Limitless - Chapter 35: Another Boat

Qi Heng looked at Lin Shimeng with a mixture of anger and sadness, speaking loudly, "Shimeng, you must have been coerced by this b*stard, don’t fear, I will definitely save you!"

Chu Yu’s mouth twitched, and stared speechlessly at this man, thinking to himself, "Such shamelessness is really difficult to come by."

Xiao Zhangqing and the rest looked on suspiciously, glancing at both parties, trying to deternube who was lying.

At this point, Lin Shimeng looked at Qi Heng icily, before saying coldly, "Qi Heng, you’re still living in a closed world, you have no idea what the three values of the modern lady are. [1]

Qi Heng’s expression changed slightly, and a slight panic flashed past in his eyes.

Lin Shimeng continued, "Did you think that as a lady, I would be ashamed about your attempted rape and keep silent? You’re wrong! To be frank, I am definitely going to renounce this arranged marriage. When I return to my tutors, I will tell them all about your actions. I believe that my tutors will be the judge for me!

As she spoke, she did not give Qi Heng a chance to speak, and she turned to her various seniors, "Do not be fooled by this shameless villian. I have not been held against my will, this scum nearly..."

Lin Shimeng’s eyes turned red, stemming from a deep sense of grief.

Xiao Zhangqing, Wang Nan and Sun Wei all stared at Qi Heng after hearing this.

Xiao Zhangqing frowned and looked at Lin Shimeng, "Sister Lin, is there a misunderstanding? Why would Junior Qi do something like that as your fiance?"

Sun Wei nodded, "Exactly Sister Lin, could there have been a misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding?" Lin Shimeng laughed coldly, the grief in her heart getting stronger. She said softly, "Brother Xiao, Brother Sun, don’t you... trust me?"

"This..."

Xiao Zhangqing and Sun Wei were not doubting Lin Shimeng, but they knew that there were certain forces at work here.

Lin Shimeng had been given up by the Han Xiao sect in exchange for a large amount of resources.

In their opinion, this incident was not a big deal, it could even be a good thing.

Not only would this bring about much benefits for the Han Xiao ancient sect, Qi Heng’s position and influence were a good match for Lin Shimeng..

They also knew about Qi Heng’s cultivation technique. They felt that if Sister Lin could have a husband like Qi Heng, it could aid her in her future progression.

However, why would Qi Heng be so impatient?

Why would he want to rape Lin Shimeng in a place like this? Was his brain cramping up or filling up with water?

From another viewpoint however, their marriage had been confirmed a long time ago. As such... even if Qi Heng was to do something to Lin Shimeng, at most, people will reprimand him for being impatient, as for other things... it would be difficult to fault him outrightly.

In his opinion, even if it was as Lin Shimeng says, it was no big deal.

Was there a need for such a huge reaction?

Xiao Zhangqing considered this for a moment before laughing out loud, "Sister Lin must be exaggerating, I believe Junior Qi is not such a person, furthermore, you two are about to be married, you should be more intimate..."

Sun Wei’s lips twitched, almost as if he did not really agree with what Xiao Zhangqing had just said, but he eventually decided to just sigh and not speak.

Wang Nan blinked and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Since it is all a misunderstanding, let’s just talk it out..."

Qi Heng, who had been listening to what Xiao Zhangqing had been saying, had a smug look on his face. However, after hearing what Wang Nan said, he flared up again.

"Lin Shimeng and I may have had a misunderstanding, but between this b*stard and I... one of us must go!" Qi Heng pointed at Chu Yu and said to Xiao Zhangqing, "I would like to request that you seniors help me take down this b*stard, I will reward you handsomely when we get back!"

Xiao Zhangqing, Wang Nan, Sun Wei and the rest hesitated slightly, how could they still not see reason?

It was obvious that Qi Heng had wanted to rape Lin Shimeng. Luckily, this skinny tall youth stumbled upon it and intervened...

Yet, how could one articulate this?

They all shook their heads.

Come to speak of it, it does feel a little meddlesome, doesn’t it?

Most importantly, Lin Shimeng felt that this person was her benefactor!

As such, when Qi Heng said those words, Lin Shimeng stepped in front of Chu Yu and said coldly, "I’ll like to see who dares!"

Qi Heng laughed icily at Chu Yu, "B*stard, why? Just now you had the courage to attack me from the shadows, but you don’t have the guts to step out now? If you have the guts, don’t hide behind a lady."

Chu Yu stood unmoving and said flatly, "You little b*stard, watch your language. If you had balls, you would not resort to rape. Not only don’t you have balls, you don’t have pride either!"

"I will beat you to death!" Qi Heng was furious and attacked Chu Yu.

Even though he was injured, Chu Yu’s words had agitated him, and anyone with blood would not be able to control himself.

Furthermore, Chu Yu had called him a little b*stard, causing Qi Heng to hate him even more.

Did a doll face make him a little b*stard?

Bloody jerk!

Just when Qi Heng began his attack, Jiu Xiao’s Liu Qing also launched an attack.

He could not possibly sit back and see his brother in arms be humiliated.

Liu Qing’s speed was extremely quick, and he executed his killing move without a sound.

He had already attained Invigorated Meridian Stage Four!

With that kind of power, it would be child’s play to kill an Acupoint Charging martial artist!

Chu Yu was confident of fighting any Acupoint Charging cultivator. He did not even fear an Acupoint Charging martial artist at full cultivation.

However, the difference between him and the Invigorated Meridian realm... was simply too far.

Chu Yu could only sigh and retreat straight into the magical formation.

Bam!

Liu Qing’s punch impacted the ground and smashed a large rock.

Qi Heng’s punch had also missed, and his expression darkened.

At this point, without hesitation, Lin Shimeng stepped into the magical formation with Chu Yu!

"Sister Lin..." Xiao Zhangqing and a few others began shouting anxiously.

Qi Heng saw Lin Shimeng’s determination. She would rather retreat into the dangerous magical formation than stay out here. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

In that moment, he felt so much anger he could puke blood.

They had wanted to give chase, but they could not do anything about the magical formation. Inside, it was complete darkness, one had to rely fully on magical equipment and luck. They had only managed to get out after much trouble, and they had no intentions to go back in.

Qi Heng was extremely unsatisfied, but he could only grit his teeth and swallow his hate.

Liu Qing’s looked icily at Xiao Zhangqing and the others and asked flatly, "Why didn’t you all help to catch that little b*stard? If you had all chipped in, how would he have a chance to escape?"

Xiao Zhangqing and the rest thought to themselves, "Lin Shimeng obviously wanted to go along with that man, even if she is to be married to the Jiu Xiaos, she is still our sister. If news got out that we helped outsiders defeat one of our own, how scornful would it be? How can we still live with ourselves?"

Xiao Zhangqing laughed it off and replied passionately, "Right now, we should not be creating new problems, the exploration of the ruins is still the top priority, as for that little... yes, that little b*stard, he will fall into our grasp sooner or later."

Qi Heng was willing to resign to this outcome, and Liu Qing was equally angry, but they could not do anything about it.

This is because there were three Han Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm Experts here, especially Xiao Zhangqing. This crafty old man was also the strongest amongst them all.

Even if Liu Qing and Qi Heng wanted to turn against them, they could not.

"Good, then let us explore the ruins." Liu Qing’s anger raged in his heart, but he suppressed it and forced a laugh "Brother Xiao is right, this is more important. The only issue is... who will board the boat first?"

All five men hesitated.

At this point, they realized that the small boat resting on the bank had moved... almost as if it was leaving!

Seeing this, all five of them panicked and rushed to the river bank in the blink of an eye.

However, when they arrived there, only Wang Nan and Qi Heng jumped onto the ship without hesitation.

One could only gain fortune through danger!

If they did not take risk, how would they be able to get rewards?

Only after the two of them jumped onto the ship did they realize that this small boat was incredibly heavy.

Even though both of them had used a lightening skill, they were still big men weighing in at over 100jin, yet, when they landed atop the tiny boat, it did not even rock it in the slightest.

Both men’s expressions revealed their surprise

Xiao Zhangqing, Sun Wei and Liu Qing observed the other two jump onto the boat uneventfully from the bank.

They then leaped onto the small boat.

Even though it was squeezy with five men standing atop the small boat, the boat was extremely stable and did not rock in the slightest.

