Dual Sword God - Chapter 59: A Fallen Prince, The Ghostly Xiang Shu!

Somewhere far away...

The night the stars shine brightly, as a myriad of colorful stars illuminated the vast sky across its endless horizon. If one looked carefully, they would see a few unusual stars each with their own unique traits, some bearing a strikingly bright hue, and others bull bearing more of a dull tone.

On top of a very large mountain, a young man stood in silence while gazing at these strange stars in the night, his eyes were fixed on a lone bright red star giving off a blazing kind of energy. It seemed as if this star was the source of all flames itself as no other stellar stars within the cosmos were located in its vicinity.

Expression of longing appears on the face of the young man as he reached his hand out as if to try and pick this star from the night sky itself as he spoke in a soft voice.

"The Eternal Star... " said Xiang Fang as he slowly began to remove his sight, however, as he was about to continue his journey his eyes couldn't help but stop on a very dull star which also occupied a quiet and remote corner of the starry cosmos. It was a dead star seeming to have been forgotten by all including the universe itself.

"A destined trash will always be destined trash..." he said with a trace of mock upon his face, but soon his gaze became filled with shock.

Puii!

Instantly, the odd color of the stars began to shine, filling it with a life of its own, it now emitted a lonely but noble prestige, one that remained determined to walk its path of loneliness even to the ends of time itself.

Xiang Fang looked at this star in shock as a wave of anger and curiosity filled his mind, he gripped his fists tightly and shouted at the night sky.

"Who did it?... Who changed his destiny?....." his voiced echoed throughout the world filling the region with a dark aura that continued to spread for hundreds of kilometers, soon fading into the darkness of the night...

*******

Within the Chosen Battle Arena, in the Golden Square Battle Platform.

Two forms faced each other with different expressions, as the figure on the left looked at the figure on the right with an arrogant and disdainful expression and the latter observed with a strange indifference and cloudy smile.

"Nothing but trash from a small-time family clan, get down from the platform!!!" shouted Xuan Bei as he looked at Xiang Shu with unhindered disdain.

As the spectators heard this, they couldn't help but mock in disdain.

"Ha Ha! The Prince doesn't even want to waste time-fighting such a small time character!" said an individual.

"Xiang Shu should just give up now, he's not like his older brother there is no way he will be capable of handling Crown Prince Xuan Bei!" said a Machen Town local practitioner.

As the practitioners continued to discuss among themselves, Xiang Shu finally spoke.

"He He He! Xuan Clan's Young Master, I wonder what will happen if a kingdom loses its prince?" asked Xiang Shu in a creepy and dark tone.

Xuan Bei looked at Xiang Shu in surprise for a moment before a fierce light begun to shine in his eyes.

Xiang Tian hearing this was stunned as a look of shock appeared on his face, as Xuan Lie and Mistress Xuan looked towards Xiang Shu with a sharp light.

"Ha Ha Ha!! This has got to be the funniest thing I've heard in a very long time! You, Xiang Shu certainly are quite the comedian!.." as Xuan Bei said this, he couldn't help but on a mocking expression his face as he spoke once more.

"Tell me! Is your brother also the same? The so-called Genius of the Xiang Clan never seen in a hundred years who just so happened to run away after gaining his title 10 years ago!" asked Xuan Bei with a sneering expression.

As Xiang Shu heard Xiang Fang being mentioned a sudden and strange emotion soon erupted from deep within his entire being, quickly a look of struggle could be seen on his face before promptly returning to his previous indifferent expression.

He looked at Xuan Bei and spoke. "That's enough chatter! It is time for you to accept your demise..." as he said this he quickly assumed a strange posture as the winds in the surrounding environment flowed towards his form.

Xuan Bei seeing this sneered inwardly, but he didn't let his guard down quickly he circulated his <Bright Fire Serpent Steps> and rushed towards Xiang Shu hoping to put an end to this life.

"You filthy and lowly commoner! If I don't kill you for disrespecting me in front of my kingdom's audience, then I am not fitted to being a prince!!! Prepare to die!!!" Xuan Bei roared as his form swayed like a serpent rushing towards his prey leaving bright red marks on the ground for each of his steps moved forward.

Swish! Swish!

Xiang Shu looked on with an indifferent expression as he slowly spread open his arms appearing as if he was spreading his wings.

Soon, an illusion appeared over his form a dark jade-like wind gathered around his entire being creating a formless wing.

Brush!

A gentle breeze blew, which instantly caused his body to glide into the air appearing like a kite floating around due to the wind.

"Dark Jade Wind Arts: Arial Gliding Wings!..." said Xiang Shu as his form continued to rose higher and higher soon coming to a step above Xuan Bei's head.

Bang!

"Flying! How could he be flying?" said Xuan Lie as he saw this scene he couldn't help but stomp the ground in his surprise.

"No! He's not flying but floating or rather gliding! He's making use of the forces of the wind to pull off this incredible feat, his talent for the 'Wind' is no inferior to that Dai Lin's talent for 'Lightning'." replied Fei Tan who stood beside Xuan Lie.

"When did Shu'er advance his jade wind arts? What is this Dark Jade Wind? DId he customize it himself?" Xiang Tain asked puzzledly.

The Golden Dragon Empire, Midnight Temple, Southern Wasteland and other Major Influential Characters each continued to observe the scene with surprised looks on their faces, as the woman in white robes watched in silence.

Zang Xu, Xia Rou, Ye Wang, Wuqi Shouzhi, Feng Yu, Dai Lin, Hui Ying, Xin Qing and the Southern Wasteland Youth each placed on a profound expression as they felt a strange power surrounding Xiang Shu's form.

Feng Junling who had been observing for a while now finally shook his head and a solemn light shone in his eyes as he spoke. "I am sure now.. after seeing his use of their family technique and feeling this presence shrouding his form..."

As the individuals and influences continued their own thoughts, the battle scene was about to shake up wildly.

Xuan Bei who had now been forced to stop his movement technique looked up at the hovering form of Xiang Shu in shock and anger.

"You damn coward! Get down here now!!!" he roared and started to gather his strength to perform his <Bright Fire Serpent Arts> 'Flaming Finger.'

Bang!!!

His bright fiery initial stage 9 Tier Body Training essence-energies burst forth surrounding his entire form, soon flowing towards his finger which he aimed towards Xiang Shu who was hovering in the sky like a hawk looking at its prey.

As Xiang Shu saw Xuan Bei's technique, he looked down calmly at Xuan Bei's form as he stretched his palm out and spoke indifferently.

"Dark Jade Wind Arts: Dark Wind Palm!!!....." shouted Xiang Shu, as clusters of dark wind energy began to flow from the surrounding environment. Including the dark clouds scattered about, soon, his palm became covered in dark-windy energy which he launched towards Xuan Bei while remaining hovering in the air.

Swoossshhh!!!!

A terrifying wind pressure shot towards Xuan Bei, filled with a chilly and dark kind of energy seemingly capable of sweeping away the life of all living things.

Xuan Bei feeling this energy was shocked as he quickly finished gathering his power into his flaming finger and fired the essence-energies towards Xiang Shu's form.

"Bright Fire Serpent Arts: Flaming Finger!!!!!..." he roared as the bright fire essence-energies rushed towards Xiang Shu's attack quickly colliding with the assault.

BANGG!!!!!!

An explosion soon followed which scattered a large number of bright flames within the region of the golden square burning around the entire battle platform, the dark-chilly winds further add to the flames causing a burning chilly aura to flow around the platform.

Xuan Bei stood within the center of these flames with a dark expression as he tried to fight off this cold aura, he raised his head still saw Xiang Shu's form that floated proudly in the air.

"You son of a bitch! I dare you to get down here and..." before he could finish his words suddenly his vision began to get blurry, as his footsteps started to grow unstable, blood could be seen flowing from the corner of his lips.

"What?... What's going on?" asked Xuan Bei who seemed to have no idea what just happened, soon, he could only feel a chilliness growing inside of his body.

"You want to know what's happening inside don't you?..." said a dark and chilly voice coming from behind Xuan Bei.

Xuan Bei looked as around ins shock, as he saw Xiang Shu's form that now stood behind him and the after image that was hovering above the sky slowly fading away.

"When did you---" Xuan Bei felt so shocked he couldn't even think straight and began to ask a different question, however before he could finish another stunning scene happened.

