middle.

Yi Yun was not running, but appeared like he was flying while sticking to the ground! The mountain terrain was complex, but under Yi Yun's keen senses, no terrain was an obstacle for Yi Yun.

He ran to the top of the mountain and descended from the other side down a valley to reach the back of the mountain.

During this period, Yi Yun had not rested once. While travelling, he maintained a constant deep breathing pace. His heart was beating at a constant frequency, slow, but strong!

After running for an hour, Yi Yun finally stopped. Even after such a long run, his face hadn't turned red and his pulse was still normal. Running was also a form of cultivation. After running far enough, Yi Yun stopped and enjoyed the sweat from the run.

This location was the furthest away from the village and it was safe. Any further, he would go beyond the protection of the wonderland, and he could encounter behemoths and desolate beasts.

At Yi Yun's present strength, he was doomed if he met a desolate beast.

The vegetation was not rich here. A few patches of black rocks littered the ground.

This was black ironstone. Black ironstone was as heavy as steel, and was several times stronger than normal rocks. Even the, moss which could break rocks, could not sprout on the black ironstone.

The place where Yi Yun was standing was a flat area below a cliff. It was about thirty meters in diameter.

Above the cliff was a waterfall. Numerous droplets of water danced and flew in the air currents, catching the sun and creating rainbows in the mist. This scenery would have been a fascinating tourist attraction on Earth.

The waterfall was not considered wide, but the vertical drop was high. It was more than a hundred meters. The turbulent water flow continued its relentless assault downwards, producing a rumble that could be heard from a distance. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Yi Yun chose this cultivation location previously, precisely for the waterfall.

Yi Yun took a deep breath and circulated the energy within his body. His tough training was about to begin again.

In an isolated mountain wilderness without anyone in a radius that spanned about a dozen kilometers, Yi Yun practiced each "Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist" stance.

There was no lack of boulders at the back of the mountain. Yi Yun had specifically chosen a flat piece of ground with black ironstone.

Yi Yun stood in front of the black ironstone and started sending punches at it!

How could mere fists made of flesh and blood break apart such lifeless black ironstone?

Yi Yun gritted his teeth.

One punch, two punches, three punches...ten punches, twenty punches!

He used all his strength in every punch!

The first few punches resulted in bruised fists. The pain was heart-wrenching as his fists turned bloody. Finally, as the punches flew, his joints began to rattle.

The pain traveled from his fingers to his heart. It was an indescribable pain but Yi Yun gritted his teeth and endured through it. His face was drenched in sweat. His lips turned white as his face turned pale!

Only when the surface of his fists was nearly reduced to bone did Yi Yun stop.

Following that, he began kicking the boulder. He did so till his legs were covered in bruises, allowing him to barely stand. After a breather, Yi Yun began hitting the boulder with his shoulders and back!

Yi Yun used every possible part he could use, but he was eventually still unable to do anything to the black ironstone; instead, his body was filled with cuts and bruises.

Pain!

Yi Yun rested on the ground. His body was out of strength, and even his vision had blurred.

He focused on his breathing, and followed the theories of the "Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist" technique to circulate his energy.

This was a self-mutilating cultivation method that Yi Yun did not dare to try previously.

However, a few hours ago, Yi Yun had eaten his fill of the Frost Python's desolate bone energy.

The energy contained within desolate bones was called the Power of Desolates; it was a great gift to any cultivator!

Compared to the Power of Desolates, the herbal essence in the Lian Clan Herb Mountain was trivial.

Even a hundred-year-old herb would be lacking.

With the support from the Power of Desolates, only then did Yi Yun dare to proceed with such self-mutilating practice.

This practice was recorded as the Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist's "Tiger Claws Smite Rocks", a method to train the bones.

Using the boulder to smite his bones was a tremendously painful and difficult process. It was impossible without strong perseverance.

Even with perseverance, he had to have the resources to support it.

If not, one could end up disabled instead of having the bones trained.

Because of limited resources, the members of the warrior preparation camp did not dare to attempt Tiger Claws Smite Rocks.

Only the gifted in the large tribes could withstand such injuries through the consumption of desolate beast meat and soaking in desolate beast blood.

The Power of Desolates rapidly circulated within Yi Yun's body. His wounds began to itch, indicating the recovery of his wounds.

The desolate bones were indeed top notch. Together with the Purple Crystal's purification; the energy used to heal his body was at a tremendous speed, visible to the naked eye!

The method used by "Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist" to train one's bones, letting the Power of Desolates to heal those wounds was a cultivation method similar to iron forging.

The method of forging swords was to repeatedly hit a steel sword when hot to forge a peerless sword!

Yi Yun's current practice was similar to the forging of a sword.