Following which, the black paint on the body of the boat began to radiate a faint ray of light, scanning past all five men.

All five of them were given a shock, their hearts leaping into their mouths, not knowing what situation this was.

Luckily, the light only scanned by them once uneventfully.

Following which, the small boat trembled slightly and floated downstream.

"Where... where is this taking us?" Qi Heng asked anxiously.

The others were equally confused when Wang Nan suddenly said, "that ray of light just now... was it a test? Or maybe... an affirmation?"

"Test? Affirmation?"

All the others scrunched their eyebrows, deep in thought.

Wang Nan spoke, "I once saw an introduction in a volume of ancient annals, they mentioned that the biggest ancient sects had a lot of clever means to weed out intruders. I was thinking, could that beam of light from the boat be a sort of test?"

Sun Wei thought about it before saying, "I feel like there’s a possibility that if it is an enemy, they would be strangled to death."

Xiao Zhangxing nodded, "There is such a possibility."

Everybody broke out in cold sweat as they thought about the potential dangers.

It was still going well though, at least they had passed the boat’s test. However, they had no idea where the boat was going to take them.

At this point, Chu Yu and Lin Shimeng stepped out from the magical formation.

Chu Yu watched frustratingly at the boat carrying the five men downstream.

Lin Shimeng felt the same way, but at that moment, she saw another small boat floating on the river.

"There’s another boat!"

Lin Shimeng was ecstatic...

[1] The three values referred to here are World View, Values of Worth & Philosophies on Life.

Limitless - Chapter 34: There’s Too Much Information

Qi Heng was the first to notice it; he excitedly pointed towards the little boat, "Boat, there’s a boat! Come see, it’s a boat! Could it be here to guide us?"

The other four people on shore also saw that little boat; all their faces revealed a tinge of excitement.

Chu Yu was standing at the mountain summit, observing everything with his vertical eye. That mysterious power of the river surface seemed to skirt around the ship, forming a path for it.

"This…" Chu Yu frowned. In his heart, he was still wondering: Could this small ship really be here to guide these people?

Since this was the case, why didn’t it appear just now? Why did it wait for two people to die before it appeared?

Wasn’t this simply taking them for a fool?

The same questions ran through the minds of the people on the shore.

Wang Nan’s face was extremely pale; he blinked his small eyes and said, "Could this be a scam? A trick? The appearance of this little ship seems a bit out of the ordinary ah…"

The crowd stared silently at the approaching ship.

The ship wasn’t very big, its width was roughly 1 meter while its length was roughly 3 meters. It was pitch black; it was unknown what material it was made of.

It was unknown how long it had floated in these waters. However, it did not reveal any signs of aging. On the contrary, it looked rather new.

The small boat floated gently, directly floating towards the five people on the shore.

Thereafter, a shocking scene appeared in front of the five’s eyes. The small boat slowly approached the shore and stopped right in front of them.

There were no paddles on the boat, and it could barely fit these five people

The five on the shore all glanced at one another. No one dared to board the boat!

Would heaven even know what would happen to them when they get on this boat?

Perhaps they might safely reach the other side and all the boundless treasures would be within their reach. Or perhaps… The moment they got on, they would immediately be struck by the power of the river surface!

They would be die without a doubt!

Who would dare take this risk?

Qi Heng had always felt himself to be a bold guy without any fear. But now, he really wasn’t bold enough to get on this little boat.

Xiao Changqing laughed dryly, "Is this the so-called ‘Light at the end of a tunnel’?"

Wang Nan said, "This is called ‘The car will eventually find its way around the hill’!" [1]

The Invigorated Meridian Realm martial artist from Jiu Xiao faintly glanced at them, "Do the two of you dare get on?"

The two instantly shut their mouths.

In their hearts they were thinking: Why aren’t you getting on?

I wanted you to get on ah! We’re not the stupid ones!

The problem was, this person from Jiu Xiao also wasn’t stupid ah!

Silence instantly descended upon the five. They all stared at this tiny boat; apprehension filled their hearts.

At this instant, Xiao Changqing, the one with the highest cultivation among the five, seemed to suddenly notice something. He violently turned his head and stared at a mountain 5 kilometers away.

His gaze was extremely sharp, just like two sharp arrows.

It was incomparably cold, and filled with killing intent!

When he turned, the other four also locked their eyes in the direction of Xiao Changqing’s gaze.

Standing on the mountain summit, the top of Chu Yu’s head went numb. He cursed… He’s been discovered! noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

He was just about to use his vertical eye to see the stages that these people were in. Unexpectedly, he had gotten into trouble.

He just glanced at Xiao Changqing, and he was immediately discovered!

The gap between the two’s stage was too big. Moreover, Xiao Changqing’s senses were also extremely acute.

However, Chu Yu’s eye was also able to see through Xiao Changqing’s true stage of cultivation.

Invigorated Meridian Stage Five!

Xiao Changqing’s liver meridian, stomach meridian, large intestinal meridian, small intestinal meridian and pericardium meridian, these 5 out of 12 meridians, had already been completely perforated.

His heart channel was also opened by 33%!

This meant that Xiao Changqing was in the elementary Invigorated Meridian Stage Five; a true expert close to the intermediate Invigorated Meridian Stage Five!

Under Chu Yu’s vertical eye, he saw that the meridians in Xiao Changqing which had yet to be opened were faint red in colour. However, the meridians that have already opened were resplendently gold, glistening brightly!

However, from what Chu Yu observed, those lustrous gold meridians were dotted with blemishes. Moreover, there were some spots which were dimmer and had a slight red colour.

These were imperfections.

In reality, there was this problem in any stage.

For example, in the Acupoint Charging realm, the same acupoint would be opened to different degrees by different people.

Moreover, the degree of perfection of an open acupoint would differ because of differences in cultivation technique, personal talents, etc.

This was why there was a difference in strength among people in the same stage.

Likewise, their combat powers would also be vastly different.

It was clear who was more superior!

Moreover, Xiao Changqing did not step into the Invigorated Meridian Realm after reaching the Great Circle of Acupoint Charging. Out of the 365 acupoints in his body, there were some which were not opened.

This meant that Xiao Changqing was destined to remain in the Invigorated Meridian Realm in his entire life.

Still, in the commoner’s world, and in front of Chu Yu, a person at Invigorated Meridian Stage Five was already a true expert.

Thus the moment he was discovered, Chu Yu’s heart almost jumped out.

He wanted to turn back and jump back into the magical formation. He guessed that these people wouldn’t dare to chase after him!

The way that they passed the magical formation was different from him. They did not have the ability to see through disreality; this was Chu Yu’s greatest advantage.

Chu Yu glanced at Lin Shimeng; he also didn’t want to leave Liin Shimeng behind.

Qi Heng was over there, and Lin Shimeng’s seniors were… What if… Chu Yu did not dare think of what would happen.

He definitely couldn’t leave Lin Shimeng alone here.

Thereafter, Chu Yu even saw a strong hint of regret in Lin Shimeng’s eyes.

She was not willing!

Chu Yu truly understood Lin Shimeng.

At this time, Xiao Changqing shouted harshly, "B*stard, let go of my junior! Otherwise, I will tear your corpse into ten thousand pieces!"

Qi Heng was also shouting angrily by the side, "Little thief, let go of my fiancee! Otherwise, I will destroy your entire sect!"

Chu Yu’s chest started heaving in anger. Who’s the b*stard? Who’s the little thief?

He glanced at Lin Shimeng, speaking solemnly, "Hurry and retreat to the edge of the magical formation."

Lin Shimeng was incredibly clever; she did not need for Chu Yu to explain as she followed Chu Yu to the edge of the magical array. They only needed to take one step back to enter into the magical formation.

At this instant, Xiao Changqing had already charged to the mountain summit, landing in front of the two. Waves of tremendous power exuded from his body; an oppressive aura directly surged towards Chu Yu!

Sun Wei, Wang Nan, Qi Heng and that Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian Realm martial atist Liu Qing also reached this mountain.

Enemies see red the moment they meet.

Qi Heng stared fiercely towards Chu Yu, his eyes blazing with hatred as he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Little, thief, let go of my fiancee!"

Because of excessive emotions, incomparably strong waves of power were trembling from Qi Heng’s body, causing the trees on this mountain to be flattened.

Most of the flowers and grass were directly crushed into dust!