Puchi!!!

The sound of flesh being pierced through resounded throughout the battle platform.

Pat. Pat.

Droplets of blood could be seen falling onto the ground from the tip of the finger belonging to hand that was plunged through the heart of Xuan Bei from behind.

Xuan Bei tried to move his head to look at the form again, but his life had already started to fade away, and he could speak in a soft, lifeless tone.

"I... How could I fall here?... How can you... do... this?..." as he spoke up to here the hand that was plunged into his back was violently removed.

Puchi! Puff!!!!!!!!

The instant it was removed, a wave of blood then shot towards the sky soon scattering around Xuan Bei's entire form.

Thud!

He collapsed on the floor losing all signs of life, as his blood trickled about slowly spreading across the battle stage. The observing spectators which included the common practitioners, Chosen Candidates and Major Influences looked at this scene in shock.

Xiang Shu who now stood silently within the field waved his bloodied arm flashing off all the blood onto Xuan Bei's corpse as he spoke in an emotionless and indifferent manner.

"You ask too many questions! So just die already..." as he said this he turned his back and looked towards the Ancient Dragon with a strange light shining at the depths of his eyes.

Flash!

A flash of light occurred soon sending both forms away to their respected areas, only this time the corpse of Xuan Bei was sent directly towards Mistress Xuan and Xuan Lie.

"Bei... Bei Child!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mistress Xuan broke into tears as she saw the dead body of Xuan Bei, which now stood before her.

"Ahh!!!!!" her voiced reached towards the depts of the sky as she grabbed his shirt and sobbed in a broken down state.

Xuan Lie eyes shone with a ruthless light as he looked at Fei Tan and spoke. "Tend to my wife.."

"Yes! Your Excellency!..." said Fei Tan as he moved beside Mistress Xuan and started to comfort her while looking at Xuan Bei's corpse with pity.

Xuan Lie looked towards the form of Xiang Shu who stood quietly and indifferently on the outer square.

"Do you know what you've done?..." he said in a deep voice that spread coldness to any who listened.

Xiang Shu smiled and responded. "I've claimed a token from a useless talent and have now become the first to advance as a Pseudo Chosen! Is there a matter?"

The crowd hearing his words where stunned, even the top class Chosen Candidates along with Feng Yu, Hui Ying and Dai Lin looked towards him with a different light.

Huan Mang smiled with a cold light shining at the depths of his eyes as he saw the scene before him, as the Townlord and his wife looked on with shocked gazes.

Xiang Tian who heard this was suddenly awoken from him dazed state as he muttered in a flurried manner.

"Oh, Shit! What has this stupid brat done? I have to stop it now!!!" he said as he looked towards the extremely angered Xuan Lie and sputtered.

"Your Honored Excellency!! Please forgive this foolish brat of mine as he does not know what he's saying!!! I would like to take this chance to make an announcement!! Xiang Shu! from this day forward we are no longer father and son, you will have nothing to do with the Xiang Family ever again!!!!!!" Xiang Tian roared with all his heart, the Major Influences observing looked with a hint of pity in there hearts as a few had gazed filled with schadenfreude.

"Your son? Good! Good! Good!" replied Xuan Lie in a derisive manner.

Xiang Tian instantly felt that situation was not right he wanted to speak once more but soon was interrupted by Xuan Lie's next words.

"I Bright Flame King!! Will swear to you that from this day forward there will be now Xiang Clan within the entirety of the Bright Flame Kingdom!!!!" Xuan Lie roared with a deep voice.

Swoosh!

A dark wind blew as a striking tension filled the air, as the night continued to grow darker and the battles continued...

True Martial World - Chapter 143: Jin Long Camp

The Divine Capital's city walls were seventy to eighty feet thick. After passing through the city walls, Yi Yun saw the vast city in it.

The main street of the Divine Capital was wide enough for ten near-horned beasts to walk side by side. The two sides were lined with various shops, inns, cultivation grounds and battle arenas!

The stores sold desolate bone relics, weapons and all sort of treasured materials!

There were all sorts of treasures that were priceless!

Many of the inns that provided accommodation for warriors had their own spirit arrays that condensed Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, making it a good cultivation ground. The cost of staying one night was enough to last a commoner for many lifetimes.

As for the fighting arenas, they were filled with experts coming from all corners of the divine kingdom. Some earned resources in the battle arena, while some used it to hone their skills, hoping to break through in the midst of battle!

Along the way, Yi Yun could feel that the Divine Capital was opening up a brand new world for him. This impact was freakish!

The Divine Capital was humongous and the city covered a vast area, with many houses in it. It was enough to accommodate a large number of troops.

In the Jin Long Wei territory, just the barracks stretched more than ten kilometers. Together with other cultivation grounds, it covered a wide area. But yet, all of this easily fit in the Divine Capital.

Before he entered the Jin Long Wei camp, Yi Yun could see spirit energy charging into the sky from the camp.

This spirit energy was overwhelming as it covered the sky. The clouds in the sky were blown away by this surge.

It was an extremely masculine killing intent! Even from afar, Yi Yun could feel the pressure from that oppressive rush. It made him distraught.

"He! Ha!"

From far, Yi Yun could hear the shouts of the soldiers training. The shouts rumbled and the noise was deafening.

Cracking of joints and twanging of tendons could also be heard. These sounds prevented birds and eagles from flying across the camp.

"How is it? This is the Jin Long Wei Divine Capital's camp! Come on, let's go in!"

They went through strict checks at the entrance before entering the camp. In the camp, everything was very regimental. The camp guards aura were even greater than those that guarded the Divine Capital's entrance.

On the road to the camp, cart after cart of meat was being shipped inside.

The meat was fierce beast meat. Many of these dead fierce beasts were bigger than elephants. If one was cured and given to a commoner family, it would allow a family of three to eat it for ten years.

But in the Jin Long Wei camp, the people who trained consumed a lot of energy. By using the Elephant Swallowing Technique, a fierce beast the size of an elephant was nothing.

When Yi Yun observed the procession, he saw lines of people moving grain, meat, and vegetables. It was a sight to be seen!

An army's battle power could be understood just by looking at the food they ate!

"I'll let your sister and servants wait here. They are not allowed to enter the camp. The commander of the Divine Capital's Jin Long Wei is General Yan. All the chosen Jin Long Wei elites have to first meet General Yan. Besides the Cloud Wilderness, there have been many new recruits all over the Divine Kingdom. Soon, there will be a Jin Long Wei assembly to welcome the new members"

"Oh?" Yi Yun was shocked. It seemed that out of a large number of troops that were chosen at the Kingdom's selection, only a small portion was sent to the Divine Capital city. The other recruits were scattered around in the Divine Kingdom's territories.

It was expected. The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's Jin Long Wei had many stations to man. Which station wouldn't need recruits?

"How many recruits were sent to the Divine Capital's Jin Long Wei camp?" Yi Yun asked casually.

"About one or two thousand people. Those that were made elites number about one or two hundred."

Only the elites could meet Yan Menglong. In Zhang Tan's troops, Hu Ya was the only other one with the qualification to do so, other than Yi Yun.

Hu Ya was a quiet man who didn't say much on the trip. He and Yi Yun followed Zhang Tan past the heavily guarded rows of guards before they reached the square in front of the general's camp.

At the entrance to the square stood the personal guards of General Yan. They were like bronze sculptures that stood motionlessly.

After passing the authentication, Yi Yun and Hu Ya went into the square. There were already dozens of people waiting.

These people were, without any exceptions, young men. They all looked exceptional. No one looked like an ordinary person!

These people were the young warriors that had passed the kingdom's selection!

Some of them wore extremely luxurious clothes, with some sewn from divine silk that made it difficult for a normal sword to slice through.

Others had expensive weapons with them. The cost of those weapons was much higher than Yi Yun’s Yanchi saber.

"These people… aren't from the Cloud Wilderness." Yi Yun suddenly realized. The kingdom's selection was not only held in the Cloud Wilderness but everywhere within the Divine Kingdom. As such, many people had been recruited.

They were the young elites from all parts of the Divine Kingdom!

Yi Yun noticed that there were people surrounding a large animal skin drum for reasons unknown.

Upon the arrival of Yi Yun, Zhang Tan, and Hu Ya, they immediately attracted the attention of many people.