He treated his body as the raw steel and the black ironstone as the anvil. Through repeated hits, he forged his body as a form of cultivation!

After resting for six hours, Yi Yun felt that he had recovered. There were scabs on his hands, so it did not affect his movements.

Yi Yun wrapped his wounds with cloth, and without any hesitation dived into the waterfalls!

"Splash!"

The water smashed into his body, like a thousand-pound jackhammer!

Under the waterfall was a deep plunge basin!

From the perennial impact from the waterfall, the plunge basin was of an unknown depth. From land, the plunge basin was emerald green in color with no obvious bottom.

This was the deepest water body Yi Yun could find in the vicinity of the Lian tribal clan grounds.

Yi Yun was practicing another stance of the "Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist"—"Dragon Dancing in Vast Water"!

In actual fact, "Dragon Dancing in Vast Water" was not cultivated this way. The vast water referred to the ocean, but there was no ocean in the vast wilderness. Yi Yun could only use the plunge basin of a waterfall.

"Dragon Dancing in Vast Water" was a technique to train a body's internal organs.

The more Yi Yun practiced "Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist", the more he understood its subtleties.

A warrior's strength and energy was easily cultivated. But it was much harder to cultivate the tendons, bones and internal organs.

In the stances of the "Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist", a warrior could cultivate his tendons through "Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain" by pulling his tendons like a bowstring, strengthening them tremendously.

Using "Tiger Claws Smite Rocks", he could train the bones like steel being forged repeatedly.

As for the cultivation of organs, it was even harder. Organs were incomparable to tendons, as a warrior could not easily control his organs for training.

So the creator of "Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist" had come up with the method of "Dragon Dancing in Vast Water".

"Dragon Dancing in Vast Water" required a practitioner to jump into the ocean and reach a depth of two hundred meters with one breath. The pressure at that depth was extremely high, enough to burst the eardrums and the organs of people!

The water pressure would exert itself on a person's organs. Under prolonged periods of such pressure, a person's organs would become even tougher!

Yi Yun took a deep breath and jumped down into the deep depths of the plunge basin while grabbing a heavy rock!

True Martial World - Chapter 24: Frost Toxin

These cold-blue light dots accounted for a small proportion, but it made Yi Yun feel a mysterious bone-biting chill.

Yi Yun was familiar with this chilling feeling. He had felt it when he passed by the refinement area while descending the mountain. He remembered it clearly because it was just after his breakthrough into the Vigor realm.

The cold-blue light dots floated in the sky like specters.

Occasionally a light dot would leave the cauldron and dance in the air randomly before entering one of the men's bodies.

Just like snowflakes falling into the water, these light dots would then disappear.

Yi Yun could not detect the light dot after that; the light dot had been absorbed by one of the men's body.

Yi Yun's heart skipped a beat. He vaguely understood that the cold-blue light dots were the cause of the typhoid fever epidemic.

He quietly observed for a while and realized that the cold-blue light dots would randomly fly out of the cauldron before entering the bodies of the men. The men were busy chopping wood, and did not notice a thing.

Yi Yun was more assured of his speculation. The purplish-red energy would not fly into the bodies of people. On the contrary, they would remain in the "Li Fire Water".

It was apparent that the desolate bone had two forms of energy, the purplish-red energy was beneficial to a person, causing a person to transform and allowing a person to break through. On the other hand, the cold-blue energy was an invisible killing force!

The energy was toxic. Although it sounded iffy, it wasn't out of the ordinary.

On Earth, there were plenty of energies that had "toxicity". One such example was the Sun. It was only after being filtered through the ozone was the sunlight able to give life to Earth. Humans would have died from the direct sunlight bearing down on them.

On Earth, the most frightening elements had "toxic" energy, such as radioactive Polonium. It killed Arafat, who used to appear often on the news.

If one were to use Polonium to kill, a gram would be sufficient to kill millions. A few hundred grams was enough to kill all life on Earth, making it much stronger than the common "poisonous" items.

In Yi Yun's opinion, the blue light dots were similar in nature to energy, and using "toxic" to describe it may have been inaccurate. However, it was sufficient to understand them as having the capability to kill. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Just like on Earth, being exposed to radiation will cause cancer, ulcers and various illnesses. In the vast wilderness, absorbing the desolate bone's chill toxin would cause "typhoid", resulting in deaths.

"Then wouldn’t I be in danger by being here?" thought Yi Yun. He wasn't guarding a cauldron; he was guarding a nuclear reactor!

Thinking carefully, there were plenty of things that were completely different from Earth, but there were similarities.

In terms of energy, the strongest energy on Earth could create atomic bombs or provide nuclear energy.

But in this world, the strongest energy was used to create the strongest experts!

These experts could topple the mountains and overturn the seas. A flip of hand would destroy a city!