Chu Yu glanced at Qi Heng, "This little fart, for these flowers and grass to die so miserably. Could they be scared to death by you?"

"You’re courting death!" Qi Heng shouted through gritted teeth; his face had turned black.

By now, Xiao Changqing and co. could tell that something was amiss.

Their Junior Lin Shimeng seemed… like she was not abducted?

That scene when Lin Shimeng followed Chu Yu to retreat to the edge of the magical formation was noticed by them. A hint of surprise flashed across all their eyes.

Lin Shimeng’s actions… seemed to be worth contemplating?

She was clearly following this person who "kidnapped" her ah!

This group of people were no kids; they had ample experience, and their eyes were discerning.

At this time, Lin Shimeng looked at Xiao Changqing and co., "Senior, he is no b*stard. He just saved me form Qi Heng’s hands."

What?

Even though Xiao Changqing and co. had already guessed that something was wrong, the moment they heard those words, they still got a huge surprise.

In their hearts, they were thinking: What sort of situation is this? A stranger rescued you from the hands of your fiance?

Xiao Changqing and co. stared at Lin Shimeng and Chu Yu in doubt, then they turned to glance at the enraged Qi Heng.

The information flow here… was a little big.

[1] This idiom illustrates that things will sort themselves out eventually.

Limitless - Chapter 33: Crossing The River

Soon after, Zhou Changzhen, who had already stepped into the air above the river could not escape a similar fate, and he too exploded in a flash of light.

He had been turned into dust almost impossible to be seen by the naked eye.

Even before he could scream, he had been slaughtered.

The third Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist who was about to cross the river was about to step onto the surface, yet, he forcefully held himself back and turned around.

Such an abrupt use of power cause him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

His injuries were not light!

However, he was just happy to be alive!

If he didn't manage to stop, there was no way he could escape.

The scene had caught everybody off guard!

How awful!

And extremely terrifying!

This was too sudden, even two strong martial artists in the Invigorated Meridian realm were unable to even react before they were blown up into smithereens.

They had not vanished, as the people following behind were well aware.

All except Qi Heng, who was all the way at the back.

Because of his injuries, he was not able to clearly see how his brother in arms and Han Xiao’s Zhou Changzhen had vanished.

When he had finally made it to the river bank, all he could see was the water flowing, the surroundings calm and quiet.

The remaining people were pale, their faces devoid of any color.

Xiao Zhangqing murmured, his terror clearly visible, "brother Zhou Changzhen carried with him... a protective magical tool, it couldn't withstand that at all? He died... just like that?"

Another one of the Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artists took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"In so many years, we have explored our fair share of ancient ruins. However, this is the first time we have met with such a dangerous place."

Sun Wei added, "I have also never seen an ancient ruin so well preserved, here... other than the fact that there is no sign of life, everything else, is too normal. And this... is where the abnormality lies."

"What's the meaning of saying all of these now?"

One of the Invigorated Meridian realm martial artists from Jiu Xiao sect was extremely rude. He shared a close relationship with the one who had just died. Having seen his brother die in such a horrific manner had caused him great grief.

Sun Wei glanced at him and said coldly, "Don't make it sound like I caused his death, I lost one of my brothers as well!"

"Enough, stop arguing. No one is happy about something like that happening, just calm down for abit." Xiao Zhangqing attempted to broker peace before turning to Wang Nan, who had spat out blood just now, "Are you ok?"

Wang Nan was the third man in line, the one who had almost stepped into the river.

Wang Nan retrieved a small jade bottle and swallowed a medicinal pellet before wiping away the blood on the edge of his mouth with his hand. He smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I'm fine, but that was dangerous!"

Qi Heng’s eyes widened when he finally understood what was happening, "They’re... dead?"

"Junior, did you realize this?" One of Qi Heng’s seniors said with a sour expression.

Qi Heng was stunned stiff, even though he saw his senior as well as Han Xiao’s Zhou Changzhen disappear, due to the interference from his injuries, he did not manage to get a clear look.

A little fantasy still played at the back of his mind. Could they have made it to a secret room?

At that moment, he felt a sudden chill and couldn't hold back a sneeze.

The Jiu Xiao sect had sent a total of four Invigorated Meridian realm martial artists, including Qi Heng.

Such a cultivation level in the Jiu Xiao ancient sect was not particularly high.

The exception was people like Qi Heng with strong talent and influential backers within the ancient sect. They had to be young when they attained the Invigorated Meridian realm. They were considered Heaven’s Pride in their youth, and the elites of the future.

However, to the commoners, anyone capable of attaining the Invigorated Meridian realm was considered an exceptionally strong individual.

To the underworld Chu Clan, anyone in the Invigorated Meridian realm was considered an expert.

Virtually anyone who trained in the pocket dimensions outside of earth would not return unless absolutely required. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

As the time grows longer since the reversal of the magnetic fields, the situation would slowly start to change and there would be more and more experts.

For the time being however, anyone capable of attaining the Invigorated Meridian realm was treated like a treasure within the underworld clans.

However, for the Jiu Xiao and Han Xiao ancient sects, they sent such individuals on expeditions to explore the ruins, with the motive of gaining magical treasures of value.

The key point here was ‘explore’.

If it was a ruin that had been left completely wrecked and with no danger, it would have been every man for himself.

Whatever one could get was all down to fate and chance.

Sometimes, one could find a magical tool of decent level, albeit damaged, whilst other times, one could not find anything.

After all, not all ruins contained treasure.

As time goes by, after thousands of years, the ruins would have gone through many cycles of change, sufficient to destroy many things.

However, if they met a particularly strong and forbidden place, like this one!

Then, their mission would be solely to explore it.

All they need to do is to get a rough picture of what is going on inside, and report back to the seniors. Then, stronger individuals would take charge.

All the explorers would also naturally get a portion of the loot.

If they could retrieve a large amount of treasure from the ruins, they would receive an even higher reward.

However, this time, they were blinded by the possibly loot and riches in store for them just a reach away.

The palace hidden in the valley was simply too majestic.

These men were not hermits, and they had seen it being described in many ancient texts and annals.

"Many aeons ago, there was a glorious sect. It was grand and its influence spread over thousands of miles. It built a palace for its members, and it was as majestic as Heaven’s Temple..."

Such a situation was only heard of but never experienced. Even the disciples of the ancient sects found it difficult to suppress the deep seated thirst in their hearts for such ancient inheritance and top grade magical tools.

As such, any thoughts of mere exploration... had been tossed out of the window long ago.

Since they had already entered the treasure trough, how could they return empty handed?

Such a thought was present even in Chu Yu, not to mention these disciples of ancient sects, who had an even clearer idea of what treasures could be inside an unscathed, pristine ruin.

Qi Heng’s lips twitched, even though he was high up the Jiu Xiao ancient sect hierachy, as well as one of Heaven’s Pride.

In this case however, he was completely flustered.

"Now what?" Qi Heng asked bitterly, as he felt his nose getting increasingly painful.

The excitement he felt earlier had completely vanished.

Xiao Zhangqing from Hanxiao frowned, as if he was deep in thought.

One of Qi Heng’s seniors suggested, "Why not, we... head back!"

"Go back? You must be joking!" One of the Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artists widened his eyes and looked to his brothers, " You want to go back? Why should we go back? After so many years, we have finally gotten such a great opportunity, and yet you want to go back? After we go back, what can we gain? A few superior medicinal pellets? I damaged piece of high level magical tool as a reward?"

This Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist looked at his brothers agitatedly and yelled, "I’m not going back! I must find my way in!"

As he spoke, he carefully removed an old and broken talisman. Before anyone could react, he bit his tongue, and spat his blood onto the talisman.

A golden light shot out from the edge of this broken and damaged talisman!

The light was extremely bright!

Almost like a little sun, it wrapped up this Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist, and it radiated with a strong energy fluctuations.

The others who saw this were stunned momentarily.

"This..." Xiao Zhangqing squinted, staring at the Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist wrapped in golden light, "Is this the protective talisman that the tales speak of? The golden light... this is a superior protective talisman!"

"Not bad! This is indeed a superior protective talisman, it can block the attack of a Xiantian cultivator!"

Through the light, the Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist said rather proudly, "Many years ago, I found with some luck when exploring an ancient ruin. I have always brought it along with me, waiting for a chance like this. Everyone, wish me luck..."

His voice had elements of pride.