"Haha! Isn't this Thousand Households Zhang?" Just as Zhang Tan brought Yi Yun and Hu Ya into the square, a stout man came forward. The man was wearing shiny gold armor with his helmet held to his chest. He looked mighty.

Not only that, he had larger than average ears that protruded out, making him look comical.

Following behind the big-eared man was six youths in extraordinary outfits.

"Thousand Households Liu!" Zhang Tan cupped his fists as he smiled and licked his lips.

Yi Yun could feel that there was a spark within Zhang Tan's eyes when he looked at the big-eared man.

In the army, they would all work together on the battlefield. But in private, different troops vied against each other!

During normal training, demonstrations or fighting on the battlefield, all of them would stretch to their fullest to compete against one another!

To soldiers, the collective glory was their pride!

So whenever the Jin Long Wei's Thousand Households met, they would try to outdo the other.

"Tsk! Thousand Households Zhang, you went to recruit troops in the Cloud Wilderness. This recruit is definitely from the Cloud Wilderness…"

The big-eared man pointed at Hu Ya. He did not count Yi Yun because Yi Yun was wearing his flying fish robe with a Yanchi saber by his side. He did not look like a youth from the vast wilderness.

As for Hu Ya, he had a wildness associated with him like that of a wolf or leopard. It made him look like he came from the vast wilderness.

Therefore, the big-eared man deemed Yi Yun a young master accompanying Zhang Tan into the Jin Long Wei camp.

Zhang Tan did not reply, and the big-eared man carried on, "Bro, a few days ago I went to the Nanjun province of the Jing state and there were a few family clans there where I chose a few good seedlings!"

"Speaking of the Jing state Nanjun province’s family clans, they are full of astounding young men. Too bad for that there were not enough spots for me, causing me to miss out on some good seedlings. Such a waste." The big-eared man said it as he eyed the youths behind him. Clearly, these youths were soldiers selected by the big-eared man. They were indeed handsome and had a reticent aura. It was obvious that they were top-notch youths.

"These six kids are all going to become Jin Long Wei elites! As long as they pass the recruit training, they will enter my Sky Wolf camp and become elite soldiers under my care!"

According to the unspoken rules of the Jin Long Wei, whoever selected the soldiers could recruit them under their flag.

This was similar to the imperial examinations. Whoever the examiner admitted would become the students of the examiner.

Hence, the various Thousand Households were secretly in a competition.

The selected disciples would become their own soldiers, so who wouldn't be more meticulous?

Zhang Tan, who had gone to the Cloud Wilderness, had suffered. The talent in the Cloud Wilderness was much worse.

As for the big-eared man, he had gone to the Jing state Nanjun province where there were large family clans. It was a gravy train.

The big-eared man was a veteran and had been competing with Zhang Tan for years. He had managed to get back at Zhang Tan this time round, making him extremely delighted.

Furthermore, Zhang Tan had only Hu Ya as an elite member. Not comparing on quality, just by the quantity, Zhang Tan had lost to him.

Zhang Tan smiled and stroked his chin saying, "Big Ear Liu, you don't have to flaunt your achievements in front of me. Indeed, the six of them are not bad! But they may not be better than the two I chose! It is about the quality, not the quantity!"

Zhang Tan was confident in his taste. Yi Yun was needless to say, but even Hu Ya was extraordinary. On this trip, Zhang Tan had been observing Hu Ya and found him to his liking.

"Two?"

Big Ear Liu was surprised. He had originally thought that Zhang Tan had only chosen one and never expected Zhang Tan to say he had chosen two.

The first was Hu Ya, then the second was…

He looked with astonishment at Yi Yun. This young scion was a recruit Zhang Tan chose from the Cloud Wilderness?

How could it be… his clothes…

Big Ear Liu had already noticed that Yi Yun was wearing the flying fish robe. As a soldier of the Divine Kingdom, Big Ear Liu was extremely sensitive to the dressings of the various nobles. How could he not notice the flying fish robe?

Although the six youths behind him wore clothes that were made of a material of much higher quality than the flying fish robe, it was no f**king use!

The value of the clothes was determined by the meaning the clothes represented.

Wealthy businessmen could wear expensive clothes, but the respect they gained was nothing.

"He's wearing a flying fish robe and has been made a Kingdom Knight! The recruit you brought from the Cloud Wilderness has been made a Kingdom Knight?" Big Ear Liu was stunned. He could not believe that Yi Yun was originally not a noble. How could a Kingdom Knight come from the Cloud Wilderness?

There could only be one possibility and that was Zhang Tan had chosen Yi Yun, and by pleading to the upper echelon of the Jin Long Wei, helped him become a Kingdom Knight!

He was just a Kingdom Knight too, the same rank as a damn kid standing beside Zhang Tan!

How could Big Ear Liu feel comfortable about it?

I chose six recruits, each like a dragon, but did not request a title from headquarters. You went to the Cloud Wilderness, a godforsaken place to have a selection and you actually managed to confer a Kingdom Knight!?

True Martial World - Chapter 142: Divine Capital

Dozens of near-horned beasts, led by Zhang Tan, ran through the vast wilderness.

The number of Jin Long Wei troops that had come to Cloud Wilderness totaling ten thousand. The team led by Zhang Tan was just one of them.

Yi Yun also knew the reason behind the Jin Long Wei's foray into the Cloud Wilderness. It was because of Purple Clouds' Birth that had occurred a few months ago. It's worrying the Tai Ah Kingdom, causing it to send the Jin Long Wei to search the vast wilderness for any treasures.

In the end, no treasure was found, but an ancient mystic realm was found.

Marquis Wenyun came to the Cloud Wilderness personally to search the mystic realm. Due to an array of the mystic realm that they could not resolve, they had to seek the help of Su Jie.

That mystic realm was enormous, so Marquis Wenyun and the company will take a long time to come out.

Added with the fact that the treasure was not found even after months of searching, the Jin Long Wei no longer had any reason to stay in the Cloud Wilderness.

So from yesterday, the ten thousand Jin Long Wei troops were ordered to leave the Cloud Wilderness. Zhang Tan's team was the first batch that went.

…

The vast wilderness that is very broad. Within it, there were high mountains that stretched tens of thousands of meters into the sky. The peaks were covered with snow from years of accumulation. Glaciers blotted out the sky and covered up the earth!

Past the glaciers were canyons with raging rivers as vast as the sea!

Yi Yun followed the Jin Long Wei team and on this journey, he saw the magnificent scenery of the vast wilderness. It was rough but grand, which amazed him.

Without troops who accompanied him, and without the special mount, it would be too difficult to cross the vast wilderness.

There was a legend that long time ago, a glorious divine kingdom stood in the the Cloud Wilderness. It slowly declined and many martial arts heritage were lost, leaving a few small surviving tribes.

They traveled for more than a month.

Even while traveling, Yi Yun did not show any negligence to his cultivation.

Yi Yun wore the Flowing Mercury Gown Lin Xintong gave him. When he sat on the near-horned beast, Yi Yun lowered the Flowing Mercury Gown to its lowest weight in consideration for the near-horned beast.

But once the team stopped, Yi Yun would immediately increase the weight and binding of the Flowing Mercury Gown during his cultivation!

Yi Yun would wear the Flowing Mercury Gown to train.

In the past, Yi Yun could demonstrate the ‘Dragon Rib Tiger Bone Fist’ a few dozen times.

But now, due to the Flowing Mercury Gown’s restraint, he could only do it seven to eight times before his energy became severely depleted. It was not the weight but the binding the Flowing Mercury Gown had on his body that drained his energy. Be it punching, kicking, stretching or leaping, his speed was much slower than usual.

When his energy depleted, he would take supplements. However, the bone relics Yi Yun had accumulated when he entered the Desolate Human Valley were running out.

Eventually, Yi Yun not only had to rely on the Purple Crystal to absorb Heaven Earth Yuan Qi, but he had to eat large amounts of desolate beast meat. Thankfully with the 'Elephant Swallowing Technique', Yi Yun did not reach the point of running out of energy for his cultivation.

This made Yi Yun sigh. He realized that the amount of resources expended by warriors could only be described as horrifying. But such high intensity training had very obvious effects.

In this month, Yi Yun got more used to the pressure applied on him by the Flowing Mercury Gown. If he lowered the binding strength of the Flowing Mercury Gown to the lowest, it was like he was wearing a tight shirt and it was not restricting his movement.