These two forms of energy could result in terrible destruction. If not used properly, it would be toxic to the common people!

Thankfully, Yi Yun controlled the treasure that could harness the energy in this world—Purple Crystal.

"But can the Purple Crystal deal with this energy..." Yi Yun tried using the Purple Crystal to absorb the blue light dots. Since he could see the blue light dots, he should be able to absorb them with the Purple Crystal...

As Yi Yun prepared to absorb the first blue light dot, Yi Yun breathed in deeply and reached out his hand carefully. His heart raced, but he finally rationalized that even if the Purple Crystal could not absorb the form of energy, he wouldn't die immediately from one light dot.

The blue light dot entered Yi Yun's body.

Yi Yun felt it clearly. The light dot flew into his fingertips like an ice crystal, and then entered his bloodstream.

"It's so cold!" This was Yi Yun's first thought. It was like having a huge piece of ice stuffed down his collar during winter.

It was weird that he felt it so profoundly, but the other men did not feel it at all. Their bodies were not as fit as him, so they shouldn't be able to resist the cold as much.

It seems they have slow reactionary speeds, and are not able to feel the biting cold. However, their bodies will not lie, once they are invaded by the frost toxin, they would slowly lose their strength. If not for the red pill that was given to them from the Lian tribal clan’s upper echelon, they would already be dead?

Yi Yun traced the blue light dot that entered his body. It was eventually absorbed and dissolved by the Purple Crystal into energy that mixed into Yi Yun's blood.

When the energy flowed through Yi Yun's body, that biting chill had already disappeared, and it gave Yi Yun a cool refreshing feeling.

It was comfortable as if he was soaking in aquatic springs.

This made Yi Yun more curious. What sort of treasure was the Purple Crystal? It could absorb all forms of energy, even harmful energy like the blue light dots from the desolate bone and the Yuan Qi Lian Chengyu had used on him. The Purple Crystal would reduce those forms of energy to the purest form of energy to nourish his body.

Yi Yun was not aware of the fact that in the vast wilderness, many desolate bones contained toxic energies. The Frost Python desolate bone's toxin was one of the lowest grades. A low level Desolate Heaven Master could easily dissolve the toxicity. Hence, a toxicity of this level was nothing to the Purple Crystal.

After really absorbing it, Yi Yun realized the effect was not significant.

The Purple Crystal could indeed absorb the blue light dots, but the absorbing speed was extremely slow, far more difficult than absorbing the purplish-red light dots.

"Kid, what are you doing!"

Yi Yun was carefully researching the differences between the two types of energy when he heard a man shout at him. In the eyes of others, Yi Yun was just idling.

One of the men who wanted to be the "foreman" of the group naturally could not stand Yi Yun's laziness.

"Uh..." Yi Yun replied with a smile, "Sorry uncle, this axe is too heavy..."

"Hmph!"

With a 'I knew you wouldn't amount to much' look, the man responded, "I really don't know what the top brass were thinking, to send a kid to refine the desolate bone, holding me back! The useless kid I have, Da Tou is about the same age as you. His strength is twice yours!"

Not to mention Yi Yun's age, but even among his peers, the past Yi Yun's body was extremely thin and lacked strength.

In the vast wilderness, the people worshiped the strong. They were proud of the big and tall men who had dark rough skin.

A handsome person like Yi Yun who had smooth skin was considered "ridden with ills". Such a person was not popular.

"I'm really sorry uncle. I didn't only hold you back; I even hit your balls. I'll work hard in the future." Yi Yun was still smiling. The man was good at doing hard labor, but his reaction was slow. He had not realized what Yi Yun had just said. He only grunted before returning to work while swearing.

Yi Yun began to split the firewood at an adequate pace. To avoid trouble, he increased his speed by a tiny bit. It took him five minutes of hard work, amounting to ten chops to split a piece of firewood.

He had to stay in line with his status.

At the same time, no one noticed that the purplish-red energy churning in the cauldron were flying towards Yi Yun.

As for the cold-blue energy, Yi Yun also absorbed as much as he could. He felt that if he could absorb the blue energy, the men around him would not die.

Unfortunately, the Purple Crystal was not highly effective in absorbing the blue energy. Small amounts of energy were still entering the bodies of the men around him.

Yi Yun had mixed feeling seeing this. Although these people weren't pleasant, they did not deserve to die. However, he was unable to save them.

If he revealed the truth, the men would not only disbelieve him, they might even report him as rumor mongering to Lian Chengyu for a reward of bacon.

These people were definitely capable of doing that. Yi Yun's situation would have been terrible if that happened.

In the vast wilderness, the weak had to accept their own suffering. There was no other way around it.

Just like pigs, cattle, and sheep, they did nothing wrong, but were kept in captivity and slaughtered by humans.