The others were all jealous of a superior protective talisman capable of blocking the attack of a Xiantian cultivator.

That was a real piece of treasure!

He had used it without hesitation...

Everyone else knew that a talisman activated by the blood from one’s tongue tip prevented it from being used by anyone else.

As such, they could only look on with envy.

This Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist cloaked in the golden light retreated a few steps before making a mad dash for the river.

On the Jiu Xiao side, only Qi Heng and a senior were left whilst on the Han Xiao side, only Xiao Zhangqing, Wang nan and Sun Wei were left.

As for Chu Yu, he was with Lin Shimeng, hiding on a mountain top many miles away, watching them silently.

An Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist could reach speeds twice the speed of sound.

Under normal circumstances, crossing a river hundreds of meters wide would have only taken half a second... or even faster.

As such, such a distance should have been a piece of cake!

Yet, to the five people on the bank, as well as Chu Yu and Lin Shimeng on the mountain top miles away, the time felt extremely long.

In the moment he rushed out, it was as if time stopped!

In the moment that the golden silhouette reached the middle of the river.

Everybody’s heart leaped into their mouths!

It was so nerve wrecking!

Yet Chu Yu was not included, because he was aware of the details!

He opened up his vertical eye in his forehead. He could clearly see that when the golden silhouette arrived in the airspace just above the middle of the river, the countless threads of power that lay on the river’s surfaced were activated!

That feeling was almost like an army firing in unison on the battlefield!

All of the energy was overwhelming!

All of them were directed to that ball of gold!

Even though the Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist was quick, the power on the river’s surface... was even faster.

Furthermore, it was not merely just quicker by a little!

It was many times quicker!

As such, when Qi Heng and the group saw that ball of gold explode.

When the light rays entered their eyes, shocking their hearts...

Chu Yu had known for a long time, the moment the Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist had stepped onto the river, he had stepped onto... a path of death.

He seemed to be in the middle of the river... maybe even closer to the other side when he blew apart, yet it was just an illusion.

The explosion of gold caused the river’s surface to be showered with golden rain.

Stars and dots, drifted slowly on the surface of the river.

Very quickly, the river’s surface was calm once again.

The five people on the river bank, as well as Chu Yu and Lin Shimeng on the mountain top miles away, paled.

They were shocked speechless.

There was no way to cross this river.

All of a sudden, a small empty boat drifted towards them.

Limitless - Chapter 32: The Nursing River

Such a scene would shock anyone!

No one would have expected that the many layers of magical formations hid such a well preserved ancient palace.

This was extremely magnificent!

The structures that Chu Yu had saw previously paled in comparison to this palace.

This was akin to comparing the light from a firefly to that of the bright moon.

The two of them appeared on top of a mountain, and the palace lay below, in the vast valley.

A huge river, over several hundred meters long, surrounded the palace.

Chu Yu opened up his vertical eye, and looked towards the highest tower in the palace.

However, he was blocked when he attempted to gain vision of what lay behind those ancient walls.

He could not see through them!

This was the first time Chu Yu met with such a scenario and he could not believe what was happening. He refocused and looked to the palace again.

This time, he managed to elicit a reaction, and the walls of the giant palace radiated a strong wave of invisible power. It followed Chu Yu’s line of sight and headed straight for Chu Yu... almost like an arrow!

Chu Yu reacted quickly and closed his vertical eye instantly.

That wave of energy disappeared in front of Chu Yu’s eyes.

Even Lin Shimeng who was standing beside him felt it .

Chu Yu’s heart broke out in cold sweat, knowing that he was careless and was nearly attacked.

The wall actually had a defensive magical formation that his vertical eye could not see through.

When he tried, he was actually rebuffed and countered.

"Brother Song, what happened?" Lin Shimeng looked at Chu Yu with doubt.

Chu Yu shook his head as he attempted to use his vertical eye to look at the river surrounding the palace.

He raised his alert, this place was not as accessible as he had imagined!

Since the palace walls have been inscribed with a magical formation that prevented spying, this seemingly ordinary river, may... not be that simple.

Indeed, under the scrutiny from Chu Yu’s vertical eye, he found the floating on its surface was a strong invisible energy.

The energy was like a spider web, criss crossing throughout the entire surface. They remained completely still.

Chu Yu lowered his head and picked up a palm sized rock at his feet. He felt it's weight and decided it was about right.

Lin Shimeng stood at the side and looked at "Brother Song" with confusion, not understanding what he was doing.

Chu Yu twirled his arm and threw the rock in his hand at the river below ferociously.

Zoom!

A shrieking sound pierced through the air.

The rock sailed towards the river.

Lin Shimeng was shocked. She had no way of finding out what brother Song’s actual cultivation level was, but she could guess that he had not attained the Invigorated Meridian Stage. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

However, the combat power that he displayed was surprising.

However, Lin Shimeng did not have time to guess brother Song’s origins.

As the rock sailed over the river, it was hit by a ray of light.

The rock shattered instantly.

The appearance of the ray of light was fleeting and it disappeared without a trace in a flash.

And then the rock also disappeared!

Lin Shimeng had thought that based on the rock’s speed, it could have caused a tidal wave.

She did not expect such an outcome.

The solid rock was shattered in an instant, what if that was a human?

"The river... has a magical formation?"

Lin Shimeng was a little terrified after finding out. It was a good thing she did not just barge in, else she would not even know what hit her.

In actual fact, when Chu Yu observed the river with his vertical eye, in the moment the rock approached the river, the dormant power was activated in an instant.

It impacted the rock in an extremely aggressive manner, shattering the rock.

Chu Yu could not help but take a deep breath and laugh bitterly, "even though we managed to break through the magical formations outside, it will be a tall order to enter the palace.

Lin Shimeng nodded as she looked at the river, her heart full of reservations.

Afterwhich, Chu Yu brought Lin Shimeng on a walk around the river, trying to look for a way in.

Chu Yu felt that there must be a path that would lead to the palace interior.

Lin Shimeng said "brother Song, do you think that the sects who had gained entry before used some form of secret technique to gain entry?"

"Secret technique?"

Chu Yu frowned. As a member of an underworld clan, he had a good idea what a secret technique was.

One would utilize special characters and recite a special tune that would tap on the powers between heaven and earth.

Those of high cultivation did not even need to recite, they could use their brain waves to manipulate the forces between heaven and earth.

"If we need a secret technique to gain entry, that could cause us some trouble."

Chu Yu was slightly troubled, having come so far, he was reluctant to leave empty handed.

At this moment, on a hilltop about 20 miles away, a few silhouettes appeared.

Those were the people traveling with Qi Heng.

When they arrived, they too were awed by the grandeur and magnificence of the tower. In that moment, they did not notice Chu Yu and Lin Shimeng on the peak of another mountain 10+ miles away.

Both Chu Yu and Lin Shimeng proceeded to hide behind a rock.

Lin Shimeng took a peak and used the Voice Transmission Technique to speak to Chu Yu, "The men with Qi Heng are the Invigorated Meridian realm experts from Jiu Xiao and Han Xiao."

"The square faced middle aged individual is Sun Wei, the curly haired middle aged one is Wang Nan, the elderly one is Zhou Changzhen and the one in his mid forties who looks rather imposing is Xiao Zhangqing. The four of them are my brothers from Han Xiao."

"The other three middle aged guys are strong individuals in the Invigorated Meridian realm, from Jiu Xiao..."

As Lin Shimeng introduced them to Chu Yu, she felt slightly uncomfortable. These brothers in arms have always treated her relatively well, and she respected them a lot.

However, after hearing what Qi Heng had to say, seeing them again made her feel conflicted.

She did not suspect that Qi Heng was lying because she had felt that way herself too.

For example, when she was first accepted, many of the elders in the Han Xiao ancient sect looked at her with much affection and many of her peers looked at her with much envy. She could still remember the looks on their faces.

However, one day, those people stopped showing warmth to her, and many of the influential elders looked at her with regret.

At that time, Lin Shimeng was still young and did not understand many things, thus, she never thought much about it.

Not long after, she was sent back to be on Earth, never to return to the sect’s homeground.

Only after hearing from Qi Heng did Lin Shimeng finally understand the reason.

They had given up on her because she wasn't talented enough!

She did not want to accept such a fate! Lin Shimeng swore to herself that This time, she would find her own fate here.