A month flew by as they traveled several tens of thousands of kilometers, and after traveling through a long-distance array, they arrived at a border town.

After waiting in the border town for three days, they re-grouped with other Jin Long Wei teams. Traveling through another long-distance array, they finally reached their destination – the Divine Kingdom's central plains!

When Yi Yun walked out of the long-distance array following a group of Jin Long Wei, what he saw made him take a deep breath!

They found themselves on an extremely long precipice. And below the precipice, there was a ten thousand feet drop!

This cliff was extremely smooth. It was as if a mountain had been cleaved into two by a god. One half was removed, leaving the other half there like a ruler that spanned across!

Under the ten thousand feet drop, what stood at the limits of human vision, was an even more shocking scene.

There stood a thick divine tower. The divine tower was black and was like a world tree, reaching up into the sky!

Around the unbelievable thick tower was a huge city.

This city's walls were dark red in color. They were tall and thick. It looked like the gates of Heaven from afar.

Above the city walls were hundreds of airships in the sky. Each airship could carry tens of thousands of people. In between the airships, there were various spirit beasts flying. These spirit beasts were covered in scales and grew dragon horns. Some of them had colorful feathers while others looked terrifying with dragon heads and lion bodies.

Every spirit beast gave off a very strong aura, more than a hundred times greater than the Jin Long Wei's near-horned beast mounts!

The people could tell that people were riding these spirit beasts even from afar.

It was hard to believe what sort of people could ride these ancient beasts.

"The people of the vast Cloud Wilderness with numerous tribal clans have all been living in a well all their lives…" Yi Yun muttered to himself. He had heard it more than once in the vast wilderness that this world was incredibly big. He also knew the unimaginable power the big sects and the ancient divine kingdom had.

But even after being mentally prepared, Yi Yun still found it hard to settle the shock he had encountered when he saw it with his own eyes.

It was amazing. The picture in front of him could not be described with the word majestic!

Yi Yun had received proud results in the vast wilderness, but when placed in the ancient Tai Ah Kingdom, it was nothing.

Yes, from the Heaven, Earth, Mystic and Yellow ranks, he was only appraised at the Mystic rank. And within the Mystic rank, he wasn't at the highest grade.

Yi Yun was still alright. The people that had accompanied Yi Yun to the heartlands were completely dumbfounded. The scene in front of them was beyond their comprehension.

What is this place? Is it heaven?

The world could actually be like this?

While Yi Yun was still reeling from his shock, he felt a soft hand place over his palm. Yi Yun turned and realized it was Jiang Xiaorou. "Yun'er, you still have a long way to go."

"Yes!" Yi Yun nodded with a smile. Jiang Xiaorou was always able to tell what was on his mind immediately.

In Yi Yun's mind, Jiang Xiaorou was a kind and considerate girl.

Zhang Tan patted Yi Yun on the shoulders and said, "That city is the Divine Capital. The Tai Ah Kingdom has 108 states and 24 wild lands. This Divine Capital is one of the biggest cities within the Tai Ah Kingdom's Jing state"

"Divine Capital! One of the biggest city in the Jing state…" Yi Yun's eyebrow twitched. Such a large city was just one of the many jurisdictions of the Tai Ah Kingdom, it was only one out of all the biggest cities!

The heritage of the Divine Kingdom was self-explanatory!

"Let's go. Let's enter the city! The Jin Long Wei has a big camp in the Divine Capital. That is our territory." With that said, Zhang Tan pulled on the reins. The near-horned beast ran along the cliff and after an hour, went around the large cliff to the grand entrance of the Divine Capital.

Upon closer look, the Divine Capital was magnificent. The Divine Door was like the door to heaven in legends. It was almost a hundred meters tall.

In front of the Divine Door, two groups of guards stood neatly. They were dressed in shiny silver armor. Each of them had a four foot long saber hanging by their waists. They had an hidden imposing air. They were like a row of dormant primordial desolate beasts.

It was clear with one look that these people had gone through all sorts of bloodshed, and they were not just chosen for their fierce looks.

One could tell the strength of a city's heritage by looking at its guards. These guards were all warriors at the peak of Purple Blood!

Upon thinking of this, Yi Yun felt breathless.

"Dismount!" With a wave of Zhang Tan's hand, everyone had to dismount.

Zhang Tan smiled, "It's a rule of the Divine Capital. Commoners have to dismount when going through the city gates, but… Kingdom Knights and Barons are not restricted by these rules. They can ride their mounts while traveling through the city gates. If we go one step higher, such as viscounts or higher ranks, they can ride their flying mounts and fly over the city walls directly into the Divine Capital. In the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, ranks are made clear and order is strictly obeyed!"

"Oh? Rank…" Yi Yun faltered. "Wouldn't making such a clear difference in rank incite the unhappiness of the people?"

Zhang Tan paused before saying, "Why would they be unhappy? In the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, all the people with noble ranks have to go far to fight enemies. They have to resist the attacks of fierce and desolate beasts. They can be said to be putting their lives on the line to ensure the safety of the commoners. The higher the rank of a noble, the greater exploits they have accomplished! There are so many people who want to enter the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's lands to lead a safe life. They can only feel grateful to the warriors who protect them. So why would they be dissatisfied?"

Zhang Tan's words enlightened Yi Yun. Yes, this alternate world was not a peaceful one. A person's status and glory had to be earned with their lives!

Obtaining a status by inheritance or by relationships would make people unhappy, but the honor gained from risking one's life would give them respect and awe.

As such, in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, the status of being a noble not only meant privilege, it also meant infinite glory!

With this thoughts in mind, Yi Yun looked up to the sky. There were huge, luxurious airships and gallant spirit birds and spirit beasts.

Noticing Yi Yun's eyes, Zhang Tan laughed, "What are you thinking about?"

Yi Yun hid nothing and said, "I was thinking that one day, I will be sitting on those airships, or riding those flying spirit beasts, or primordial beasts into the Divine Capital!"

"Hahaha!" Zhang Tan laughed heartily. "Yes, that's the way! As a person who practices martial arts, that has to be the way! There is no limit to the martial arts way. We need to continuously climb higher!"

With that said, he patted Yi Yun's shoulder firmly. He liked this youth more and more.

Whatever Yi Yun had done in the Lian tribal clan was reported to Zhang Tan by Sun Jingrui. Upon receiving the report, Zhang Tan felt that Yi Yun's temperament was very much to his liking.

A warrior had to be as such, to settle vengeances quickly, and to discriminate between friends and foes.

True Martial World - Chapter 141: Goes to the Central Plains

More than fifty thousand kilograms of fierce beast meat was piled in the center of the village.

The entire Lian tribal clan, which comprised of a few thousand people, was gathered in the central square of the village. They looked at the mountain of meat with shocked but radiant eyes.

This was fierce beast meat! It was worth more than cattle meat, and tasted delicious! Eating a piece of it gave a person strength, allowing them to stay full for a day!

More than fifty thousand kilograms of meat could last a long time!

But while some people rejoiced, some people lamented. Those who previously lorded over others in the Lian tribal clan were bitter.

They knew that no matter how great the fierce beast meat was, they would not receive much.

"Yun-er, you're back!" Yi Yun had been gone for three days. Although the Jin Long Wei men assured her that Yi Yun was fine, Jiang Xiaorou could not help but feel worried. Jiang Xiaorou was delighted and proud when she saw Yi Yun return safely with so much meat.

When Jiang Xiaorou, together with Zhou Xiaoke appeared, the villagers quickly gave way to them.

Everyone looked at the two girls with respect, some with ingratiating miens. They knew that these two girls were the two princesses of the Lian tribal clan and they had absolute authority through Yi Yun. Whoever offended them would be risking their lives.

"Sis Xiaorou, the distribution of the meat is all up to you." Yi Yun gave Jiang Xiaorou the authority of distributing the meat. Immediately, all the people of the Lian tribal clan looked at Jiang Xiaorou with watery eyes, wishing they could kneel down in front of her and lick the ground she walked upon.

Jiang Xiaorou was, after all, a girl. She may be more resilient than the average girl, but it was inevitable she would be soft-hearted.

By letting Jiang Xiaorou distribute the meat, it was unlikely that the wicked people would not receive any.

There were more than fifty thousand kilograms of meat, which averaged out to about fifteen kilograms of meat per person.

