True Martial World - Chapter 351: Leaving

Cang Yan was certain that Luo Huo'er came from an impressive background. And Luo Huo'er seemed to be someone of importance in her family clan.

Under these circumstances, it was unlikely that Luo Huo’er’s family clan would leave her completely unprotected by letting her go to the Tai Ah Divine City alone.

It was likely that Luo Huo'er had some method that could save her life. If this life-saving method could not rival the Shepherd Boy, then under normal circumstances, Luo Huo'er would have secretly informed her family clan several months ago to request for protection.

Now, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was like a drowning person. Any hanging blade of grass that could save it would be grabbed on.

Although the chances of relying on Luo Huo'er to save the Tai Ah Divine City were extremely minute, it was better than having no hope.

It was extremely difficult for a Tai Ah Divine City Sage, such as Jian Ge, to raise this issue with a young lady like Luo Huo'er as they could not bear ripping off their face to do so. Hence, this task fell gloriously onto Cang Yan, who had the thickest skin.

"Family clan? What family clan?" Luo Huo'er's eyes rolled her eyes, as if she was clueless about it.

Yi Yun also stopped his steps. He looked behind him at Luo Huo'er and Cang Yan. Cang Yan clearly had expected Luo Huo'er to feign ignorance. He coughed drily and rubbed his hands, saying, "Miss Luo, don't joke around with this old man in such a time of need. We are gambling the numerous lives of the Tai Ah Divine City’s residents on this. If we had any other options, this old man would not have put up this old face to mention this to you..."

"Lives are precious. All of us old fellows do not have many years left to live, so it's fine if we lose our lives. However, behind us, there are trillions of citizens. Amongst them are newly-wed couples, newborn children..."

"I don't think you want to see these citizens die in the beast horde. When that happens, how great a human tragedy would that be..." Cang Yan said earnestly.

Yi Yun, who was eavesdropping, could not help but admit that Cang Yan was very good at speaking. If Luo Huo'er were to turn away and leave now, she would be a heartless person.

Besides... the Tai Ah Divine City's teleportation array needed the control of two law-enforcers to activate it. If Luo Huo'er did not make any affirmation, Cang Yan would probably not let her leave.

If Luo Huo'er was forcefully left in the Tai Ah Divine City, then her family clan would probably not turn a blind eye.

Luo Huo'er clearly also understood this. She bit her lips and said, "Senior Cang Yan, it isn't because I don't want to help you all… but… I can't be of help. Your guesses are right, I do come from a very large faction. However, if you think that there is some expert protecting me nearby, then you are wrong..."

"Why do you think that with my large faction background, I would come to a place like the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom?" Luo Huo'er answered with a question. Yi Yun was shocked as he too was curious over this point.

"Actually… I'm here as a refugee. My family clan is in the midst of a war with it being in a precarious position. As a result, for the past few years, the children of my family clan have been sent to the family clan's branches all around the world to prevent the annihilation of the family clan, and ending our bloodline."

"As for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, it happens to have a branch of our family, that's why… I was sent here. If my family clan was at its peak, I might have had experts protecting me when I went out training. However, now… How could there be any one available? As for the secret family clan branch in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, they are likely helpless against such a beast horde even if they were willing to reveal themselves..."

When Cang Yan heard all that Luo Huo'er had to say, he was completely stunned.

After more than 30 seconds, Cang Yan let out a long sigh, it looked like he had grown older.

"Is that so…? If that is the case, then the Heavens really wants my Tai Ah destroyed..." Cang Yan shook his head. Although he did not hold much hope with Luo Huo'er, Cang Yan still felt his heart sink when he truly realized that Luo Huo'er could not help at all.

If the Tai Ah Divine City was lost, Cang Yan did not dare to think what would happen to the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Would the majestic Royal Capital and the bustling state cities be void of all life, eventually becoming a part of the Divine Wilderness?

Cang Yan's heart sank even more when he thought of this.

"Leave." Cang Yan waved his hand, as he stopped making it difficult for Luo Huo'er to leave.

Luo Huo'er bit her lips and strangely felt sorry. Although this matter had nothing to do with her, she still felt responsible for it.

After some thought, Luo Huo'er seemed to make up her mind. She took a jade scroll out from her interspatial ring and placed it into Cang Yan's hands.

"Senior Cang Yan, this was given to me by my father. It is an embodiment used to protect my life in times of danger, you might be able to make use of it. I'm leaving and now with the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom in danger, my family clan's branch would most likely take me away..."

Luo Huo'er's family clan was originally a passing guest in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. It was a migratory bird that landed on a tree. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Now with the tree toppling, it was impossible for the migratory bird to support the tree, it would now just fly away.

As the teleportation array flashed, Yi Yun's heart felt heavy as he was leaving.

He did not know what would happen to the Tai Ah Divine City. Cang Yan, Jian Ge and the City Lord, what did their fates entail with them staying behind?

As for Yi Yun himself, although he was returning to the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, where would it be safe when the Tai Ah Divine City falls?

Yi Yun knew clearly that his present strength was like a tiny bubble in a large tidal wave that was the super beast horde which was sweeping through several countries. He was not only helpless, but he could be destroyed anytime.

It seemed like… he was out of options...

Yi Yun and Luo Huo'er walked through the teleportation array together. There was already an airship docked at the other end. Many of the young elites had long boarded the airship, waiting to retreat back into the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

Yi Yun saw Yang Qian, Yao Dao and company.

No one spoke a word. The atmosphere was very solemn.

In a corner, Luo Huo'er sat in a daze. She seemed to be lost in thought.

Yi Yun sighed lightly as he sat beside Luo Huo'er.

The airship was started up and as it flew, it trembled in the turbulent air. Luo Huo'er's body was swaying with every tremble of the airship.

"Yi Yun… why do you think… war exists?" During the flight, Luo Huo'er suddenly asked faintly. She was looking out the window at the Divine Wilderness with a dazed expression.

If it was not for war, she would not have left her family clan. And if was not for war, lives would not be lost.

Yi Yun stayed silent for a while before saying, "The fighting between humans is the same as animals hunting each other for food. It will always be this tragic. Maybe real peace will never exist. This is because for Life to exist in this world, it has to continually hunt for food. Only through non-stop killing can Life carry on. Those are the Heavenly laws."