The group of men with Qi Heng began doing their mental calculations, their eyes gleaming in the face of the gigantic palace in the middle of the valley.

Sun Wei looked down at the valley, "We had faced many challenges in our attempt to enter this place. We have already lost six magical equipments to this place. Now that the prize for victory is right in front of you, what plans do you have?"

One of the Invigorated Meridian realm experts from the Jiu Xiao sect suggested, "As two large ancient sects, let us not split the loot. I suggest that whoever finds it, keeps it. Exploring such an ancient ruin has its own element of fate, whoever is more lucky will be able to get the better treasure."

Wang Nan blinked his eyes and nodded, "Those are my sentiments as well."

The others quickly expressed their consent.

At this point, Lin Shimeng as well as the Liu Clan of Shi were tossed out of their minds.

They would simply compensate the Liu Clan of Shi with some symbolic remuneration.

After all, in order to give them 20% of the loot, they needed to have the ability to receive it.

Until now, not a single person from the Liu Clan of Shi was able to make it out, showing they ineptness!

Xiao Zhangqing squinted and looked to the valley below, "Let's us all depend on our own abilities, however, why do I get the feeling that gaining entry into the palace would not be that easy?"

Qi Heng’s injuries were suppressed for the moment, but he could not bring his full power to bear. His doll face had been washed clean but the mark of his broken nose bridge remained. His nose was still bent out of shape.

He said solemnly, "Shouldn't we find Lin Shimeng and the sneak attacker first? Else, that man could very well attack us from the shadows again."

The elderly Zhou Changzhen replied dismissively, "He's just an Acupoint Charging realm individual, there's nothing to worry about."

Qi Heng was slightly embarrassed and did not reply.

Even though he was influential, he did not dare throw his weight about in the face of the Invigorated Meridian realm elders.

Xiao Zhangqing tried to defend him, "Junior Qi is just worried about his fiancee, but I feel that at the current moment, we should be more focused at the task at hand."

"Exactly."

"Exploring the ruins is more important."

"Finding someone in this place would be extremely difficult."

"Sister Lin will receive help from above is she is lucky."

Qi Heng remained silent. What more could he say when even his brothers in arms agreed to explore the ruins first.

He was the only one who had an interest in Lin Shimeng and the attacker. The others were more concerned with what was hidden within the pristine palace... treasure!

One of the Invigorated Meridian realm martial artists from Jiu Xiao looked at everyone and said, "I will take point!"

As he spoke, he disappeared in a flash, raising his speed to his limits and rushed towards the bottom.

The river, which was several hundred meters wide, would have been astronomically difficult to cross for an ordinary human. However, for these men, it was simply a light leap.

As they saw the Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist spring into the action, the rest were not willing to be left behind.

From the Han Xiao sect, Zhou Changzhen and Xiao Zhangqing followed closely behind and they rushed towards that side.

Zhou Changzhen took point and Xiao Zhangqing followed behind.

The others trailed behind, slightly apprehensive.

The river looked calm, but who knew if there was any danger?

At this point, the martial artist who had taken point, had already arrived at the river bank. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the middle of the river.

The speed that the individuals in the Invigorated Meridian realm were capable of were too fast. Even the river which was hundreds of meters wide posed no challenge to them.

Zhou Changzhen followed closely behind and had was also in midair above the river.

Chu Yu and Lin Shimeng watched from afar, even if Lin Shimeng wanted to warn them, there was no time to.

These men were too fast!

They rushed forward, afraid that they would be beaten to the treasure by the others.

At this point, a strange phenomenon occurred!

A ray of light shone from the river!

The Jiu Xiao Invigorated Meridian realm martial artist’s body exploded.

He disappeared from the air above the river in an instant.

Limitless - Chapter 31: Big Brother Song Is Amazing!

Lim Shimeng looked at Chu Yu, gratitude filled her eyes. She accepted the ancient bronze lamp, then bowed towards Chu Yu, "Lin Shimeng thanks Mr for your saving grace."

For some unknown reason, Lin Shimeng seeemed to feel a sense of familiarity from this thin, tall man. However, she clearly never met this man before.

Even though Lin Shimeng did not have photographic memory, she would still remember the people that she’ve met.

She looked at Chu Yu and asked softly, "Did Mr come here also to explore these ancient ruins?’

Chu Yu nodded, "That’s right."

Lin Shimeng said, "This place is too dangerous; there are magical formations everywhere. In the former years, it must have been the home of an impressive school. So much time had passed but the power of these magical arrays is still so terrifying."

As Lin Shimeng spoke, her eyes were examining Chu Feng’s expression.

This brat…

Chu Yu truly understood Lin Shimeng; Chu Yu could easily tell what was on her mind from her expression.

He promptly smiled, saying, "How about, we go in and explore together? Otherwise, it would not be too safe if you entered alone."

Lin Shimeng was slightly embarrassed, "This… Is this really possible?"

Chu Yu smiled, "That’s nothing that’s impossible. What we obtain from exploring these ancient ruins will still depend on our individual fates."

"Then, then I will have to thank Mr." Lin Shimeng, once again, expressed her gratitude towards Chu Yu.

She was indeed very scared; Qi Heng had retreated in distress, even leaving his heavenly magic equipment behind. However, with his proud personality, he definitely wouldn't let things rest.

The moment he joins hands with the three other Invigorated Meridian Stage experts from Jiu Xiao, he would definitely return to take revenge.

If this was previously, Lin Shimeng would still feel that she would be able to protect herself. After all, the Han Xiao side still had quite a few Invigorated Meridian Stage experts.

But now… She was slightly worried.

She was worried that if she doesn't choose to comply when the time comes, those Invigorated Meridian Stage experts from Han Xiao would Tue her up and hand her over to Qi Heng in a silver platter.

That was truly terrifying!

Even if one wasn't a genius, he would still be able to know what would happen then.

However, to ask her to open her mouth and beg others, especially in a place like this, made her a little uncomfortable.

This tall, thin youth was clearly a capable man. He was able to enter this magical formation soundlessly, and he was even able to scare Qi Heng away despite being weaker.

Lin Shimeng felt that even if she didn't act just now, this thin, tall youth could still chase Qi Heng away.

So this person clearly had the capabilities to protect himself in this ancient ruins. Bringing her along might be adding a burden to him.

However, since this thin, tall youth took the initiative to offer an invitation, Lin Shimeng was ecstatic.

She looked at Chu Yu with a slightly apologetic expression, "I'm too impolite. I still do not know Mr’s esteemed name."

"Surname’s Song. Given name’s Hong." Chu Yu said casually.

Song was his mother's surname; Hong was related to the origin of Chu Yu’s name.

When Chu Tianbei named Chu Yu, he uttered this poem: As the flock of geese fly, their feathers clatter in flight. [1]

So Chu Yu's name was now Song Hong.

"So it's Senior Song." Lin Shimeng bowed towards Chu Yu.

Wow, I'm already promoted to a senior. Chu Yu laughed ruefully in his heart; he was a little helpless but he still couldn't reveal his identity yet.

"There’s no need to call me senior. Just Brother Song is enough."

"Then… then ok, Big Brother Song!" Lin Shimeng called out crisply.

Chu Yu was secretly laughing in his heart; usually Lin Shimeng always got him to call her "sister".

"En, let’s go."

Chu Yu also didn’t wish to waste anymore time; who knew when Qi Heng and his gang would come back with some unique magic equipment.

The magical formations abandoned in these ancient ruins were still incredibly potent, despite facing the passage of time. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

This meant that deep in the ancient ruins, there was bound to be a treasure!

…

Qi Heng retreated deep into a magical formation; he was almost cut in half by the sword qi from a killing array.

His defensive magic equipment was already completely destroyed; Qi Heng was in great trepidation as every step he took was like a battle with his nerves.

His hatred towards Chu Yu and Lin Shimeng reached its maximum

"That damnable, despicable b*stard! And that b*tch! I, Qi Heng…. Definitely wouldn’t forgive you!"

Ever since Qi Heng was young, his life had gone smoothly; he had never experienced such great setbacks.

The key thing was that this setback, was in front of the woman he caught a fancy to… This caused fury to brew in Qi Heng’s heart.

He indeed tried to rape Lin Shimeng, but that did not mean that he did not care about Lin Shimeng.

She was his fiancee! Damn it, what’s wrong if this lord wanted to touch his own future wife?

Was there something wrong?