Yi Yun had already expected this point when he gave the authority to Jiang Xiaorou to distribute because he had other plans today.

"Liu Tie, come over…"Yi Yun beckoned Liu Tie to come over.

This made Liu Tie thrilled!

Yi Yun actually took the initiative to call him!

This was a good omen. It proved that Yi Yun had intentions of making him one of his henchmen!

Liu Tie was extremely excited. He came before Yi Yun in a subservient manner. He cupped his fists and genuflected. "Greetings, Young Master. The Young Master is brilliant and mighty to slaughter desolate beasts like cattle and kill fierce beasts like chickens…"

"Enough!" Yi Yun interrupted Liu Tie's nonsense in an exasperated manner. These members of the warrior preparation camp had made sucking up a natural trait of theirs. It seemed like they would become uncomfortable the moment they did not suck up.

"Young Master, I have something to report to you." said Liu Tie.

"Oh?" Yi Yun raised his eyebrows.

"Lian Chengyu… has died…" Liu Tie had received news the previous night.

Lian Chengyu was already crippled and he did not have much life left in him. Coupled with his angered heart, he was at the extreme point of despair.

Despair and pain can destroy a person. If one did not wish to live, death was obviously imminent.

"Zhao Tiezhu has died as well. As for Lian Cuihua, she is still alive. But the villagers have made their stance clear. They want to be loyal towards you, Young Master. Whenever they see Lian Cuihua, they would walk around her and not interact with her…"

The Lian tribal clan had a food shortage. It was difficult for cripples or people with serious injuries like Zhao Tiezhu and Lian Cuihua to survive. Normal people were already starving to death, let alone them?

Zhao Tiezhu had relieved himself from his suffering, but Lian Cuihua had been isolated by the villagers. Her outcome was easily imaginable.

Yi Yun was unperturbed by the news. They deserved their just outcomes. If they wanted to harm others, they had to live with the consequences.

"Young Master, may I know your command?" Liu Tie said in an attentive manner.

"Oh… Liu Tie. Monitor the distribution of meat. If anyone has any malicious thoughts, just attack them. Also, in a few days, I'll be leaving the Cloud Wilderness. I will take about a hundred people with me. I have already made my list, so make the preparations." With that said, Yi Yun handed Liu Tie a piece of paper. Zhang Tan had promised Yi Yun that when the Jin Long Wei left, Yi Yun could bring some people with him to his fief.

It was impossible for Yi Yun to bring the entire Lian tribal clan to his territory for a few reasons. Firstly, the territory could not hold that many people and secondly, many of them were wicked, covetous of small gains, prone to bullying, and liked to strike a man when he was down. They were not any better when compared to tyrants. They only didn't become tyrants because they lacked the power. If they had the power, they would definitely have gone from bad to worse.

These people were best left in the vast wilderness. As for the good people, Yi Yun had long had the intentions of bringing them to his fief.

Liu Tie excitedly took the slip of paper. The other people of the Lian tribal clan had also heard Yi Yun!

Yi Yun was taking people out of the vast wilderness and into his fief!

They dryly and helplessly looked at the piece of paper in Liu Tie's hands, as if that piece of paper was a precious treasure map.

Compared to going into the central plains, dozens of kilograms of meat was nothing!

Indeed, Yi Yun had not much use for the meat since he had plans on leaving. Hence, he got Jiang Xiaorou to distribute the meat which would inadvertently allow the wicked villagers to get more.

With a few kilograms of meat, they would be able to weather the food shortage problem. As such, Yi Yun had shown extreme forbearance. In the future, they were to live on in the Cloud Wilderness and their lives depended on themselves.

Liu Tie's breathing sped up as he scanned the name list. The number of words he recognized did not exceed the number of fingers he had on one hand, but he knew to recognize his name.

Liu Tie saw his name.

His heart was extremely touched. Yi Yun had placed his name higher up on the list. This made Liu Tie grateful to the point of tears. He swore that he would follow Yi Yun loyally. He knew he had no skills besides sucking up. He decided to lead a peaceful life by running errands for Yi Yun in the future.

Liu Tie's greatest advantage was his ability to deal with matters. Yi Yun decided to make him a butler in the future, which could save him a lot of trouble.

"Thank you, Young Master, thank you, Young Master." Liu Tie kowtowed to Yi Yun three times. He was grateful to Yi Yun from the bottom of his heart and he was determined to go through thick and thin for Yi Yun in the future.

To have a flourishingly life in the future by following such a master, who wouldn't want it?

After the meat was distributed, the name list was announced. It was Jiang Xiaorou who taught Liu Tie how to read the words.

The names on the list were all the kind people who had been pointed out by Jiang Xiaorou and Zhou Xiaoke a few days ago.

These people were delighted to tears.

Those who were not selected looked as if they had lost their parents. Their faces turned ashen.

The joy of receiving the meat vanished.

The meat was bound to finish. What would happen to them after they finished eating it?

Imagining the tough lives they would have to suffer in the vast wilderness, they felt their future was filled with gloom and despair.

Yi Yun was unconcerned. There were too many people suffering in the vast wilderness. What was a small Lian tribal clan to him? What's more, they only had themselves to blame.

People talked about karma in this world, but it was just a beautiful wish that people in suffering had. God wasn't fair. Fairness was determined by humans.

With absolute strength, Yi Yun could formulate his own form of justice—goodness will be rewarded and the vice will have an evil recompense!

This was what strength brought…

Those were the thoughts Yi Yun had.

…

That night, the Lian tribal clan was bustling with excitement. Under Liu Tie's suggestion, the people set up a bonfire party in the central square. Fierce beasts were roasted and the fragrance of meat permeated the air. After the people finished the meat, they sang and dance. Some brave youths even took the opportunity to express their love to the girls they fancied.

Jiang Xiaorou did not participate in this bonfire party, resulting in Zhou Xiaoke becoming the absolute star.

Many people tried approaching Aunt Wang with friendly faces, hoping to propose for Zhou Xiaoke's hand. But Aunt Wang did not bother with those people.

Hmph! You are just weaklings, yet you want my daughter. Do you think I'm not aware that you want to use my daughter to get onto Kiddo Yun's giant ark and follow Kiddo Yun into the central plains? Dream on!

My daughter may not be good enough for Kiddo Yun, but I will not let her be mixed in with the likes of you. In the future, Xiaoke can be considered Kiddo Yun's god-sister. Who knows, if Kiddo Yun likes Xiaoke, Xiaoke might even be taken in as a concubine when she grows up!

This was what Aunt Wang looked forward to the most. Aunt Wang knew that Yi Yun was most likely to marry a daughter from an eminent family, so it would be a great blessing if Xiaoke could even become a concubine.

With these thoughts in mind, all those who came to propose were treated as toads lusting over swan meat by Aunt Wang. Some of them even had warts bigger than what toads had.

Try looking in the mirror first!

…

This bonfire party continued late into the night before it ended.

The next morning, under the envious stares of many people, the people who were chosen by Yi Yun entered the large baskets carried by the near-horned beasts. Following the Jin Long Wei under Sun Jingrui's lead, they headed towards the Tao tribal clan.

Along the way, all of them were in high spirits. This was the first time they were stepping out of the Lian tribal clan's wonderland. They were about to leave the vast wilderness and step into the fertile central plains. How could they not be excited?

Even Yi Yun was filled with anticipation for the future.

Yi Yun and company received news of the Jin Long Wei's departure of the vast wilderness not long after they arrived at the Tao tribal clan. After reorganizing at the Tao tribal clan for a few days, Yi Yun split his people among the ten big baskets carried by near-horned beasts. And they stepped out of the Cloud Wilderness, onward to the Kingdom's central plains…

The Legend of Futian - Chapter 19: Aftermath

The autumn Examinations ended in a small storm, People dispersed, and the gymnasium resumed its past serenity.

However, everyone was still shaken up, This autumn Ye Futian's performance was too dazzling. He transformed from an infamous loser to a genius in martial arts and sorcery. Even more, his talents was of Sky level for both arts.  But what had really made everyone jealous was his strange and mysterious relationship with Hua Jieyu. You could say that The autumn Examinations had gone his way, with the exception of his little argument with the elders about Yu Sheng's final ranking.

Besides Ye Futian, Yu Sheng also caught everyone off guard. Nobody knew what a monster he could become. All in all, Murong Qiu who was in first place, had nothing on these two.