The only reason was their weakness. And in the vast wilderness, being weak was a fault! Being weak made you unable to decide your own fate. Being weak allowed you be trampled on...

True Martial World - Chapter 23: Yi Yun’s Elixir Refinement

"So I can refine the desolate bone?" asked Yi Yun.

Lian Chengyu made a silent acknowledgement. It was so pitiful seeing a person live a life where he was so happy to be sent to his death.

"Thank you Young Master." Yi Yun was very happy. This was not faked, for he was truly happy. He had originally thought Lian Chengyu would go crazy and pat him a few more times after seeing him alive to ensure his death.

Although Lian Chengyu's methods would not harm Yi Yun, it would result in many implications.

Lian Chengyu might have mistaken it for an error for failing to kill Yi Yun the first time, but he would realize it if there was a second time. For Yi Yun, that was not good news.

Yi Yun's goal to refine the desolate bone was fulfilled by Lian Chengyu.

Refining the desolate bone gave Yi Yun time to breathe. Yi Yun's strength increased exponentially rates, so things would no longer be the same in two months!

"Yun-er, why aren't you coming home to eat?" Jiang Xiaorou had finished preparing the meal and had come out to look for Yi Yun. But she saw Yi Yun speaking to Lian Chengyu the moment she came out the door.

Jiang Xiaorou instantaneously felt worried. Lian Chengyu had previously harmed Yi Yun grievously, and had almost taken his life!

She walked over quickly, afraid that Lian Chengyu would harm Yi Yun.

Although Jiang Xiaorou hated Lian Chengyu to the bone, she knew she could not lose decorum with him.

"I see, it's Young Master Lian." Jiang Xiaorou smiled wryly after seeing Lian Chengyu as she pulled Yi Yun behind her.

"Oh? Jiang Xiaorou I remember you." Noticing Jiang Xiaorou's actions, Lian Chengyu frowned. This girl was still hostile towards himself!

Lian Chengyu disliked having the poor plebeians of the Lian tribal clan show any disrespect to him. It was a result of an inferiority complex within him under all the larger powers, so he aimed to establish his authority among the poor who could not compare to himself.

But Jiang Xiaorou was considered a woman he admired, so he was more tolerant of her. He would slowly tame her.

Lian Chengyu left. Although he admired Jiang Xiaorou, he did not giver her any attention, nor say one word more to her. He was an elite. He was like an emperor who only visited, but never chased. He just needed to wait for Jiang Xiaorou to reach a desperate situation and get Zhao Tiezhu to deal with her.

Jiang Xiaorou looked at Lian Chengyu's back as she clenched Yi Yun's small hands, "Yun-er what was going on?"

"Nothing, Sis Xiaorou. You don't have to worry," answered Yi Yun.

Yi Yun was the one who told Jiang Xiaorou that Lian Chengyu had hurt him. Since Yi Yun assured her, Jiang Xiaorou eased up. These few days, she began to vaguely feel that her brother was no longer the mere child he was. He had his own ideas.

But Jiang Xiaorou began to think before she felt something amiss, "Yun-er, you can't be thinking of refining the desolate bone? You can't go to that place!"

Yi Yun looked at Jiang Xiaorou in surprise. Jiang Xiaorou's keen intuition was surprising. Though she didn't know what mysteries the refinement process had, she had figured that it was a dangerous job.

Yi Yun thought it over before saying softly, "Sis Xiaorou, I'm not as weak as you think. Having come back from the dead, I think I'm different from the past…Don't you remember me climbing up the twenty-meter-tall cliffs a few days ago?"

With Yi Yun saying that, Jiang Xiaorou recalled. She was astonished at Yi Yun's speed while he climbed up the cliff, but she accepted it because Yi Yun liked to climb and pick herbs since he was young. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Thinking it through, Yi Yun was indeed more agile. He was much better at scaling cliffs than most of the members of the warrior preparation camp.

With that in mind, Jiang Xiaorou felt reassured. Her brother was indeed different.

Sometimes, surviving a fatal situation could result in great fortune. Jiang Xiaorou had heard of people who were struck by lightning, and not only did they not die, they also obtained special abilities.

Could Yun-er be in a similar situation?

That night, Yi Yun as a new hire was brought to the grain-sunning grounds.

Wooden fences surrounded the grain-sunning grounds. Because of the "typhoid" incident, the wooden fences increased, preventing anyone from the outside to see in.

There were about thirty people split into two shifts involved in the refinement of the desolate bone.

Yi Yun was designated the night shift. There were about a dozen people for the night shift. Although these people were not as fit as the men from the warrior preparation camp, they were all large in size. Among them, Yi Yun was like a little chicken among swans. His height only reached their chests.