There was nothing wrong ah!

Qi Heng cursed and swore as he carefully searched for a gap in formation. He continuously used his abilities to calculate.

Needless to say, this fella was also a realy genius.

After all, Jiu Xiao was an ancient school with a strong foundation; it had no lack of ancient texts regarding magical arrays. Qi Heng had a rough understanding of magical arrays.

Previously, it was not due to chance that he managed to find Lin Shimeng.

Qi Heng used not more than an hour before he finally found two Han Xiao’s Invigorated Meridian Stage experts.

When the two saw that Qi Heng was heavily injured, and that it did not seem like it was caused by an array, the two were incomparably shocked.

"Junior Qi, what happened? How did you get so heavily injured?"

"Could it be the Liu Clan? That’s not right ah, the Liu Clan wouldn’t be so daring. Also, they wouldn’t be that powerful ah?"

The two hurriedly brought out their healing drugs, offering to help Qi Heng.

Qi Heng had just administered his best healing drug, so he rejected the two’s medicine. Thereafter, he said, "Just now, I already joined hands with Shimeng. However, I got ambushed by this person. He snatched away my heavenly magic equipment, the ancient bronze sword, and he even abducted Shimeng…" Qi Heng’s face was fuming; this matter was a huge disgrace to him.

"Junior Lin has been abducted?"

When the two Han Xiao experts heard this, their hearts almost jumped out of their throats.

Even though Qi Heng was in the elementary stages of the Invigorated Meridian realm and was merely an Invigorated Meridian Stage One martial artist, his combat power was definitely more than others in the same level.

In the commoner’s world, he would already be a supreme expert; ordinary people were completely unable to even hurt him.

One of Han Xiao’s Invigorated Merdian expert looked to be 40 over years old, he had a square face and a medium build. His name was Sun Wei.　

He looked at Qi Heng with an expression of astonishment, "Who’s the other party? Could it be an expert from some other ancient school?"

The other Han Xiao’s Invigorated Meridian expert, named Wang Nan, was 30 over years old. His eyes were not big, he was slightly plump and his hair was curly.

He also had a look of surprise on his face as he stared at Qi Heng, "If he could injure Junior Qi, then could he be an advanced Invigorated Meridian realm expert?"

Qi Heng twitched his lips; his face turned red as he said uncomfortably, "I don’t know that person. He should not have reached the Invigorated Meridian realm, but his combat power was very strong."

"How is that possible?"

"A strong Acupoint Charging Stage martial artist still wouldn’t be a match with those in the Invigorated Meridian Stages ah?"

Sun Wei and Wang Nan, these two Invigorated Meridian realm cultivators, had a completely muddled expression on their faces as there stared at Qi Heng in aghast.

"He ambushed me!" Qi Heng’s face turned black. He gritted his teeth and said, "That person might be carrying some magic equipment which shrouded his aura. Additionally, these magical formations here also have some concealment effects, that’s why I was successfully ambushed by him."

Sun Wei inhaled a breath of cold air, he could not help but say, "If the other party was able to ambush a Invigorated Meridian realm expert, then he wouldn’t be that weak himself. Even if he isn’t in the Invigorated Meridian realm, I’m afraid he’s not far from it."

Wang Nan nodded, "What’s most important now is to hurry and rescue Junior Lin."

Lin Shimeng had enrolled into Han Xiao School, and she was under Han Xiao’s Grand Elder. Thus, her status was rather high.

Even though Sun Wei and Wang Nan was cognisant of certain things, they couldn’t simply let Lin Shimeng get abducted.

Sun Wei looked at Qi Heng, "Is Junior Qi still able to find that man? We need to hurry an rescue our junior. If too much time passes, something might happen to her."

Qi Heng nodded; he searched for reinforcements, exactly because he waste that pesky son of a b*tch.

Before doing this, he still had to find the other Invigorated Meridian realm experts from his own sect.

Even though he was very bold, he definitely wouldn’t tell those Han Xiao people what he tried to do to Lin Shimeng.

After all, he had just told a lie, he said that Lin Shimeng had been abducted. If these two people discover that something was amiss, they might end up helping that other guy. Then things would no longer be good.

Especially in a place like this.

He did not want to do any risky things.

While Qi Heng brought Sun Wei and Wang Nan to find the others from Jiu Xiao and Han Xiao, Chu Yu brought Lin Shimeng straight into the den!

Lin Shimeng was in utter disbelief. This thin, tall youth wielding an ancient bronze sword could actually have such a deep understanding of magical formations.

He seemed to have a pair of eyes which could see through the disreality; he meandered through the networks of the labyrinth, avoiding all the killing formations.

At the start, Lin Shimeng did not dare believe it, because from the looks of it, "Song Hong" did things too casually.

It was completely unlike those formation masters who would do all sorts of calculations and all sorts of performances before they proceeded on slowly.

Lin Shimeng even had this feeling: This seems like it is Big Brother Song’s own house!

The key thing was the vertical eye on Chu Yu’s forehead; it was able to see through all the disrealities within the magical formation.

If it was those high grade formations, even if Chu Yu was able to see through it, he might not be able to enter it.

However, the formations here had already experienced the viccisstudes of time. They had long lost their original valiance.

Otherwise, there was no need to talk about Invigorated Meridian realm martial artists. Even Xiantian Realm cultivators would die if they accidentally entered the magical formation!

Chu Yu brought Lin Shimeng along through the ruins, and they finally walked out of the gigantic magical formation.

The instant the two walked out of the magical formation, a magnificent palace entered into their eyes.

This palace was relatively big and it exuded an ancient aura. It was still and silent, as though it had been untouched for billions of years.

"Heavens… This, this is actually a perfectly unharmed… ancient sect?"

Lin Shimeng was thoroughly dumbfounded as she started at the palace in front of her in shock. She muttered, "Big Brother Song, you’re amazing!"

[1] Goose = Hong, Feather = Yu. Hence, the relations between the two as seen in this excerpt of the poem.

Dual Sword God - Chapter 44: Arrival of the Sky Splitting Sword Sect, One With Sword!

Another day passes, and a new dawn quickly arose in Machen Town.

The events of the Mystery Pavilion's auction naturally remained a 'mystery' to all, but rumors still flowed among the upper echelons grapevine. Now, only two days remained until the Talent Selection begins, and the citizens, as well as the practitioners in Machen Town, just got more excited as the battles in the arenas and activities only increased.

However, as the mood increased, so does the changes in the atmosphere.

Inside of a luxurious hall, within a private mansion.

A beautiful woman in white priest-like robes with golden patterns sat on a chair; she had long black hair that was bounded into a ponytail reaching all the way to the floor, her eyes were small and narrow but gave off a strange, alluring charm when viewed up from any angle. As she looked out her window she gave off a peculiar aura as if the world around her was nothing more than pieces of information that flowed according to her will.

She looked at the sky with a noble temperament as she spoke softly to the wind "The eastern wind shifts, as chosen's are born when the destined dragon arises, another's fate will start to see new changes..."

Knock! Knock!

As she was disturbed from her thoughts, she couldn't help but frown slightly as she glanced at the door and spoke. "Who is it?"

"Young Mistress! The representative from the Xuan Clan's Imperial Family seeks an audience with you." said a man dressed in similar white robes.

"I see, let them in then," she said as she once again turned her vision towards the sky observing the dazzling snow that fell upon the earth.

******

At the entrance of Machen Town a few figures arrived, they were dressed in shiny armor with bright flame-like capes that flowed in the wind, as they rode on top of black horses that had flame hoofs. It seemed as though they were a walking sea of bright flames that stood out in white snow that blanketed the earth.

Traveling at the center of these individuals were a group of men and women who seemed to be above the secular world, they wore similar sky blue colored robes with a sword emblem adorned on their chests.

The citizens and wanderers who stood at the entrance of Machen Town looked towards these individuals in surprise.

"The... Bright Flame Knights!!!!" shouted a man who seemed to recognize these individuals.

"What? The Kingdom's Knights are here too!" said another individual as he looked at the knights.

"Wait! That group in the middle, the clothes their wearing aren't they..." a practitioner said as he looked at the group in the center of the Bright Flame Knights.

"Hmm, already arrived I see... it looks like this show is about to get started. " said the mysterious from the Midnight Temple, as he looked at the group entering the town from a window in a nearby pub, with a strange smile on his face.