"Either we become the hunter or we will become the prey. There is no way to escape this cycle. Even in death, our corpses might become food or nutrients, continuing on this cycle… This is probably the hallmark of Life..." Yi Yun sighed, but when Luo Huo'er heard this, she was slightly shocked. She had just said it in passing, as if she was speaking to herself, but she had never expected Yi Yun to give her such an answer.

She never expected that a fourteen-year-old youth like Yi Yun could say such things.

"It wasn't serious." Yi Yun shrugged as he carried on, "Instead, we should now think about how we are going to carry on living."

"Carry on living?" Luo Huo'er pursed her lips, "I should… be leaving… Actually… I can put in a word with my family clan, to bring you along..."

Luo Huo'er did not have any friends in the Tai Ah Divine City, other than the dim-witted Dong'er.

Yi Yun was originally a person that Luo Huo'er found very irritating, but now with life and death on the line, Luo Huo'er no longer found him irritating.

"Leave?" Yi Yun was shocked. At that moment, he felt somewhat tempted.

If he could leave the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom with Luo Huo'er, then he would naturally be safe.

However… once he left the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, he would not know when he would ever return.

Just thinking of Cang Yan and the words that the City Lord had said to him, Yi Yun felt that it was impossible for him to do such a thing no matter what.

He was able to accomplish everything he had done because of the resources the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom provided.

He had already accepted the fact that he had no other choice but to retreat back into the Divine Kingdom. However, if he escaped by himself, while people risked their lives by staying behind, then he would be an ungrateful brat.

Furthermore, Yi Yun still had his elder sister, Jiang Xiaorou, still in the Divine Capital City. There was also Zhou Xiaoke, Aunt Wang and all those people he had close relations with. It was impossible for Yi Yun to abandon them, leaving them to die in the beast horde.

Returning to the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom meant that there was a chance to reverse the tide. After all, with so many people working hard at it, how could he choose to escape?

"No, I'll be staying behind." Yi Yun eventually rejected the tempting offer. Luo Huo'er pursed her lips and did not say anything else.

She knew that the people in her family clan branch were definitely aware that the beast horde conjured by the Shepherd Boy was much more horrifying than they had previously estimated.

Under these circumstances, her family clan branch would most likely to send someone to get her.

The airship traversed through Divine Wilderness with the atmosphere in it of complete silence. It flew towards the territories of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

While it flew, it continuously went through many large scale teleportation arrays. One bustling city after another was left behind by the airship.

Yi Yun knew that once the beast horde came, these cities would all turn to ruins.

And the residents of these cities had basically no hope of retreating. Sending away tens of millions of citizens through the city teleportation arrays needed energy that they could not afford.

"Where are we going?" A person could not help but ask when a law-enforcer walked past.

"The Divine Capital City!" The law-enforcer answered.

"Divine Capital? Why are we going to the Divine Capital?" People had originally assumed that they would head to the Imperial City.

The Imperial City was the city that had the greatest defense in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, other than the Tai Ah Divine City.

The law-enforcer said, "The Divine Capital is the largest city closest to the Cloud Wilderness. If the Tai Ah Divine City falls, the Imperial City will naturally fall too. At that moment, we can only send all of you into the Cloud Wilderness, to hide in some barren lands. Compared to the Divine Wilderness, the Cloud Wilderness is much safer."

Escape into the Cloud Wilderness?

Yi Yun was shocked. This was probably the last resort.

However, with beast hordes erupting everywhere, and the Cloud Wilderness being one of the gathering spots of desolate beasts, was it really much safer?

Regardless of this, he could at least see his elder sister, Jiang Xiaorou, once again if he were to return to the Divine Capital.

His fiefdom was after all located in the Divine Capital City.

To be able to meet Jiang Xiaorou once again in this time of chaos was a blessing.

True Martial World - Chapter 350: I cannot dodge what is mine

The fierce winds howled as the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord looked at the Shepherd Boy from a distance while floating above the vast wilderness.

The City Lord was situated beside the nostrils of the divine turtle. He felt as if the nostrils were two large volcano openings, spewing out hot air.

The middle-aged scholar sighed. He had spent 90% of his life in the Divine Wilderness, yet he did not even know of the existence of such a terrifying behemoth being in the Divine Wilderness. It was quite tragic.

"Human, you seem to have something to say to me?" The Shepherd Boy stood up from the divine turtle's head, with the piccolo in hand, smiling at the middle-aged scholar. "You are pretty good. Even under the pressure of the Long Gui 1  True Spirit, you are still able to remain unruffled. For your cultivation level, it is extremely rare!"

At that moment, the middle-aged scholar held his saber as his clothes started fluttering violently in the turbulent winds.

"Long Gui True Spirit…" The middle-aged scholar gently shook his head, "I see. When I traversed the Divine Wilderness, I did hear of people mentioning primordial spirits."

"Primordial strains have a trace of the bloodline of an ancient divine beast, but it is extremely dilute, as such it is only known as a species. As for primordial spirits, the bloodlines they have inherited is much thicker than those of the primordial strain. They can even manifest the shapes of the ancient sacred or divine beasts, hence they are called True Spirits."

"Long Gui True Spirit should be a descendant of Long Gui…"

The legendary Long Gui was a divine beast. It had a dragon’s head and a turtle's body, and it was one of the nine sons of the True Dragon.

The body of a Long Gui was huge, and its strength was limitless. It could even carry a star!

"Not bad, although you are born in this remote land, your knowledge is not lacking." The Shepherd Boy was smiling even now.

"You… are not human?" The middle-aged scholar asked as he looked at the Shepherd Boy. He had always suspected so.

The Shepherd Boy gently shook his head. "No, I was born from the Desolate race. My appearance may look no different from a human, but the difference is our sole ability to communicate with desolate beasts."

Desolate race! Able to communicate with desolate beasts!

Many of the warriors above the city walls had never heard of such a race.

However, the middle-aged scholar knew. This world was not limited only to the human race. There were other races as well. And amongst those races, there were some whose numbers exceeded that of humans!

"The Desolate race… I see. May I ask you why you are annihilating my Tai Ah Divine Kingdom?"

"Because I have something to do…" The Shepherd Boy gently shook his head, "I do not truly want to destroy Tai Ah, but unfortunately, the few countries around the Divine Wilderness are hindering me from doing what I want to do. As such, I can only annihilate."

When the Shepherd Boy said words that played down on the matter, the hearts of the people on the Divine City's walls jumped. You want to destroy a few countries just to do something!?