Seeing Yi Yun, the men were shocked. The reason for the stares was obvious, how did such a thin child get selected to refine the desolate bone?

Besides his strength, his height was so short that even he could not reach the mouth of the cauldron while standing on a stool. How would he be able to add the "Li Fire Water” into the cauldron?

"Lad, are you kidding me? A person like you can refine the bone?"

"What can you do with your little body? Your legs aren't even thicker than the firewood!"

All the men had strong views upon seeing Yi Yun. Yi Yun would be given a piece of bacon for not doing any work. They were unhappy about that.

Yi Yun did not bother speaking, and he sat by the pile of firewood, allowing them to speak as they wished.

"Time for porridge!" A man from the warrior preparation camp brought out a bucket of porridge. There was food provided for those who refined the desolate bone. This was a welfare the upper echelon gave to ensure the smooth refinement of the desolate bone. Only after eating would they have the strength to work.

Upon hearing that the porridge arrived, the men's eyes lit up and ran towards it.

With a brouhaha, the bucket of porridge was wiped empty. With Yi Yun at the back, together with how these people struggled and fought for the food, there was already none left for him.

Yi Yun felt helpless. The phrase—bad surroundings make bad civilians—had its logic. It wasn't because the people in bad surroundings were immoral, but being moral did not ensure their survival.

"Time to work! Work time!" The guys from the warrior preparation camp shouted.

A few men walked towards the big cauldron. It was time to replace the day shift.

Yi Yun straggled at the back. He walked slowly as he stared at the cauldron.

In the eyes of others, Yi Yun looked stunned by the huge bronze cauldron that was being licked by the purple flames. Indeed, the cauldron was huge. Yi Yun's height did not even reach the second handle of the cauldron.

In fact, Yi Yun's vision was filled with faint points of light. It looked like flying fireflies dancing in the night.

Such a mystical power! This was the energy of the desolate bone, and it was the legendary—Power of Desolates!

This endless stream of light dots excited Yi Yun. Previously, the Purple Crystal had absorbed some of the desolate bone’s energy, but he was standing far away, preventing him from absorbing much. It was unlike today, where he was in close contact with the desolate bone.

In comparison, the Purple Jade ginseng and the Black Fungus were incomparable to this. Like a person who was accustomed to eating plain food seeing a lavish meal, Yi Yun was extremely excited.

This was like a thief entering an emperor's tomb, or a weasel sneaking into a chicken coop!

All the energy of the desolate bone belonged to him.

"Kid, what are you idling for? Chop the firewood!" shouted a man before landing an axe in front of Yi Yun.

Yi Yun was awaked from his sluggish state, and happily proceeded to chopping wood.

"This lad has a brain problem!" swore the man. He also began busying himself. He and the others were in charge of chopping the firewood.

The firewood was the key to the fire source. It was extremely strong and heavy. A few strongmen had to work hard before they could cut up the purple firewood.

These men worked hard, because if they did well, they could be promoted to foreman, getting more bacon and food.

Yi Yun, though happy, did not get carried away. He knew the desolate bones refinement had something to do with the "typhoid" break out!

He wanted to investigate the cause of the typhoid breakout thoroughly. If the Purple Crystal could not resolve it, then no matter how great the rewards, Yi Yun would only run.

So as Yi Yun chopped the firewood without much purpose, he was carefully observing the red-hot bronze cauldron.

Slowly, Yi Yun realized the problem.

From the big cauldron flew out two differently colored light dots.

The first was purple in color. It was part of the main stream. It flew around aimlessly, and Yi Yun realized that if he focused, these light dots would fly towards him.

With the Purple Crystal merged with Yi Yun's heart, Yi Yun felt that he could now control the amount the Purple Crystal absorbed ever since he had broken through to the second level of Mortal Blood.

He could choose if he wanted to absorb it or not.

The other light dot was another color, icy blue…

True Martial World - Chapter 22: Recruitment

Early in the morning as the sun shined and mist rose from the woods…

The ancient vast wilderness welcomed a brand new day.

With the herb picking halted, Jiang Xiaorou was preparing breakfast while Yi Yun was chopping wood in the yard.

He did not use a hatchet, but was chopping them with his bare hands!

"Pa!" A clear loud snap rang. A clean cut separated the firewood into two.

Yi Yun looked at the two pieces of firewood and said to himself, "'Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist' when mastered can break a tree trunk into thin chopstick like pieces with bare hands in less than a minute. I wonder if I'll reach that point if I were to practice for another three months."

Yi Yun was deep in thought when he heard a noisy commotion from far.

Listening attentively, Yi Yun heard Zhao Tiezhu's voice: "People of the Lian tribal clan! Listen carefully! The Patriarch has issued an order to recruit ten strong men to refine the desolate bone. Those who are interested can sign up for it. They will be accepted on the basis of merit!"