The autumn nights brought about a bit of coolness; it seemed like winter was just around the corner.

In the next few days, Qingzhou Academy buzzed with the newest information. Murong Qiu and Hua Jieyu were becoming official disciples and had caught the attention of high-level personnel at the academy. The same was true for Yu Sheng. It had been said that a couple of the elders from the School of Martial Arts as well as the Metal Pavilion Lord had fought over him.

So many outer sect disciples were jealous of this treatment. As expected, the ones who stood out the most during the autumn Examinations were being sought after by the best of the best.

Other than that, many of the other students on the Ranking List had begun to visit the second floor of the library. They now had unlimited access to some of the most powerful martial art exercise books and spell books.

As for Ye Futian, who had been removed from the Ranking List for disrespecting academy elders, he seemed to be in a bit of a slump. Rumor had it that the elders were extremely unhappy with him, and were preparing to punish him.

Yu Sheng had stood out during the exams as well, but he was being fought over by the elders. Who would be daring enough to punish him? Besides, all of Yu Sheng's wrongdoings had been attributed to Ye Futian. That guy was really unlucky.

However, Ye Futian and Yu Sheng had been cultivating for the past few days and paid no attention to the news.

Senior Sister Qin Yi had another lecture today. Ye Futian was prepared to be a good student, so he arrived in her classroom once again.

However, as soon as he stepped into the classroom, he received strange stares from his classmates. Ye Futian really had great timing. The final verdict on his punishment had just been announced, and he had come in right on time.

Qin Yi also noticed Ye Futian's arrival and stared at him as well. She felt that Ye Futian had been wronged.

"I know I'm good looking, but you guys don't have to stare," said Ye Futian. His classmates could not help but roll their eyes. They should have known; once a shameless jerk, always a shameless jerk.

Qin Yi took a few steps toward Ye Futian and looked upset when she said, "Ye Futian, the academy has decided to temporarily ban you from lectures, but don't worry; I'm going to talk to them. I believe they'll lift the ban soon."

When Qin Yi had found out about this news, she was extremely unhappy. Everyone had seen just how gifted Ye Futian was. Even if he had created a little conflict with the elders, why should he be punished like this? Weren't the autumn Examinations supposed to be one hundred percent fair?

To be honest, Qin Yi had yet to tell Ye Futian the whole story. Not only was the academy banning Ye Futian from the class, but he was also going to be placed on probation, where they were going to keep a close eye on him. This meant that Ye Futian still had a chance of being expelled.

It was for this reason that everyone stared. Ye Futian had just proven himself not to be a loser but a top-notch genius in the cultivation of both arts. None of that could help him escape the fate of being kicked out of the academy. What a shame. Maybe this was the price you had to pay to be young and stubborn.

It still made no sense though. According to his performance at the autumn Examinations, he should still be considered one of the best in the academy.

The look on Ye Futian's face fell and his expression told the world that he felt wronged.

"Senior Sister," his voice was sunken. He walked up to Qin Yi with his head hung low. She could not bear to see him like this. Qin Yi smiled and tried to comfort him, saying, "Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay."

Ye Futian gave a quick hum and nodded his head. He then stepped forward and embraced Qin Yi.

What is he doing? Everyone around was frozen in shock. What the hell was this *sshole doing? Was he actually hugging her?

"Thank you, Senior Sister," Ye Futian said softly, as if he was filled with gratitude.

Qin Yi blinked. Something was not right.

Hadn't she only mentioned that he was being banned from class? This guy didn't come to class often anyway so why was he having such a strong reaction?

She abruptly backed away from him, her face flushed red. Qin Yi was no longer feeling any pity for Ye Futian, she was furious! She seemed to have finally realized his intentions and glared at him hard. "YE...FU...TIAN!"

"Senior Sister, I just remembered I have prior commitments. I have to go now!" His words slurred together because of his quick speech. His feet were moving just as fast. You would not have been able to tell that he was "upset" just a second ago.

"Don't let me see you again!" Qin Yi yelled at his fleeing figure.

Some of the male students stood up, finally breaking free from their frozen state.

"He...he…*sshole!" one of them shouted.

Ye Futian had actually embraced their goddess.

"That shameless *sshole! His punishment is too light; the academy should have just expelled him on the spot," said another student.

"Yeah! He should be expelled and never be allowed to step foot on academy grounds ever again!" Everyone was fuming. Their goddess had been taken advantage of!

Ye Futian and Yu Sheng were walking around the campus when Yu Sheng asked, "Did you feel anything?"

"What are you saying? I just couldn't help myself; Senior Sister is too good to me," Ye Futian answered. He gave a Yu Sheng a look of disdain for thinking that he had had impure intentions towards Qin Yi. He was not that type of person.

"Okay," Yu Sheng nodded, looking like he understood. Ye Futian could only sigh. Even Yu Sheng had changed.

"I can't believe the academy is really going to punish me," said Ye Futian. The dispute he had started during the autumn Examinations was all for naught. Yu Sheng's first place title had been wrongfully stolen, and now the academy was going to punish Ye Futian for standing up against them. Ye Futian was pissed.

Yu Sheng furrowed his eyebrows and gave his thoughts, "Maybe they're punishing you because the cabinet master and the pavilion lord felt that you damaged their reputations."

"I don't care anymore. It's not like they can really kick me out," said Ye Futian.

"Who said they can't?" Someone had spoken up from behind them. Ye Futian halted and turned to look at the speaker. His eyebrows lifted in recognition.

It was Murong Qiu. He threw Ye Futian a look of mockery and said, "You're not actually naïve enough to believe that your gifts will be able to solve all your problems, are you? If it were so, then why is it that Yu Sheng lost his first-place title?"

At the sound of his voice, Ye Futian's eyes shot up. Could it be that Yu Sheng lost his title to Murong Qiu not because of the judges' bias or misjudgment, but because of a conspiracy?

"What you're thinking right now is probably correct. Not only that, the academy's punishment for you is because of me as well." Murong Qiu stepped toward Ye Futian and lowered his voice, "Are you surprised?"

Yu Sheng's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. He was fighting a strong urge to fight.

"You want to hit me? Do you have the guts to do it? Idiot." Murong Qiu glanced at Yu Sheng. He was looking down on him. Ye Futian's chilling eyes squinted.

"I heard that you are childhood friends with Feng Qingxue. She's very beautiful. Fifteen, a tempting age, a budding flower," Murong Qiu continued. Yu Sheng took a step forward.

"Yu Sheng!" Ye Futian called out. The ice in his gaze disappeared and then he smiled.

Murong Qiu's words were getting even more unbearable now. He only had one goal, to trigger Ye Futian.

If Ye Futian and Yu Sheng actually made a move on him, Murong Qiu might not even defend himself. Then the academy would have one more reason to legitimize their punishment for Ye Futian.

"Murong Qiu, I'll remember this," said Ye Futian with a smile. He then turned to leave. "Let's go, Yu Sheng."

Yu Sheng glared at Murong Qiu one last time, then walked away to follow behind Ye Futian. Murong Qiu was surprised. He was watching the two of them leave when his demeanor cooled. Weren't they super arrogant during the exams, why were they acting so cowardly now?

"Why didn't you let me make a move on him?" Yu Sheng was very angry.

"And then have me take the blame for it?" asked Ye Futian. After what happened during the autumn Examinations, Murong Qiu had his sights set on Ye Futian.

"You can head back without me. I have business to attend to," Ye Futian said out of the blue.

"Where are you going?" asked Yu Sheng.

"The fox's den." Ye Futian turned away and left Yu Sheng standing there staring at his back. Yu Sheng muttered under his breath, "Meeting the parents already?"

It seemed like they hadn't even known each other for a month, weren't they moving a little too fast? Yu Sheng could not understand, so he shook his head and began to make his way back home alone.

Hua Jieyu's place was in a very nice area within Qingzhou Academy. It was a large private residence, separated from other buildings. Ye Futian was not surprised. That day on Mount Tianyao, even the academy elders had to pay respects to the middle-aged man. It was easy to tell that he must have been highly ranked within the academy. Besides that, Hua Jieyu has always been a person of high status and mystery in Qingzhou Academy.

Outside the residence, Ye Futian saw a young man. The young man saw Ye Futian as well and couldn't help but be confused. "Ye Futian?"