One had to know that there were trillions of lives in the countries surrounding the Divine Wilderness! He wanted to kill all of them with just a few simple words!?

"You want to destroy trillions of lives just to do one thing?" The middle-aged scholar's voice sank as he tightly clenched his saber.

"So what?" The Shepherd Boy stroked his piccolo. "All sorts of natural living things support the survival of humans, yet humans have never reciprocated that to the Heavens. Humans have accepted the gifts from nature, but what they consider is forever their own interests."

"You have extracted from nature without constraint, and with your trillions of people, you have extracted even more. To survive, are you not killing living beings every second and every moment? And the numbers you kill are far greater in number than the number of humans.

"The world is heartless, it treats everything as lowly beings. In front of a stronger power, humans are no different from pigs and dogs. You can kill other living beings because you are strong. If other living beings kill you, it is because they are stronger. You can say that this is part and parcel of the Heavenly Dao, survival of the fitness."

"Not only you, even large worlds can collapse… formation, existence and then destruction, it is all a part of the Heavenly Dao."

When the Shepherd Boy said all this so frankly, the middle-aged scholar felt a chill. Although he did not wish to admit it, he had to agree that what the Shepherd Boy said was reasonable.

With a higher Heavenly Dao in front of them, so what if it were to destroy a trillion lives? When two stars collide, it too would kill trillions of lives!

However, who would say that the stars were cruel?

"If that is the case, then there is nothing for us to negotiate on." The middle-aged scholar let out a long sigh.

"What should be destroyed will eventually be destroyed." The Shepherd Boy faintly said, "If you and your kind will leave this place, you may still survive. I appreciate you and you should not be fated to die here."

"It is impossible for me to leave… I cannot dodge what is mine." The middle-aged scholar unsheathed his saber. The cold beam of the four-foot long saber seemed to freeze even the sunlight.

On the Divine City's walls, the Seven Star Pagoda Owner also let out a long sigh as he took out a spear from his interspatial ring.

Everyone could feel the difficulty of the upcoming battle. This was a battle to the death. It was fated that many of them would die here!

"Yi Yun, I'm taking you away!"

At the moment when swords were drawn and bows were strung, Cang Yan's Yuan Qi transmission entered Yi Yun's ears.

"What?" Yi Yun was shocked. And at that moment, Cang Yan's hand had already grabbed Yi Yun's shoulder. It was not only Yi Yun. Yao Dao, Yang Qian, the Yun Long Divine Kingdom's Bai, Feng Lin, Qianshui and company all had law-enforcers and Elders prepared to lead them away.

"We… are not fighting?"

Fatty Qianshui trembled as he spoke. His voice clearly shook. He was after all young, how could he have ever experienced a scene such as this?

Against the Shepherd Boy and the humongous Long Gui, it would be a lie if Fatty said that he was not afraid. This level of existence could easily turn him into ash with the mere flick of its hand!

Fatty was now in a dilemma.

On one hand, he did not wish to stay in the Tai Ah Divine City. If he could run away with his foot lubricated, that would be the best.

However, he just found it too shameful to run away in the face of danger. After all, there were still plenty of people left defending the city!

"You are just sending yourselves to your graves by participating in the battle. It is completely meaningless. The City Lord had previously instructed me to send all of you out of here in the event that the Tai Ah Divine City cannot be secured!"

No matter which faction it was, their younger generations were their future. They could not be sacrificed for nothing. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

If their countries were to collapse, then their countries might still have a chance to reconstruct in the future when the younger generation grew up.

Yi Yun, Bai and Feng Lin were silent. Everyone was always in a balance between id and super-ego. They did not wish to escape in the face of danger, but they knew that it was meaningless to stay behind and die.

Only Fatty Qianshui seemed to be fearless. He gritted his teeth, "We are warriors! How can we leave our seniors here to fight while we leave!?"

Cang Yan rolled his eyes unhappily at Fatty Qianshui's righteousness and awe-inspiring speech. He was wise at his age, so how could he not have noticed that Fatty's face had turned white with fear previously?

"Then you can stay behind while the others leave."

Cang Yan could not be bothered to speak nonsense with the cowardly Fatty. At that moment, time was of the essence; if not, these elites would never be able to leave.

Fatty Qianshui immediately shut up. His mouth gaped but he could not utter a single word.

Yi Yun's expression turned solemn. At that moment, he was in no mood to ridicule Qianshui. He said worriedly, "Senior Cang Yan, letting us escape, are all of you already prepared to…"

"Pui! Pui! Pui!" Cang Yan interrupted Yi Yun's speech midway. "What a foul mouth! If one can live, who the f**k would want to die?"

"In all of these years, the Tai Ah Divine City has accumulated large numbers of relics and strategic reserves. With the sword and saber tombs' large array, it can still defend for a while. We Sages and Human Lords cannot retreat. The Tai Ah Divine City is a stronghold that holds off the beast horde. If this city falls, then the beast horde will enter the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Then there will be nothing to stop the horde as it goes straight ahead."

"Although I too want to run, I have already lived a long life. So, I still want my face. The Divine Kingdom has allowed me to reach the Sage realm, so repaying them with my remaining few years of lifespan is not a loss on my part! However, all of you are different. Your survival is of the greatest value to the Divine Kingdom!"

When Cang Yan said this, he suddenly let out a hearty laugh, "****. What is yours will always be yours, what is not yours will never be yours no matter how hard you fight for it. Besides, I might not even die!"

As Cang Yan spoke, he found that the words he said sounded like a will. He slapped his mouth, "F**k, why are my words becoming more and more ridiculous. By following the City Lord's plan, we might even survive! Now, all of you, quickly leave!"

As Cang Yan said this, he and another Yun Long Divine Kingdom Elder began preparing to send the young cultivators away.

Now was really not the time to be hypocritical. Although the divine city had a large protective array, who knew if this large array could withstand the attack from the Long Gui True Spirit?

Staying behind could even cause the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord and the Seven Star Pagoda Owner to be distracted. If they had to take the time to protect them, then it would not be worth it!

"A short distance teleportation array has been prepared on the first floor of the central divine tower. After you are sent away, there will be an airship waiting for you there!"

Other than Yi Yun, Bai and the other elites, even the other Tai Ah Divine City cultivators were arranged to evacuate. More than 95% of the people like Wen Yu and other first year cultivators had already been evacuated a month ago.

Originally, Yi Yun, Bai and the other elites were left behind in the hope of them being able to behold the scene of a beast horde to gain some experience.