Oh? Recruiting ten strong men to refine the desolate bone?

Yi Yun thought to himself. He had been thinking about the illness the villagers had contracted from refining the desolate bone for the past few days.

A large number of the sick were healed by a "miracle drug".

Something had to be amiss for them to recruit new strong men for the refinement.

With that thought, Yi Yun threw down his firewood and headed to the grain-sunning ground in the village.

From afar, Yi Yun could see Zhao Tiezhu shouting from an elevated height.

Many villagers were astonishe. The villagers who were responsible for the refinement of the desolate bone had received numerous benefits. Besides the miracle drug and the bacon, they were also given food subsidies.

Because of the desolate bone, there was extremely little food left in the Lian tribal clan. Being able to collect more food was what the villagers dreamed of.

"I'll sign up!"

"I'll sign up too!"

The people rushed towards Zhao Tiezhu to sign up, afraid that they were too late to be in line.

"I, Wang Dahu, is willing to refine the desolate bone! I'm a second tier male!"

A stout but sallow-skinned man due to malnutrition stood in front of Zhao Tiezhu. He looked at Zhao Tiezhu with hope in his eyes

"Second tier male…that would barely do…" Zhao Tiezhu scrutinized Wang Dahu with a picky glare.

Zhao Tiezhu did not know that the refinement process was fatal. It was a top secret in the Lian tribal clan, so to prevent the secret from leaking, only very few members of the upper echelon of the Lian tribal clan knew.

The other members of the warrior preparation camp did not know that the set of desolate bones contained a fatal frost Qi that would seep into their bodies and erode their lives away. Their fates would be eventually sealed when they died from organ failure.

So Zhao Tiezhu thought of the refinement process as a wondrous job.

Being given the authority to pick people to do such a wondrous job made Zhao Tiezhu complacent. The authority vested in him made many people look at him with a fawning look. Compliments rained on him.

Zhao Tiezhu was extremely picky with the people, "Wang Dahu, you stand by the side. You will be considered a substitute; it will be you if there's no one else more suited."

Hearing Zhao Tiezhu's words, Wang Dahu was delighted. He thanked Zhao Tiezhu incessantly before standing aside obediently.

"Oh? Liu Er, you're here to sign up too? For a person with weak legs, a gust of wind would blow you away! You have to know, that the refinement of the desolate bone requires you to chop firewood, man the fire, fan it daily from morning to night. Also the temperature around the cauldron is extremely high. Without sufficient fitness, you will faint straight away!"

Zhao Tiezhu impatiently waved his hand to chase away the scrawny Liu Er.

Lian Chengyu had handed down a mission of picking strong men. Picking weaklings was definitely not wanted.

One by one, the villagers rushed forward to sign up; however, more were chased away than those that remained.

Yi Yun monitored the situation nearby. He felt that there was something wrong with the desolate bone!

But, even if there was a problem, he still had to investigate it thoroughly.

It was because the desolate bone was very important to Yi Yun.

With the Lian Clan Herb Mountain picked dry, he needed plenty of energy and nourishment for his training. The grain porridge was insufficient.

"Oh? It's you!" Just as Yi Yun was thinking about his next step, he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.

The voice was deep and gentle, but Yi Yun's face changed the moment he heard it!

It was Lian Chengyu!

Wasn't Lian Chengyu in isolation? Based on Zhao Tiezhu's words, he was to be isolated for three months. Why was he out so early?

Yi Yun's original plan was to surpass Lian Chengyu by the time he left isolation three months later. At that point, it was unlikely that he needed to fear Lian Chengyu anymore. But now, Yi Yun had just begun practicing martial arts for seven days, and even if the Purple Crystal could defy fate, Yi Yun would not be able to defeat a Mortal Blood level five Lian Chengyu who had been practicing martial arts for ten years.

Yi Yun thought carefully of the circumstances. They didn't share any deep-seated hatred for each other. Lian Chengyu's attempted murder might have just been a matter of convenience. It was analogous to a person seeing a rat in the house. The person would kill it, but if he missed, he would not tear down his walls to chase it to death.

Yi Yun turned around having calmed his expression before meeting Lian Chengyu's eyes.

But upon seeing Lian Chengyu, he immediately showed fear, unsure of what he had to do.

"Young…Young Master Lian?"

Yi Yun retreated a few steps, as if he had been shocked by Lian Chengyu's sudden appearance.

Lian Chengyu frowned; this kid did not die?

His original attempted murder was indeed a matter of convenience. The main reason was the hatred he felt Yi Yun had for him. Lian Chengyu was afraid that the combination of the lack of food and the increased mortality during the critical stages of the refinement process would increase resentment in the villagers. He had the impression that Yi Yun, who could easily incite the villagers, would cause a riot due to Yi Yun's hatred for himself.