"Senior Brother," greeted Ye Futian. He vaguely recalled seeing this young man before. He had been sitting by the elders during the autumn Examinations. He must have been an official disciple.

"What are you doing here?" asked the young man. How could Ye Futian have found his way here?

"I came to look for my master," said Ye Futian.

"Your master?" the young man asked Ye Futian. "Who is your master?"

"Not too sure, but he lives here," answered Ye Futian as he pointed to the residence.

"Senior Hua?" the young man asked weakly.

"Yeah..." Ye Futian was a bit embarrassed. He did not even know his master's family name. Then he thought about the master's relationship to Hua Jieyu and what the young man said seemed to be correct, so he nodded in agreement.

The young man thought of Ye Futian and Hua Jieyu's interactions the autumn Examinations and immediately understood the situation. He grabbed his chest in pain. Then, he turned and walked away bleakly.

The young man also thought of the academy's punishment for Ye Futian. There were even some people who wanted to facilitate his expulsion from the academy. The world sure was a messy place. Who would dare to expel Senior Hua's disciple? The Pavilion Lord of the Earth Pavilion?

The Lord's Empire - Chapter 29 – Skeleton Cavalry

As Zhao Fu’s soldiers walked along the dark passageway, they soon encountered a group of Skeletons. There were 11 of them, and 5 of them were Skeleton Shieldbearers and 6 of them were Skeleton Infantry. After coming to life, they quickly ran at Zhao Fu’s forces.

At this moment, the 10 Goblin Warriors, who were wearing plate armor and holding shields that were 2 meters tall, 1.2 meters wide, and 10 centimeters thick, stepped forwards, forming a shield wall. Because the passageway was only 10 meters wide while the shield wall would be 12 meters long, one of the Goblin Warriors stepped back. However, the shield wall was able to completely stop the Skeleton soldiers.

No matter how the Skeleton Shieldbearers pushed and shoved, the Goblin Warriors were like immovable mountains.

Zhao Fu felt quite pleased when he saw this. He then ordered for a gap to be opened to allow some Skeleton soldiers in.

The 2 Goblin Warriors in the center obeyed, slightly shifting their shields. At that moment, a few of the Skeletons pushed, expecting to meet resistance, but they then fell through the gap. Quickly, the gap was closed off again.

What they faced were 10 big men wearing plate armor and holding large iron hammers.

When the iron hammers descended, the Skeleton was knocked to the ground, and after a few strikes, it was reduced to a pile of bones. Compared to sharp sabers and swords, blunt weapons were more effective against Skeletons, and Zhao Fu’s soldiers quickly used this method to kill the rest of the Skeletons.

From this group of Skeletons, they had obtained 11 Blue grade weapons and 9 Refined Martial Souls, 3 of which were useful for Shieldbearers. As such, Zhao Fu immediately gave them to the Goblin Warriors.

This was Zhao Fu’s special plan: he had equipped Goblin Warriors with large shields and large-sized plate armor. Now that the Goblin Warriors had learned Shieldbearer skills, with their immense strength, they would be excellent Shieldbearers.

Everyone in the team, no matter if it was the Goblin Warriors, Infantry, or Archers, had been given a Refined Martial Soul at some point.

Before, Zhao Fu didn’t want to use the Refined Martial Souls. After all, they were all quite special, and most of them could unlock skills that were C- grade or above. As such, he had thought that it would be a waste to give them to people who were E grade or F grade.

However, he realized that he would have to make some sacrifices to obtain even more equipment and Refined Martial Souls.

Three of the Goblin Warriors now had the C- grade skill Enhanced Shieldbearing, the 10 Infantrymen had the C grade skill Enhanced Impact, and the Archers all had the Rock Crushing Arrow skill that Zhao Fu had.

Li Wen and Liu Mei had also used Refined Martial Souls. Li Wen used an Archer Refined Martial Soul and Liu Mei used an Infantry Refined Martial Soul, so after receiving their skills, they were immediately proficient at using them.

Because Old Logue was quite old, he could not engage in close-range battles. Therefore, Old Logue did not use a Refined Martial Soul.

It was clear right now that Zhao Fu’s soldiers were quite powerful, and they could destroy Skeletons effortlessly. They now advanced two times faster than before because they could suppress the Skeletons much easier now. The Goblin Warriors formed an impenetrable iron wall, and the 10 Infantrymen used their iron hammers to smash the Skeletons, which was much more effective than cutting or slashing them.

Onwards!

Blue tongues of fire lit up in the darkness, and 17 Skeletons came to life. 6 of them were Skeleton Shieldbearers, 6 of them were Skeleton Infantrymen, and 5 of them were Skeleton Archers.

Facing so many Skeletons, Zhao Fu’s soldiers did not look afraid at all. They continued to advance in an orderly manner, and the Archers pierced the heads of 3 of the Skeleton Infantrymen in the first wave of arrows. The Goblin Warriors raised their shields and used the same method as before to deal with the Skeletons.

The equipment and items dropped were the same as always, but Zhao Fu was ecstatic to find that there was also a Soldier Soul. The drop rate for Soldier Souls was quite low, and only Skeleton Captains seemed to have a 100% chance of dropping one.

The next wave of Skeletons consisted of a Skeleton Captain and 10 or so Skeleton soldiers, and they charged towards Zhao Fu. This time, the Skeleton Captain was a Skeleton Archer who had incredibly proficient archery skills, and quite a few of Zhao Fu’s soldiers were almost injured.

However, the Skeleton Captain was quickly killed by Bai Qi and the others, and it dropped a Soldier Soul and its Silver grade bow.

 [Flowing Cloud Bow]: Grade: Silver, Stats: Strength +3, Constitution +1, Agility +2, Description: An exquisite Gold grade weapon that has become rusty due to the passage of time, becoming an ordinary Silver grade weapon.

Zhao Fu kept the Flowing Cloud Bow for now because he used his bow often. After advancing, they killed another three waves of Skeletons and obtained three Soldier Souls. The passage seemed to go on forever, and it was completely dark in front of them, making it impossible for them to see what was ahead.

Clip clop clip clop clip clop clip clop…

The sound of horse hooves seemed to come from ahead. Zhao Fu thought of something, and it seemed that everyone else had as well.

As expected, Skeleton Cavalry soon appeared in front of everyone. These Skeleton Cavalrymen were riding on Skeleton horses, and it seemed that they had kept their horses and equipment after they had died. While their equipment seemed to be White grade, their weapons seemed to be Blue grade.

When the 5 Skeleton Cavalrymen appeared, they drew their long swords and brandished them as they rushed towards Zhao Fu’s soldiers.

Zhao Fu immediately called out, “Shields!”

The Goblin Warriors raised their massive shields with both hands, forming an iron wall. They braced themselves for impact as Zhao Fu also ordered the Archers to attack.

Arrows started to fly through the air, and most of them were dodged by the Skeleton Cavalrymen. A few of them hit the Skeleton Cavalrymen, but they did not deal much damage. At most, the arrows could cause the Skeleton Cavalrymen to pause, but the arrows did not slow them down at all because they were riding on Skeleton horses.

When the Skeleton Cavalrymen were right in front of Zhao Fu’s soldiers, 4 Fireballs and 1 Wind Blade shot towards them.

Bang, bang, bang, bang…

A chain of explosions sounded out, and as these skills all exploded together, the front two Skeleton Cavalrymen were blasted off their horses, but the 3 Skeleton Cavalrymen beside and behind them were not affected much and continued onwards with the same momentum and ferocious aura.

However, they were unable to do anything to the Goblin Warriors’ shield wall, nor could they jump over it. After being hoisted up by the Goblin Warriors, the 2-meter-tall shields reached up to 2.3 meters high, a height that couldn’t be scaled by normal horses.

The Skeleton Cavalrymen could only spur their horses onwards to break through the shield wall.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three heavy sounds sounded out as the Skeleton horses slammed into the massive shields. The Goblin Warriors gritted their teeth and pushed forwards, stopping the charge of the horses.

Zhao Fu ordered the Archers to kill the 2 Skeleton Cavalrymen that had fallen off their horses before telling the Goblin Warriors to open a gap to bring in 2 Skeleton Cavalrymen.

Just as the 2 Skeleton Cavalrymen rushed in, the 10 Infantrymen split into 2 groups, raising their iron hammers and slamming them towards the Skeleton horses’ legs, bringing them to the ground.