However, the developments had far exceeded the original expectations of the Sages from the four large factions. Training in the beast horde was now something deemed impossible.

The teleportation array was right in front of them as the cultivators that were left behind began walking towards it. Luo Huo'er sneaked into the crowd with her maidservant Dong'er, hoping to sneak through the teleportation array with her head lowered.

And at the moment she walked before the teleportation array, she suddenly heard a dry cough.

"Miss Luo, please hold on."

Eh?

Luo Huo'er jumped with fright as she turned around only to see Cang Yan smiling at her.

"Wh… What?"

Luo Huo'er felt that this old man's smile was sinister.

"Sorry, the City Lord has especially instructed that Miss Luo is not to leave."

"Why?" Luo Huo'er was rendered speechless. Everyone could leave except her?

Cang Yan was also helpless. If not as a last resort, would a group of Sages make it so difficult for a young lady?

"Miss Luo, I am also forced to do this. About this… Miss Luo, you should have a way to request help from your family clan, right…?"

True Martial World - Chapter 349: Giant Turtle

Above the city walls, Yi Yun saw Bai and Feng Lin. The two of them nodded slightly at Yi Yun without a word. Yi Yun also saw many people that were the enemy during the alliance tournament. At that moment, they were all standing shoulder to shoulder in arms.

To these factions, situating the battlefield to the Tai Ah Divine City was better than spreading the flames of war to their own land.

The air seemed to freeze as the atmosphere become graver than ever before!

A huge hourglass was placed above the city walls as a way of keeping time.

There was a distance of 1500 kilometers from the outpost where the scout was located to the Tai Ah Divine City. It was a human estimation that it would take the beast horde two hours to arrive, it was not necessarily exact. However, it was not too far off. With an hourglass keeping track of time, it allowed people to mentally prepare.

Yi Yun stood on the city walls as he watched the sand quietly flow. He felt that what was seeping downwards was not sand but fresh lives.

Once the beast horde came, it was unknown how many lives would disappear like the sand…

Shepherd Boy, what sort of person are you? Why did you conjure the beast horde that could wipe out life?

…

After an unknown period of time, the sky started to darken. It was as if a dark cloud obscured the Sun.

Yi Yun's gazed far into the distance and suddenly noticed a gray blur in the far horizon. It was like a layer of haze.

"Sandstorm!"

Someone suddenly said. The gray haze was sand that was being lifted into the air in the far horizon. There were endless amounts of sand, and concealed by the sandstorm were tiny, blurry figures. They were moving on the ground, but they were not sand… It was the beast horde!

From a lofty height, looking several hundred kilometers out, even large desolate beasts, the size of buildings, would look like specks of dust.

"Beast horde! The beast horde is here!"

People could feel the ground shaking. The beast horde's gallop transmitted the tremors from several hundreds of kilometers away straight to the Tai Ah Divine City!

It was really like an earthquake, formed from the running of countless numbers of desolate beasts.

At that moment, people saw a large blurry figure looming in the sky. It became even clearer amongst the kicked up sandstorm.

"What is that!?" Someone said in horror. The figure was so large that it made people chatter with fear.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The terrifying sounds transmitted all over and clear tremors accompanied them to the Tai Ah Divine City. It was like huge meteors were crashing to the ground.

The phantom image slowly walked out of the sandstorm. People could finally see it clearly. It turned out to be a huge turtle.

Its head was in the shape of a dragon, while its body was covered by its turtle shell. The rumbling noises were from its footsteps!

Every step it made caused the Tai Ah Divine City feel a tremor!

"Heavens!"

The people on the city walls were appalled. With hundreds of kilometers of distance separating them, with them at an altitude of 100,000 feet, this angle made four-five storey high behemoths look like tiny specks of dust. However, this huge turtle nearly filled the entire horizon with its humongous body.

Every track in the divine turtle's shell was as big as a city. Its limbs were as thick as a mountain. With each step it took, the ground and mountains would shake, causing the Heaven and Earth to tremor!

There was such an existence in this world? What was it? A desolate beast?

Even the Sages present were shocked. They had previously killed primordial strains in the Divine Wilderness, but compared to this divine turtle, the primordial strains they had killed were like nothing!

Yi Yun, who was above the city walls, was equally shocked. There were too many unknown existences in this world. It far exceeded the limits of his imagination.

For example, the divine turtle before his eyes and the bronze giant he saw in the Pure Yang Sword Palace that could split a world apart using a halberd.

Against such existences, the current him was still too tiny.

"This giant turtle comes from the deep parts of the Divine Wilderness?" A human Sage asked in alarm. He never knew that there was such an existence in the Divine Wilderness. Even historical books had no such records. Only a few books, with all sorts of bizarre information, recorded such a giant turtle, but those books were usually categorized as myths and legends.

"I do not know…The Divine Wilderness is too big. We do not know what is within it. Primordial strains are not the peak existence of the Divine Wilderness… but, is it pointless to discuss this any further. Look at the giant turtle's head."

A Sage said and everyone looked towards the divine turtle's head.

The eyesight of warriors was extremely good. Furthermore, using all sorts of mystic techniques, people could see that on top of the mountain-like turtle’s head, there was clearly a person sitting there!

He was dressed in a green shirt, wore a hairband on his head and held a piccolo in his hand. A composed smile was hanging on his face.

From his expression, it looked as if he was not standing on the head of a giant turtle whose body was situated within a beast horde that could annihilate a country. Instead, he looked as if he was having a lavish field trip.

"Shepherd Boy!"

Someone said with a trembling voice. This name was now a nightmare for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom and the other three large factions.

"It really is him!"

People were terrified. Previously, it was said that the appearance of the Shepherd Boy would set off a blood storm, but no one had any concept of how strong the Shepherd Boy was.

Until… they now saw the Shepherd Boy themselves!

The Shepherd Boy clearly did not emit an ounce of Yuan Qi energy, nor did he release any pressure. He looked no different from an ordinary teenager, but just by facing him, people inexplicably felt immense pressure!

And the giant turtle he was sitting on stalled one's breaths. A feeling of not being able to use force against the Shepherd Boy and the beast horde grew in the people's minds.

Could they really withstand this beast horde?

Would they… die here?

These thoughts flashed past through the minds of many people. Lately, the words "beast horde" had been thrown around a lot. When people thought about it, they only thought of a beast horde that was larger in scale, by a few times, compared to the usual beast hordes. That there might be plenty of primordial strains which would make the battle extremely bloody.