Lian Chengyu was pursuing the highest standards of martial arts, so as to be someone who could lord over millions. With this goal, he had the mentality of an emperor. A person of Yi Yun's stature was negligible. In order to prevent any potential danger; having Yi Yun dead was no big deal. Lian Chengyu had killed numerous after all. Besides, the desolate bone refinement alone would cause many deaths.

Since killing Yi Yun was a small matter, Lian Chengyu did not take it to heart. He had previously not verified Yi Yun's fate. It was only after he left his isolation that he was left puzzled when he discovered Yi Yun alive.

For a lowly poor person to not die under his attack, what could have happened? Were his own skills not enough?

"What are you doing here?" Lian Chengyu asked.

"Young Master, I heard that Lord Zhao was recruiting strong men to refine the desolate bones. I also heard that we could get bacon, so I was thinking of trying."

"Oh?" After hearing Yi Yun's words, Lian Chengyu's eyes burned with contempt. Yi Yun was only twelve, yet his words on the day of the ration distribution were unlike that of a twelve-year-old child. He also had the ability to incite the people to riot, making him an unstable factor in Lian Chengyu's calculations.

But now, Yi Yun looked like a kid. What could a person who only had eyes on bacon do?

Lian Chengyu could not be bothered with Yi Yun except for the mysterious failure to kill him.

"Since you want to refine the desolate bones, why don't you sign up? What are you doing out here?"

"To…To be honest, Lord Zhao only wants people who are at least second tier males, but for me…I…"

Yi Yun's voice lowered once he said that. It was as if he was ashamed of his tiny strength, and he was unable to say anything further.

Lian Chengyu's contempt in his eyes became clearer. This idiot, to think I thought so highly of him. That's right, he's just twelve, what sort of schemes could he have?

Lian Chengyu forgot that he too wasn't that old. He was only seventeen. Among the other seventeen year olds, he was the worldliest, but he was still a bit too young. He could never have dreamed that the twelve year old in front of him had the soul of an adult.

"Since you have the heart, and are willing to give your strength to the Lian tribal clan, I will not forbid it. Seeing how ambitious you are, you are a person worthy of grooming. I'll make an exception and give you a chance." noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Lian Chengyu gave Yi Yun a few words of "encouragement".

This retard can contribute a bit of strength, although he's a sickly kid, his fitness does not matter when using him to absorb the Frost toxin.

True Martial World - Chapter 21: Lian Chengyu exits Isolation

The Lian tribal clan's elders' compound late at night.

"Peng!" The door to the compound was pushed opened. A young man with a complexion as clear as jade walked out.

"Chengyu, why did you come out?" The Patriarch stood up the moment he saw the young man. Lian Chengyu had previously announced that he wanted to isolate himself till the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's warrior selection began.

Yet it had been less than a month before Lian Chengyu came out of isolation.

"My cultivation encountered some problems..." Lian Chengyu's expression didn't look good. He had planned to use two months to accumulate a strong base before using the desolate bone essence to break through to the Purple Blood realm!

By doing so, his fundamentals would be strong, and having accumulated sufficient strength, he would reach the peak of the beginning stages of the Purple Blood realm when he broke through into the Purple Blood realm. Among the others in the beginning stages of the Purple Blood realm, he would be able to keep his head up, and it would aid him in breaking through to an even higher realm in the future. It would be very beneficial!

Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's warrior selection was particular about a warrior's fundamentals and cumulative progress. If Lian Chengyu could meet all those requirements, he could get the recognition of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's officers during the warrior selection, and obtain excellent results.

However, the circumstances did not permit so. After picking the Lian Clan Herb Mountain dry, Lian Chengyu's cultivation had a slow development despite all the good herbs!

Lian Chengyu believed that he had met his bottleneck.

In fact, the attitude towards martial arts mattered most when in isolation. With a good attitude, strong confidence and perseverance, it would be easy to break though.

When in self-doubt, thinking that something was wrong with the cultivation process, such as hitting a bottleneck, would inevitably cause a loss in momentum and make breaking through even tougher.

The psychological effect usually did not have significant effects, but Lian Chengyu had originally lacked the resources for his cultivation. Matters were made worse, causing Lian Chengyu's progress to be even slower. In the end, he chose to end his isolation prematurely.

By clearing his mind and taking a break before obtaining the desolate bone essence, he could then re-isolate himself to break through into the Purple Blood realm.

This was Lian Chengyu's plan. It was a reasonable plan. Sometimes it happened that a breakthrough was not possible, but taking a break might result in miraculous insight, allowing him to make a breakthrough unknowingly.