Following this, the Infantrymen gathered around the Skeleton Cavalry and repeatedly slammed their hammers down on them, smashing them to bits before surrounding the final Skeleton Cavalryman.

The Lord's Empire - Chapter 28 – Hundred School of Thought, School of Vertical and Horizontal

After returning to the real world, Zhao Fu made a bowl of instant noodles and turned on his computer as usual. He ate his instant noodles while looking through the Heaven Awaken World forum to see if there was anything new or interesting.

It turned out that there were indeed some new additions to the Heaven Awaken World forum. There was now a ‘Hero Rankings.’

Currently, there were not any actual rankings in the Hero Rankings; right now, it was just a collection of descendants of the major heroes in history.

There were figures like the descendant of the Three Kingdom’s Lü Bu, Lü Zhan, who could take on 10 bandits with his halberd; the descendant of the Tang Dynasty’s Cheng Yaojin, Cheng Daman, who wielded his massive hatchet with great prowess; and the descendant of the Song Dynasty’s Bao Qingtian, Bao Xiaoduan, who had godly deduction skills.

After these people entered the Heaven Awaken World, they received legacies and the professions of famed generals and officials. However, it was not clear if they were willing to serve the empires that their ancestors served. They were all great talents and most likely thought highly of themselves; how could they not want to establish themselves in the Heaven Awaken World?

There was also some news that Zhuge Gui, the descendant of Zhuge Liang from the Three Kingdoms, had boldly stated that he would not serve his ancestor’s master because he wanted to prove himself to be greater than his ancestor. There was also the descendant of the Ming Dynasty’s Li Shanchang, Li Jun, who had sworn to face against Great Ming…

Apart from these, what also interested Zhao Fu was that some of the ancient Schools of Thought had started to make a comeback.

There were the Legalists, who used law to rule a country, the School of the Military, which specialised in war tactics, the Taoists, who followed the rhythm of the natural world and the Dao, the Confucianists, who sought to enlighten the world, the School of Yin Yang, which synthesised the concepts of yin yang and the five elements, the Logicians, who were skilled in debating, the Mohists, who advocated pacifism and defence, the Agriculturalists, who believed that people should live off the land, and the School of Miscellany, which tried to integrate the merits of various schools, such as Confucianists, Mohists, Legalists, while avoiding their perceived flaws…

There truly were a ‘Hundred Schools of Thought’ all battling for supremacy. The Heaven Awaken World was becoming more and more interesting, and Zhao Fu lightly laughed before his expression became grim.

“The common people live in suffering, and flames of war fill the world.

The schools of thought number one hundred, but only I travel vertically and horizontally unhindered.

The sky contains the stars and the moon, and the earth contains the Ghost Valley.

One vertical and one horizontal, unable to be comprehended for hundreds of years.”

“The School of Vertical and Horizontal!” Zhao Fu looked at this School seriously. He had to take this School seriously because it was much too dangerous.

The Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period and the Seven Powerful States during the Warring States period – behind each of their rises and falls was a single name: The Ghost Valley’s School of Vertical and Horizontal.

Pang Juan joined the state of Wei, and his bravery and martial might surpassed everyone else’s. He was an invincible force that gained victories over Han, Zhao, Chu, and Qi, causing the once-weak state of Wei to sweep away everything in the world and to dominate the central plains. Sun Bin joined the state of Qi, and with his matchless intellect, he reduced Zhao, Wei, Han, and Chu’s might, causing the state of Qi to once again gain dominance. After he died, his books on military strategy were passed on for countless generations.

Afterwards, strategist Su Qin advocated the ‘Vertical Alliance’ system, rallying the six states to ally against Qin, while Zhang Yi advocated the ‘Horizontal Alliance’ system, which supported alliances with the state of Qin to destroy the six states. The two people saw the entire world as a chess board and the countless lives as chess pieces.

Even though this School had very few people, it commanded both the respect and fear of all people. People respected the School of Vertical and Horizontal because gaining the loyalty of someone from the School of Vertical and Horizontal would be even greater than obtaining millions of experts. They were terrifying because they had the power to destroy an entire nation.

Zhao Fu paid some mind to this School, and he felt a strange sense of heaviness in his heart. In the end, he could only sigh and continue reading.

After this, the biggest matter pertained to the Ying family. The Ying family was looking for anyone with their family’s bloodline and claimed that they would treat him or her generously. The Ying Family also asked the person who obtained their ancestor’s legacy to quickly go to their main branch – no matter if it was wealth, power, or beauty, the Ying family would satisfy that person completely, and it would allow that person to become the inheritor of the next generation of the Ying family.

Zhao Fu thought about it for a moment, but because he didn't want to join the Ying family, he didn't give much thought to the matter.

However, this matter caught the attention of all of the other powerful families. In terms of strength and foundation, Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han were the 5 most powerful overlords. After Han, China descended into chaos, and no dynasty could rival those first 5.

In this world, who didn’t have ambition or want to conquer the world? Normal families could only look up to the families with the legacies of kingdoms and nations, while those families could only look up to families with the legacies of empires with their own dynasties. Those who had the legacies of empires could only look up to those 5 families.

This was truly a new warring states period, and after finishing his instant noodles, Zhao Fu drank the noodle soup and entered the Heaven Awaken World.

……………………………………………..

After entering the Heaven Awaken World, Li Si walked over to Zhao Fu, gave him a bottle of medicinal pills, and said that they were the Little Spirit Pills that they had successfully refined. Zhao Fu took off the cap and a fragrant and refreshing aroma came out from the bottle.

Zhao Fu nodded and returned to his room to try out the effects. He took one of the medicinal pills, which was a faint red color and about the size of a soybean, and consumed it before starting to cultivate.

A few hours later, a look of joy appeared on Zhao Fu’s face – his cultivation had risen.

Name: Zhao Fu

Title: None

Profession: Demon Priest

Achievement Points: Citizen (213/500)

Race: Human

Age: 21 (100)

Stats: Strength: 9, Intelligence: 12, Constitution: 8, Agility: 10

Special Power: [Weak – Demon’s Power]

Cultivation: Stage 0-2

Cultivation Technique: Great Qin Mantra

Skills: Hell Fireball, Basic Sword Technique…

Equipment: Iron Sword…

The Little Spirit Pill greatly increased his cultivation speed. After trying out its effects himself, Zhao Fu immediately ordered some people to carefully grow the Little Spirit Grass. Following this, he took his forces into the Forest of Horrors again to look for horses this time.

This time, Zhao Fu specifically brought the Grey Wolf King. Its wounds had not fully healed, but Zhao Fu was not going to make it fight. Rather, he wanted to use its keen sense of smell to find other beasts. At the same time, he changed its name to Little Grey. [TLN: Little Grey in Chinese would be ‘Xiao Hui’]

After bringing Little Grey with him, they encountered wild beasts much faster than before. This time, they found 3 Violet Flame Rabbits, one of which dropped an elemental orb, and Zhao Fu planned to give the elemental orb to Li Wen. Li Wen was one of the Great Qin Village’s rare A grade villagers and was also Li Youcai’s son, so Zhao Fu decided to start developing him.

In the next two days, they killed a few Wind Foxes, obtained a Wind Blade elemental orb, and tamed a few wild beasts. However, they did not find a single horse before returning.

The special equipment he had asked Wang Dawu to make had been completed, so Zhao Fu decided to continue exploring the bottom of the crack.

“I want to go too!” Liu Mei ran over and said as she looked at Zhao Fu.

Zhao Fu turned to look at he and said, “Your whip won’t be able to deal much damage to the Skeletons; just stay up here!”

“Don’t you have a Wind Blade elemental orb? Let me learn it and see how strong those Skeletons are!” Liu Mei said discourteously without any respect at all. Zhao Fu glared at her when he heard this.

Deep down, Liu Mei still feared Zhao Fu greatly, and she instantly became docile, awkwardly saluting him as she said sadly, “I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

Only then did Zhao Fu give her the Wind Blade skill, causing Liu Mei to be quite surprised and overjoyed. She immediately used the azure orb of light, and following this, Zhao Fu brought Bai Qi, Li Wen, Old Logue, Liu Mei, 10 Goblin Warriors, the 10 strongest Infantrymen, and 10 Archers into the passage at the bottom of the large crack.