However, they never expected that the beast horde conjured by the Shepherd Boy would be this terrifying. Just the giant turtle alone far exceeded the scope of primordial strains.

"City Lord!"

Some of the Tai Ah Divine City Sages gathered around the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord. All of them looked solemn. Beads of sweat were even oozing out of their foreheads.

The Yun Long Divine Kingdom Sages similarly gathered around the Seven Star Pagoda Owner. Against such an enemy, they were at a loss.

How would they be able to withstand this!?

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The divine turtle's footsteps were slow, but every step it took crossed a distance of dozens of kilometers. It just needed to take tens of steps before it would have traversed the distance from the horizon to the Tai Ah Divine City.

Every footstep it left behind in the Divine Wilderness would form a large lake when it rained in the future.

With the divine turtle approaching, the tremors the Tai Ah Divine City felt became more and more obvious. At that moment, the melodious tune of a piccolo could be heard across the vast Divine Wilderness. Several hundred kilometers were not enough to hinder the piccolo's tune.

The piccolo's tune slowly emerged, flowing like water in the air as it resounded inside everyone's ears.

People held their breaths. The piccolo's tune could be heard everywhere. Even the loud trampling of the beast horde could not drown it!

"He is the Shepherd Boy… We… we were too… too naive…"

On the Yun Long Divine Kingdom side, the Seven Star Pagoda Owner bitterly smiled. An unknown feeling arose in his heart.

At that moment, the divine turtle was just tens of kilometers away from the Tai Ah Divine City. The giant turtle, with its head lifted, exceeded the Tai Ah Divine City in altitude. When people saw the large head, they felt as if there was a black mountain standing in front of the Tai Ah Divine City. And the Shepherd Boy, who was standing on this mountain’s peak, was lightly blowing on his piccolo. His green clothes were fluttering in the wind, as he looked like a god.

Currently, the Shepherd Boy was like his present position. High up, above all, looking down on everything!

The Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord looked up at the Shepherd Boy as he held a saber in hand. He gently sighed, "Cang Yan, activate the backup plan…"

The City Lord's voice entered Cang Yan's ears, making Cang Yan quiver, "City Lord…"

"There is no need to say anything. There is no time."

As the City Lord said this, his body flew straight out. He flew out alone towards the Shepherd Boy!

"City Lord!"

People were greatly alarmed. Cang Yan nearly jumped out of his skin!

What was the City Lord doing? He was the backbone of the people. If the City Lord were to be lost at that moment, the consequences would be disastrous!

However, no one could stop him at that moment. The City Lord was like a wisp of smoke as he appeared before the Shepherd Boy. He was just a thousand feet away from him now.

The Shepherd Boy looked at the middle-aged scholar and a smile formed on his lips.

True Martial World - Chapter 348: Alerting Bell

After an unknown period of time, Yi Yun woke up in a groggy state. He opened his eyes and found that his body was covered in a sticky substance.

The Blood Yang Elixir's energy was too violent for a Purple Blood realm warrior. Back when the City Lord gave him the Blood Yang Elixir, he did it with the intention of letting Yi Yun use water to dissolve it and slowly drink it.

However, Yi Yun had swallowed it all in one mouthful.

"I actually fainted. Looks like that really exceeded the limits my dantian could take…" Yi Yun took a few deep breaths and slowly calmed his mind. He then checked his dantian and was stunned on probing it.

He was surprised to find that the Yuan Qi had condensed together in his dantian. It had completely solidified.

This was the mark of the Yuan Foundation realm!

He had finally broken through to the Yuan Foundation realm.

Yi Yun was delighted. It had been nearly two years since he began practicing martial arts.

Mortal Blood realm warriors were not considered martial artists.

The Purple Blood realm was the beginning steps of a martial artist. It was the transitional zone between mortal and warrior.

And now, with the Yuan Foundation realm, he was at the actual beginning. He had laid the foundation for his future martial path.

As he slowly clenched his fists, Yi Yun realized that his body was filled with energy.

This was the strength that came from having a deep cultivation level. With this, he would not be drained of all his strength, unable to fight after conjuring the Golden Crow species totem once.

Even after breaking through to the Yuan Foundation, Yi Yun found that there was still an intermittent burning sensation within his body. There were still remnants of the Blood Yang Elixir's energy surging through his veins and meridians. It could very well make a resurgence.

Yi Yun gave it some thought and decided to carry on cultivating by using this energy for his cultivation technique.

And now, Yi Yun had the complete set of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' jade scrolls.

This was the perfect opportunity for him to cultivate the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

Yi Yun took out the Divine Ebony box and from it, laid out the nine jade scrolls. These nine scrolls were the dreams of many elites in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. Even amongst the members of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom’s royal family, only those who had extraordinary talent and the qualifications to become a Prince or even a Divine Emperor, had the right to cultivate with the complete set of the nine original jade scrolls.

Yi Yun took the first scroll up. This was the first volume of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

Actually, Yi Yun had already mastered the first level of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', but back then Yi Yun did not cultivate using the original version, instead he cultivated using a copy which was made by a Tai Ah Divine Kingdom Sage who had great accomplishments in the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

A copy would naturally have some tiny differences from the original. Usually, these tiny differences would not affect anything, but Yi Yun still wanted to look at the original version. He wanted to see these tiny differences in the original cultivation technique so that he could correct any unknown errors he might have. He could also look for greater inspiration from it.

After taking the jade scroll in hand, Yi Yun sank his sensed within it and what he saw shocked him.

Yi Yun had the Purple Crystal in his body, so he was very sensitive to the control of energy. He was surprised to find that, in his energy vision, every word and stroke in the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' jade scroll contained a trace of energy.

It was as if, after all this time, the energy traces had greatly weakened. However, they still existed. In contrast, in the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' copy, there were no traces of energy.

"It looks like the person who created the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was far beyond the Sage realm. Indeed, if it was a cultivation technique created by a Sage, how could it become the foundation pillar of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom?"

Ever since the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was established, tens of millions of years ago, there had been countless numbers of Sages. Top Sages were not lacking in numbers. Besides, there were even peerless Sages such as the Tai Ah Divine City's founding City Lord, but he had never heard of any of them creating a cultivation technique that could match the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'.