"How has the refinement process of the desolate bone been?" Lian Chengyu asked the question that concerned him the most. This piece of desolate bone was his entire fortune and life!

"Yes, it's still going as planned, but... A few of the poor villagers involved in the refining were poisoned a few days ago. I was originally planning on letting them hang on a few days, but seeing that they were doing badly, I gave them some Blood Thinning Pills. They have all recovered by now and the refinement will not be affected."

Lian Chengyu knitted his eyebrows upon hearing it as he said, "Those soulless trash are really useless. It's just been a few days and they can't take the toxicity from the Frost Python desolate bone! After eating the Blood Thinning Pills, it will overdraw on their vitality. Under such circumstances, they will die before the refinement of the desolate bone is done!"

Lian Chengyu's words were cold and inhumane. The Patriarch felt he was going overboard and said, "Chengyu...You are asking for too much. These people seldom eat a proper meal or wear proper clothes. How would they be able to endure the toxin from the Frost Python? They have already sacrificed themselves for the Lian tribe. In the future when you make your meteoric rise, you must take care of their families." noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"Got it," said Lian Chengyu with a straight face. "I'm only worried about the refinement process and fear it will be delayed unnecessarily. If these people end up dying too early, it would affect the refinement process. Grandpa, please send the order down to the tribe to gather more help. The more the merrier. With more people, they can all share in the toxicity of the Frost Python and last longer. Although the Blood Thinning Pill isn't a very expensive drug, with most of our money gone, we have to save every penny."

Lian Chengyu had said those words lightly. The Patriarch sighed hearing this. He knew that for every person recruited, another life was lost.

The pitiful poor even scrambled to join in the refining of the desolate bone for the bacon.

"For the Lian tribe, I guess it has to be so..." exclaimed the Patriarch "It's such a pity. If we had a piece of desolate bone without any toxicity, there wouldn't be so many deaths due to the refinement."

"A piece of desolate bone without toxin?“ Lian Chengyu scoffed. "With the finances of our tribe and that incomplete technique manual, would we have been able to exchange for a piece of desolate bone without toxicity?"

"Besides, the Frost Python desolate bone does not have toxin, it just has a hard to dissipate frost Qi. Once it enters the body, it freezes the organs, causing a person to lose his life. With a Desolate Heaven Master he could easily dissipate the Frost Python's frost Qi. But why would a Desolate Heaven Master be willing to help clear such a low-grade desolate bone's toxicity? There is no chance for them to come to our Lian tribal clan!"

"The only reason I could get my hands on this desolate bone was because of its cheap price: the young masters of big tribes weren't willing to use something of this quality! Just like how a rich family will give the remaining bones to feed the dogs, to the big tribes, I'm like a wild dog waiting to eat their scraps!"

Lian Chengyu self-deprecating last words were said with his lips twitching and fists clenched tightly. His nails were piercing into his flesh.

He hated his circumstances!

The young masters and mistresses of the large tribes could pick from a spread of desolate bones. They would choose not to us those with side effects or low efficacy!

But for him, he had to go through all the trouble and sacrificing his wealth just to obtain a rejected piece of Frost Python desolate bone!

Putting all his hope on a piece of desolate bone, which had immense side effects, and risking his life to consume it was pathetic!

"Chengyu, it has been hard on you all these years. But you have to know even the bright onew in the big tribes are few in number. There are even plenty without the talent in the big tribes, they too don't get much of the desolate beast meat..." The Patriarch felt guilty. He knew Lian Chengyu had great talent, but due to the Lian tribal clan’s poverty, they were unable to nurture him. All these years, the Patriarch had known that Lian Chengyu had a grudge towards the tribe despite him never uttering a word.

It was hard for Lian Chengyu to listen to what the Patriarch had to say. He answered, "Grandpa, don't console me. Heaven is heartless, treating all things as worthless. Since the world is unfair, I will use my own strength to gain that fairness! Sooner or later, I will take control of my life, and will take control of the lives of others! In the future, I will have all the children of the big tribes at my feet!"

"I understand," said the Patriarch with a sigh. "Tomorrow I will pass the order to gather more people to refine the desolate bones. I will not care about the number of deaths. With more people, they can absorb more of the frost Qi...making it safer for you when you consume the desolate bone."

The Patriarch knew that Lian Chengyu would not feel any remorse for the poor who died for him.

Lian Chengyu hated the unfairness of the world. He felt he was extremely unlucky, so how could he be bothered with the unluckiness of others?

To Lian Chengyu, the poor were like ants. Even Lian Chengyu saw himself as a slightly bigger ant.

The survival of the fittest, this was a notion ingrained deep in Lian Chengyu's heart. Only by eating the smaller ants could he keep growing till the point where he could, as a top expert, control his own fate and the fate of others.