******

Within a private booth, inside of a pub.

Tang Fie and Xin Zhu were currently having a loud conversation, as Tang Wu, and Xin Qing sat silently observing their new conflict.

Bang!!!

"You ungrateful cheat! Is this how you treat soon to be family, I demand compensation from your family!!" Xin Zhu said as he smashed the chess board to pieces.

"Old Zhu, It's not my fault that you're not good at chess, look, since it is this way, as our families are set to be connecting through Wu'er's and Qing'er's engagement. Why not we set another date for a rematch? I promise to try and stake more next time so that if you win. You'll earn more than enough to make up your loss today," said Tang Fei with a smile on his face as he mocked Xin Zhu.

"You shameless bast----" as Xin Zhu was about vent his frustration once more there was an interruption.

Sou!

A man with an with a hood over his head appeared with the room and knelt politely on the ground.

Seeing this man appear both Xin Zhu and Tang Fei became silent as they looked towards the man, soon, Xin Zhu spoke.

"What is do you have to report?"

"Reporting to Old Master, the emissaries of the Sky Splitting Sword School have just arrived at Machen Town, but some unexpected characters are escorting them." said the man.

"Oh? and Who are these characters?" replied Tang Fei interestedly.

Tang Wu and Xing Qing also looked curiously.

"They are, the kingdom's first guards the Bright Flame Knight's!" reported the man.

"Ha Ha! It looks like the sudden appearance of the Golden Dragon Empire, the Southern Wasteland Group and a few other threatening parties has caused our King to feel nervous. I didn't think he'd actually go as far as sending out his prized troops." Xin Qing said as a roared with laughter. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"Brother Tang, do you think the Xuan Imperial Clan is gonna try anything during the Talent Selection?" asked Xin Qing.

"I'm not sure, but even if they do. What could they possibly do against the group from the Golden Dragon Empire and the even more so mysterious Southern Wasteland Group?" said Tang Wu as he looked out the window puzzledly.

Tang Fei hearing Tang Wu's words nodded and replied: "Wu'er says right! Nothing can be done, and as for our forces, we only need to take advantage of the scene when there is any change. We need to guarantee our entrance into to the mystic realm!"

"Em," said Xin Zhu as he nodded.

******

Inside of a vast room stood a few individuals.

Three of them were youngsters who were currently looking at the man seated at the center of the room. The young man who was holding a spear walked up and spoke to the man with the dragon emblem.

"Xun Yanshan, I came here to test my strength and prove myself amongst the gathered geniuses. Not to partake in some harebrained scheme, while you are the superior sent on this venture I will not yield to your decisions!" as he said this he walked outside of the room followed by the other two youngsters.

"Brother Zhang, wait up!" said the pretty young girl.

"These three brats... sigh... this is why children are troublesome. I guess I'll have to approach it with a different method. You there, did you find out any of their details!" Xun Yanshan.

"Reporting to Sir, the Southern Wasteland is too slippery, we don't know any more details other than the fact that they came to our empire utilizing some unknown channel. " replied the man.

"Hmm, this won't do? I need more information deploy more of our forces and leave no stone unturned. I want as much information about as soon as possible! Before the Talent Selection begins I must have a grasp on the entire situation do you hear me!!" Xun Yanshan said sword as he looked towards the man with a sharp light his eyes.

"Yes Sir!" replied the man who bowed politely.

"Good! Now go!" he said as he waved his hand and looked out the window towards a specific location.

"Sir, there is one more piece of interesting news." said the man.

"What is it?" asked Xun Yanshan with his eyes still looking out the window.

"It seems that the Sky Splitting Sword Sect has successfully arrived. However, the Bright Flame Kingdom King has deployed the Bright Flame Knight's to act as their escorts." said the man.

"The Bright Flame Knight's? Oh.. well now, this is interesting..." replied Xun Yanshan as he smiled and continued to look out the window unperturbed.

******

Inside of the Feng Mansion, Within a large open field.

The figure of a young man could be viewed standing in a field of snow. He was barefoot wearing no upper clothing but loose-fitting trousers. Within his hands were two swords, one of which was pure black with dark lightning flowing around its form, and the other being of bright crimson with rust all over its blade, a small hint of purple flame could be seen swirling around the rusted crimson sword.

As the Feng Yu stood in the field his eyes remained closed as he attuned himself with the very forces of nature, it felt as if he became nothing but a sword, his mind vanished, his self-vanished leaving behind not a standing youth but what seemed to be a sword.

Swooooshhh!!!!

As the snowy wind grew more and more intense clusters of snow became to cover his stillness form, as if trying to create a snowman. However, this was only but for a short moment as a change soon occurred within the field.

Shiiingg!!!

A sharp cry of a sword resounded throughout the silent field of snow within, following which all of the snow that clustered above Feng Yu began to fell apart as if they had been cut and brushed off to sides.

Feng Yu's body then started to give the impression of a sharp blazing nature, a merger between the essences of fire and realm of the sword. He moved both his swords in his hand and waved them at the snow falling from the sky.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As if the had gotten a new pair of hands or rather, extended his arms out to gain a further reach, as all of the snow that fell on top of the swords were neatly arranged at their tips forming a miniature snowman on each sword. It was as if a man had used both his arms to catch the falling snow but in the process used precise balance and godly technique to create natures work of art.

Finally, Feng Yu opened his eyes and regained his sense of self, he looked at the snowmen on his sword and smiled with happiness that was visible in his eyes.

"Whew! I've finally achieved the boundary of a true swordsman. 'One With Sword' now I can walk the Way of the Dual Sword and strive to comprehend Dual Sword Intent. I had once gotten a glimpse of this intent in the battlefield of the dummies, and now I only need to practice my Sword Techniques through the use of these two swords. This will then become..." as Feng Yu said this, he looked at the swords in his hands and waved them once more causing the snowmen to disperse as the swords cross over each other.

"The Dual Extremity Sword Path!..."

Dual Sword God - Chapter 43: A Dominant Display, End of the Auction

The scene in the auction room was a picture similar that of a battlefield, as all influential parties were at 'dagger drawn' glaring at each of their competitors fiercely. The Bright Flame Kingdom, the Southern Wasteland, the Western Kingdom along with a few hidden parties each began to prepare themselves for the battle to go down.

The auctioneer WhiteMask smiled to himself as he observed the mood of the atmosphere with interest, momentarily casting his vision towards the group that just appeared in the most top layer of the auction room. Quickly, he placed his hands together once more waking each of the influences from their moods.

"Guest and Honored Guest, as most you can already guess, this item placed before you is precisely the chart used by practitioners in the age of pre calamity when exploring the exploring the Ancient Dragon Battlefield. The Mystery Pavilion has preserved it as a keepsake of the past era, but now, things are different, as they are willing to auction this item in the hopes of contributing to the appearance of the Mystic Realm," said WhiteMask with a sincere tone.

"Hmph! It's no wonder that they called such an auction when they noticed the changes in this region. They want to use our aid along with the Divine Prophet's information to find the entrance to the secret realm." replied a man in decorated robes, seated at the most top layer, hung around his neck was a pendant necklace with an engraving of a flame that shone across a vast mountain range.

"Your Excellency! It is as you say, even the emissaries of the Golden Dragon Empire have made their way here. We may not be able to claim the leading position even in our own hosted gathering at the selections." replied a skinny looking man who wore dark-colored ancient formal wear, with a beard that reached down to his knees, and sharp cunning eyes.

"Indeed so, it's expected that they would also get involved, they didn't even bother to enter the VIP rooms, as if they didn't care to make their presence known to the Top Class. A pity that only a few individuals seemed to have realized thus far." said the man with the flame pendant.

Mistress Xuan who was observing the item smiled as she spoke to Xuan Bei. "Bei Child, we must claim this item no matter the cost, it is the only way to ensure that we are another step ahead of the foreign influences."

"You don't have to tell me twice! I know that!" replied Xuan Bei as he looked at the Ancient Dragon Chart with flames in his eyes.

Ji Weng, Tang Wu, Xin Qing along with the Southern Wasteland and Hidden Influences looked on in silence as the tension in the atmosphere grew thicker. WhiteMask seeing that each of the influences were ready finally waved his hand causing a bright light to cover the Ancient Dragon Chart as he spoke once more. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"The bidding will now commence, the starting price is..." as he said this his smirk grew wider underneath his mask as he lifted one finger and stretched his hand out towards the audience and spoke once more.