The Sages of every Tai Ah Divine Kingdom generation would attempt to add some improvements to the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'; however, these additions might not really be beneficial. At least, at a higher martial Dao realm, these additions might be meaningless.

Yi Yun read through the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' and subconsciously became engrossed in it. He knew that the cultivation technique was only temporarily lent to him for studying. So if he did not take this opportunity to memorize more of it, he did not know when he would have the chance to read it again.

So even though he could not completely understand the contents of the last few volumes of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', he still managed to store all of their contents in his mind.

Month after month, time silently passed. Yi Yun did not know for how long he had been in this chamber.

This day, he suddenly heard "Dang! Dang! Dang!", the sound of metallic percussions. They were resounding like thunder across the Tai Ah Divine City.

Yi Yun's chamber was soundproof and would be nearly completely isolated with the chamber door closed.

Under normal circumstances, there would be absolute silence inside the chamber. However, there was one sound in the Tai Ah Divine City that could transmit directly into the chamber.

That was the sound of the Divine Wilderness Bell!

This Divine Wilderness Bell was a magical treasure. It could only be rung by a person with a peak-Human Lord cultivation level. Its sound could be delivered thousands of kilometers away and even sound isolating arrays could not ward it off.

"The Divine Wilderness Bell has rung!?"

Yi Yun was alarmed. The main purpose of the Divine Wilderness Bell in the Tai Ah Divine City was to warn. It was only rung when an enemy was invading, meaning that the safety of the Tai Ah Divine City was being threatened.

And the things that could threaten the Tai Ah Divine City was few and far between. A typical small-sized beast horde would not even be able to come within 100,000 feet of the Tai Ah Divine City, so there was no need to ring the Divine Wilderness Bell.

In fact, it was said that the Divine Wilderness Bell had not been rung in the past millennium.

Could it be…?

A dark cloud shrouded Yi Yun's heart. He rushed out of his own residence and immediately met Luo Huo'er who also came running out of her residence.

"Miss, what has happened?" Dong'er was plugging her tiny ears as she nervously asked.

Outside of the residences, the chimes of the Divine Wilderness Bell were even more ear-shattering. If one's cultivation level was lacking, it would cause one’s organs to resonate with the bell chimes, making it quite unpleasant.

"This should be the Divine Wilderness Bell…" Luo Huo'er, in contrast, was not worried. She found it novel to hear the bell for the first time.

"Yi Yun! Come to the city gates!"

At that moment, a solemn voice rang in Yi Yun's ear. This voice belonged to the City Lord!

Yi Yun glanced at Luo Huo'er, from her expression he could tell that she had received a similar message. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"Let's go!"

Yi Yun pushed open the central divine tower's outer door and followed the tower's sloping emergency passage staircase, running down the tower.

…

When Yi Yun came out of the central divine tower, he realized that in the past months of his reclusive training, the Tai Ah Divine City had changed and was no longer the same.

The Divine City's four walls were shimmering with several defense arrays. Piles of bone relics were stored in large metal boxes, as the source of energy for the arrays.

These were the strategic reserves of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. They were all taken out in times of need.

There were several catapults installed all along the city's four corners. Amongst these catapults was the legendary Primal Divine Crossbow.

The Primal Divine Crossbow was driven by a huge array. More than ten Human Lords had to combine their forces in order to control one Primal Divine Crossbow. The crossbow used the Primal Arrows that Yi Yun had seen the first time he entered the Tai Ah Divine City.

They were four meters long and every arrow was made out of a special metal. The cost of their construction was high and they weighed 500,000 kilograms.

Back then, Yi Yun and the other recruits had all failed to pierce into the purple tungsten wall using the Primal Arrows. Even Yi Yun failed the first time he tried. Although he could lift the Primal Arrow, he was still not able to steadily pierce it. Releasing his hand made the arrow fall to the ground.

Because of these experiences, this terrifying weapon was still fresh in Yi Yun's mind.

This was a weapon that could even threaten primordial strains. With so many Human Lords and sages in the city, and with the support from other factions, the Tai Ah Divine City's combat strength was rather terrifying.

Yi Yun walked straight ahead and found that there were a lot more warriors in the Tai Ah Divine City compared to before. The cultivation levels of these warriors were mostly at Human Lord. They came from all sorts of factions and were the backbones of several large factions.

These Human Lords were all dressed in armor, with their weapons in hand.

All of them looked solemn. No one could rest easy when pit against the legendary Shepherd Boy who had nearly annihilated the Shentu family clan.

Yi Yun could feel a thick war-like atmosphere coming from those people.

This time, it was no longer a battle on a stage, but a real life and death battle.

Winning allowed you to stay alive while losing most likely meant complete annihilation!

When Yi Yun reached the city gates, a lot of people had already gathered there. They were Sages of factions from all over. They were all standing above the city gate.

Yi Yun saw Cang Yan, Jian Ge and his quasi-master Grandmaster Yuehua.

They slightly nodded at Yi Yun and did not say a word. They were all focusing on something far into the distance.

Yi Yun even saw the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord, who was now standing with the Seven Star Pagoda Owner. They were discussing something.

Yi Yun did not bother the City Lord and instead walked over to Cang Yan who looked relatively free, "Is it the Shepherd Boy?"

Cang Yan did not look back as he carried on looking at the distant horizon.

This old man that was usually laughing now had a serious face. He nodded, "It should be. We have outposts deployed in a radius of 1500 kilometers from the Divine City. Just now, a scout from one of the outposts transmitted the news of a large-scale beast horde emerging. Later on, nothing came from him. It's most likely that he has already given his life for his country…"

Cang Yan's tone sounded bleak when he said that.

Died for his country?

Yi Yun's heart sank. Everyone knew that being a scout was extremely dangerous. The first person to die was the scout when a beast horde happened. However, a person had to go. This was war. There was no choice in the matter.

Cang Yan said, "Now, the City Lord has ordered all scouts from the outposts to retreat to the Tai Ah Divine City. With the beast horde's speed, they would probably appear within two hours…"

Two hours…?

Yi Yun looked at the sky. Everyone in the Tai Ah Divine City had been activated. Clearly, while he was in reclusive training, these warriors protecting the divine city had experienced numerous exercises.

Now, although everyone was somewhat worried, no one panicked.

Catapults after catapults were raised. The large arrays on the city walls were activated. The airspace above the Tai Ah Divine City was enveloped by a colorful, lit up haze.

Those were the light beams of the array.

True Martial World - Chapter 347: Attempt to break through to the Yuan Foundation Realm

Yi Yun looked at the residence in front of him, it was several hundred square meters in area. There was an alchemy lab, a library, a guest hall, a bedroom and a cultivation room. All sorts of facilities were present.

In the middle of the room, there was an expensive array that could gather Heaven Earth Yuan Qi. It allowed a warrior to cultivate here for double the results with half the effort.

This was the central divine tower's 99th floor’s heaven-grade room!

The central divine tower's 99th floor was only several thousands square meters in area. There were a total of 4 rooms on this floor. This room was not opened to cultivators, but now, Yi Yun was allowed to stay here for an extended period of time.

Just thinking back about a year when Yi Yun first entered the Tai Ah Divine City, Yi Yun would not even dream of entering the rooms in the central divine tower's 99th floor.

As Yi Yun was feeling mixed emotions, he suddenly heard a child-like feminine voice coming from behind him, "Miss, Miss, wait for me!"

The voice sounded extremely familiar. After pausing for a while, Yi Yun turned his head and saw Luo Huo'er, dressed in a red gown with tall leather boots. She was surveying her surroundings, as if she was apartment-hunting.

And behind her was maidservant Dong'er.

Poor Dong'er was born with two short legs, yet bags of all sizes were hung on her body. She gathered her breath every few steps, "Miss, slow down."

Dong'er climbed the stairs, puffing and blowing.

Usually, items like luggage could be placed in interspatial rings, but there were always things that weren’t suitable to be placed within interspatial rings. For example, the potted plant that Dong'er was currently hugging. Living objects could not be placed in interspatial rings. Yi Yun even saw a cat hanging around Dong'er's neck. This cat looked like it was sleeping, comfortably shrinking in Dong'er's collar.

"This room is a little better than the place we were staying. Dong'er, put the things down." Luo Huo'er said in a satisfied manner.

Dong'er seemed to be released of her burden. Without a second thought, she placed all the items on her body down. The cat also jumped down reluctantly. Only then did Yi Yun realize that this was not a normal cat, but a spirit beast of sorts.

"Uh…You have moved up here as well?"

It was only then did Luo Huo'er see Yi Yun, who had walked into the middle of the room. She was somewhat surprised.

Luo Huo'er had previously been summoned by the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord. She had received many benefits for no reason and she was given permission to stay on the central divine tower's 99th floor. Luo Huo'er was still feeling happy regarding this. However, she never expected that the moment she moved up here, she would see Yi Yun hanging around here.

Now, Luo Huo'er no longer hated Yi Yun, but she was absolutely not fond of him. Just seeing this fellow inevitably reminded Luo Huo'er of some unpleasant experiences, including her healing Yi Yun not too long ago. As Luo Huo'er had no choice but to hug him, she felt somewhat pissed.

"Right…It’s such a coincidence…" Yi Yun said those words reluctantly. Thinking over it carefully, he felt that it was not strange that the City Lord arranged for Luo Huo'er to move up to the central divine tower's 99th floor.

The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was going to face a major catastrophe, and Luo Huo'er's status was special. The City Lord was not having any hopes that the faction behind Luo Huo'er would save the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, but it was definitely not wrong to establish good relations with Luo Huo'er.

Taking a step back, it was clear that having good relations with her was meaningless. However, as long as Luo Huo'er stayed on the central divine tower's 99th floor, in the event that the beast horde invaded the city, Luo Huo'er's family clan would naturally not sit idle. They would definitely send someone to the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's central divine tower.

At that moment, to Yi Yun, it could be life-saving.

When Yi Yun thought of this, he gradually understood that the City Lord was using Luo Huo'er's status as a shield.

"Why? You seem quite reluctant to be my neighbor?" Luo Huo'er's small mouth puckered.

Yi Yun hurriedly shook his head, "How could that be? I still need to thank you for healing me."

"That's more like it!" The corners of Luo Huo'er's mouth curled up slightly. She sat down on a chair casually and indulged in the comfort of the chair as she said, "This place is still acceptable, although, it's worse than the home I used to live in."

Hearing Luo Huo'er's words, Yi Yun rolled his eyes. Although Luo Huo'er liked to brag, Yi Yun did not doubt her when she said that this place was worse than her home. He never figured out what Luo Huo'er was doing in the Tai Ah Divine City.

If one considered that she was here to engage in a mission, ignoring the fact that the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom wasn't some high grade place, it was difficult to have something that could attract those super factions. And even if there really was such an object, it was illogical for them to send Luo Huo'er, a precious daughter who had not fully matured, to carry out the mission.

"I'll be staying here!" Luo Huo'er had finished appraising the room.

Yi Yun was rendered speechless. He initially meant to say that he had chosen this room, but he decided to let it pass, especially after seeing little Dong'er carrying items of all sorts of sizes. She was puffing and blowing as she placed items everywhere, so there was no such need.

There was no difference changing to another room.

Yi Yun bade farewell and chose the heaven-grade room next door. He needed to seize every opportunity to break through to the Yuan Foundation realm.

Besides not knowing when the calamity would befall, Yi Yun knew that with his strength, it was like an insignificant wave in a storm if the calamity was anything as terrifying as what the City Lord had foretold.

If he could increase his strength, even by just a tiny bit, it would allow him to have a bit more control over his destiny.

Yi Yun entered the room's cultivation area and closed the stone door.

This cultivation area was one of the cores of the large Yuan Qi array in the Tai Ah Divine City. The Heaven Earth Yuan Qi was so dense in here that it nearly condensed into liquid droplets.

Yi Yun touched his interspatial ring and a red elixir appeared in his palm.

It was the Blood Yang Elixir.

With the Blood Yang Elixir in his hands, Yi Yun felt like he was holding a flame.

The Blood Yang Elixir was refined from a primordial herb. It contained stunning amounts of pure Yang herbal essence in it. Usually, normal Purple Blood realm cultivators could not absorb it. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Even Yuan Foundation realm warriors would not dare to directly consume the Blood Yang Elixir. They would usually immerse the Blood Yang Elixir in water, and drink the elixir water several times, like they were drinking tea.

However, by doing so, the elixir would begin to lose its essence the first time it was immersed in water. It would result in a tremendous waste.

Yi Yun did not need to consider all of that. He had the Purple Crystal and an incomplete pure Yang body. Hence, swallowing the Blood Yang Elixir wholly was not a difficult task.

However to completely digest it, he needed several months.