"One hundred thousand middle-grade essence stones!..." his voice resounded throughout the room which then created a defining silence. After a while, the influences or rather the parties that resided in the bottom-most layers started a commotion.

"Middle-Grade Essence Stones!! Are you kidding me?" shouted a fierce looking bald head man.

"How are we suppose to afford this?" said another with a look of sadness on his face.

However, one cannot blame them, as similar to weapons, pills, and artifacts, essence stones are divided into separate tiers each tier signifying a different weight representing an entirely different class. These tiers are mortal, earth, heaven, mystical and supreme, the essence stones equivalent being low-grade, middle-grade, upper-grade, top-grade and lastly, ultra-grade.

They are converted as follows:

One middle-grade essence stone - 10 low -grade essence stones,

One upper-grade essence stone - 100 middle-grade essence stones,

One top-grade essence stone - 1000 upper-grade essence stones,

One ultra-grade essence stone - 10000 top-grade essence stones,

Legend says of a tier that exists beyond that of the known tier's, but that is a story that remains yet to unfold...

Feng Yu, Dai Lin, and Hui Ying looked on the scene with excitement in their eyes.

"Who will win?" said Feng Yu as he looked at the scene before him, soon, there was a bid that came from the top class above the third layer.

"The Rain Sword Sect offers one hundred and fifteen thousand middle-grade essence stones!" said a man dressed in light blue clothing.

"The DarkSky Pavilion offers one hundred and thirty thousand middle-grade essence stones!" said a woman in dark clothes.

"The Midnight Temple offers one hundred and fifty thousand middle-grade essence stones!" said the mysterious figure with a dark bamboo hat.

"The Molten Axe Sect offers one hundred and seventy thousand middle-grade essence stones!" said a gorgeous woman dressed in red.

"The Tang Family offers one hundred and eighty thousand middle-grade essence stones!" said the man from the Tang Family.

"Chet! The Xin Clan offers one hundred and ninety thousand middle-grade essence stones!" said Xin Zhu as he glared at the Tang Family.

******

Xuan Bei and Mistress Xuan were about to make their move when suddenly a voice transmission message was sent directly to their eyes, shocked they both looked up at the highest layer. Upon seeing the figures of the man with flame engraved pendant as well as the long-bearded skinny man. A look of excitement shone deeply within their eyes as they no longer decided to make their moves.

As the top class influences continued their struggle for the Ancient Dragon Chart, a few parties that remained silent were now beginning to make their move.

Hui Ying noticing the change in the atmosphere spoke in a soft voice "It looks like it's about to begin truly..."

"Em! They're making their moves!" said Feng Yu as he looked at the group from the top layer.

A man seated beside Ji Weng raised his betting plate and spoke loudly "The Western Shengyin Kingdom Imperial Sheng Family offers two hundred thousand middle-grade essence stones!."

As he said this, the skinny man beside the man with flame engraved pendant looked towards the man from the Western Shengyin Kingdom and sneered before casting a side glance at the group from the Golden Dragon Empire, seeing them not taking any action he then made his bid.

"The Bright Flame Kingdom's Imperial Xuan Family offers two hundred and fifty thousand middle-grade essence stones! "

The audience hearing the names of these influences were shocked as they clamored.

"The Imperial Family Clans have sent top figures apart from the Genius Ji Weng and Prince Xuan Bei!!!" a minor figure said in shock as he looked towards the top floor.

"I didn't think the major players of both the Imperial Family Clans within the empire would make their move so soon!" said Xin Zhu as he frowned.

"Uncle Fei, are we going to keep bidding now that the imperial clans have started to take action?" said Tang Wu as he looked towards the man beside him.

"...." Uncle Fei did not respond to his question but cast his vision towards the mysterious man with the bamboo hat.

"The Midnight Temple offers three hundred thousand middle-grade essence stones! " said the mysterious man seated on the third layer casually.

A few individuals seated on the top platform looked below in surprise as saw the mysterious individual in a bamboo hat.

"This Midnight Temple, why have I never heard of their names? Could they be?..." replied a figure on the top layer.

The man from the Bright Flame Kingdom Xuan Family looked towards the third layer with a solemn gaze as he said. "They can't be?..."

The Western Kingdom's Sheng Family emissary also cat his vision towards the form below while remaining silent.

The man with the Golden Dragon Emblem on his robes looked down towards the form with a strange light glowing in his eyes as he muttered. "Midnight Temple, or is it Midnight Hall... Interesting, it looks like we cant remain silent any longer it's time to bring an end to this auction."

As he said they this he slowly began to rise from his seat and walked towards the edge of the layer while the bidding was growing more and more intense. Soon, is figure became visible to many individuals who were paying attention towards the top layer.

It's as the saying goes, 'if the tiger is not on the mountain, the monkeys will believe themselves to be king.' The moment these few individuals noticed the presence of the man that walked out and his group that sat down on the top layer, all forms of competitiveness had instantly died down as they looked towards the figure with reverence.

The man seeing this smiled as he spoke "The Golden Dragon Empire offers five hundred thousand middle-grade essence stones! Will fellow Daoists give this man face?"

The man from the Sheng Family, Mistress Xuan along with Xuan Bei, the Tang Family, Xin Clan and many of the powerful influences upon hearing this mans words all became apprehensive.

"Damn! What are they doing here so soon?" said the man from the Sheng Family as look towards the man.

"Well Old Zhu it seems that today's auction has been decided!" said Tang Fei as he sent a voice transmission to Xin Zhu.

"Indeed so, sigh..." Xin Zhu said with a slight loss of spirit.

Mistress Xuan and Xuan Bei looked towards the man with flame engraved pendant and saw that he shook his head wearily, soon, they became depressed.

As Feng Yu, Dai Lin and Hui Ying saw this scene they couldn't help but sigh to themselves inwardly.

Feng Yu looked on for a moment before removing his vision and getting up from his seat as he spoke "Brother Ying, Dai Lin, It seems that the situation is as we've expected to unfold. No one will challenge the prestige of the empire that governs them; It's about time we head back, as I'm eager to test out this new sword of mine." as he said this he placed both swords on his back, Black Lightning on his left and Crimson Ember on his right.

"Yeah, no point staying here any longer, heh, I've already gathered a few necessary items as well," said Hui Ying.

"Em," replied Dai Lin who followed behind Feng Yu as they made their way towards the exit, but just as soon as they were about to leave the room, there was a change.

"I'm sorry fellow Daoist's but the Southern Wasteland does no care about face, we offer one hundred thousand upper-grade essence stones!" said a man beside the young man from the southern wasteland. He was wrapped from head to toe with strange garments and looked as if he traveled the from the deepest part of the desert.

As soon as his voice ended, there was a strange scene, as all influential parties looked towards the man in shock. The man from the Golden Dragon Empire frowned as he looked towards the odd-looking figure seated a layer below him.

WhiteMask seeing this scene smiled as he thought to himself "Hehehe! How fascinating! I didn't think they'd travel from so far to partake in this empire's affairs, but who am I to judge, I'm here too after all."

The man with the flame engraved pendant shook his head as he viewed this scene he looked towards skinny man beside him and spoke solemnly. "No matter what the means we have to keep some degree of control, Fei Tan, relay my message to the knights. Gather at Machen Town at once!"

"By Your Excellency's command!" said Fei Tan who then vanished with a swish of his body.

Noticing that there was no longer any bids WhiteMask laughed to himself as he spoke."One hundred thousand upper-grade essence stones!"

"Going once! Going twice!..."

"Sold to the group from the Southern Wasteland!!!...." he roared at the top of his voice as a brilliant light shone across the entire auction room.

"Wasteland!... Wasteland!... Wasteland!..." his voice resounded throughout the entire auction room as well as the private room that Feng Yu and the guys were about the exit.

Feng Yu looked back in shock as he said "How could I forget them? It seems that father was right... this group from the Southern Wasteland..." as if continuing his statement the man from the Golden Dragon Empire spoke from his position as he looked down at the man.

"Is... no ordinary influence...."

WhiteMask smiled as he spoke one final time "I now announce the end of this Year's Mystery Pavilion Auction!"

"Everyone till next time we meet!!!" as he said this his figure blurred as he turned into a ball of white light and scattered across the room, leaving a silent audience and quiet scene.