These several months would be the several months Yi Yun needed to attempt to break through into the Yuan Foundation realm.

Yi Yun adjusted his breathing, allowing his heart and mind to calm down completely. He sat there silently for four hours, allowing his mind to be as still as water.

Following that, Yi Yun swallowed the Blood Yang Elixir.

The Blood Yang Elixir was a medicinal item with extreme Yang essence. It was like a flame in his hands, so when he swallowed it, it felt like swallowing a piece of iron. Yi Yun immediately felt a fire burn within his body.

This heat burned the insides of Yi Yun's body.

Yi Yun was prepared for it as he pressed his both hands on his dantian and endured the pain. With his spiritual energy interfaced with the Purple Crystal, he slowly began guiding all the Blood Yang Elixir's energy out of the Elixir.

A large portion of energy was stored in the Purple Crystal, while a small portion of the energy was infused into Yi Yun's meridians and blood vessels as it spread throughout his body.

All this energy that flowed in his meridians brought a burning sensation to every end of Yi Yun's body.

The energy fused into his bone marrow as Yi Yun felt his blood begin to boil.

His body was completely drenched in sweat as his skin turned as red as blood. He looked as if he was completely cooked.

Water vapor, strands of blood and sticky gray impurities started to discharge from his pores. Yi Yun felt like his body was a burning furnace as all the key points of his body spat fire out. It was an indescribable pain.

Back then, Yi Yun had experience absorbing the Golden Crow species's beast mark, and now although it was extremely painful absorbing the Blood Yang Elixir, it did not hurt his meridians that much.

Or else to cultivate while healing his wounds would be troublesome.

Seconds changed to minutes until the pain slowly reduced after two hours.

Yi Yun's body was completely covered in blood strands and sticky impurities. Having suffered pain for a long time, Yi Yun's face was pale and both his hands trembled.

However, Yi Yun did not mind any of this. He could feel that all of his Yuan Qi had been injected into his dantian. His dantian was accumulating more and more Yuan Qi as it gradually settled down.

This was the beginning stages of the Yuan Foundation!

This change made Yi Yun overjoyed. He could feel his power rising as his strength increased.

Yi Yun was currently in a state known as being in the half-step Yuan Foundation realm. He could be considered as a person who had one step through the Yuan Foundation realm's door. Half-step Yuan Foundation was not considered as an actual realm, and it was just a transitional zone. People at the peak of Purple Blood realm might never be able to break through to the Yuan Foundation realm all their lives, but for those who reached half-step Yuan Foundation, they would break through to the Yuan Foundation realm in a short period of time.

At that moment, there was still a lot of the Blood Yang Elixir's medicinal essence left. Yi Yun still felt his body burning and it felt as if he would be burnt to death if he did not vent it out.

Yi Yun decided to accomplish with one effort as he carried on absorbing the Blood Yang Elixir energy in the Purple Crystal as he compressed it into his dantian.

For the second time, the burning pain had significantly decreased. Yi Yun was ready as he went through it step by step. It was a long, arduous and painful process.

Day after day passed by as the clothes on Yi Yun's body had been completely drenched thoroughly by his sweat, blood strands and impurities. It could no longer be worn, so he took off his clothes and cultivated completely naked.

With each energy cycle, the pain reduced in intensity while Yi Yun felt the energy in his Yuan Foundation grow stronger.

In the end, Yi Yun felt as if his dantian was about to explode.

This feeling made Yi Yun feel a bit flustered. The amount of energy his dantian could endure seemed to reach a critical value.

At that moment, if he carried on extracting the Blood Yang Elixir's energy from the Purple Crystal, he might encounter danger. The main reason was that the Blood Yang Elixir was after all an elixir that exceeded what Purple Blood realm warriors could withstand. The amount of energy Yi Yun used to break through to the Yuan Foundation realm far exceeded other warriors'.

After some consideration, Yi Yun felt that breaking through in one go was the best option, or else, by lacking that tiny bit, his breakthrough would not be perfect.

Gritting his teeth, Yi Yun extracted large amounts of Blood Yang Elixir energy from the Purple Crystal.

When this energy entered his dantian, Yi Yun felt his body become a volcano. Due to all the energy he had compressed in it, everything exploded.

A blast of heat flowed through Yi Yun's body. His meridians seemed to burst open.

Yi Yun's blood vessels seemed to bulge like worms. After trying his best, he managed to compress all the energy back into his dantian.

"Boom!"

His dantian quaked, causing him to feel a wave of heat flood into his mind. The flood caused his mind and body to separate, and with a quake in his mind, he passed out…

True Martial World - Chapter 346: Great Expectations

Tai Ah Compass?

Yi Yun knew about this item. It was one of the most important items of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

Back when the phenomenon of the Purple Clouds' Birth happened, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom had used the Tai Ah Compass to search for treasures. In fact, the Tai Ah Compass was used to search for treasures most of the time. As a result, citizens usually called it a treasure compass.

"What were the results of the divination?" Yi Yun asked.

"The result was… Extreme calamity!"

The expression of the middle-aged scholar turned serious, "Actually, before the divination was made, I had an ominous feeling. I too am not able to predict the future."

The middle-aged scholar shook his head. The future was filled with mysteries. It was too difficult to catch a glimpse of the future with the cultivation level of a Sage. He was only able to get a vague premonition.

"Shepherd Boy..."

Yi Yun did not know what to feel. Originally, when the Shepherd Boy appeared, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom only became alarmed. They had contacted the alliance countries to prepare for battle, as to whether there really would be a real beast horde or not, it was still an unknown.

People hoped that they were alarmed for no reason. However, from the words of the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord, one could tell that the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was likely to soon face a crisis.

Yi Yun recalled the time when he met the Shepherd Boy. He found it hard to believe that such a peaceful looking and delicate youth, who looked like a regular country farm boy, was actually a demonic person that had killed countless people. His appearance was accompanied by a blood storm.

What sort of person was he?

"Yi Yun, the future of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom is unknown. This Divine Kingdom has existed for too long and I can feel a trace of apathy… I cannot see the future of the Divine Kingdom, but I can guess that this crisis might be a chance for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom to break and recreate itself. If it can survive this crisis, the Divine Kingdom will be reborn. If it cannot..."

The middle-aged scholar stopped in his words.

Yi Yun was alarmed upon hearing this. The situation was a lot more serious than he thought. Could such a big country be destroyed?

"Alright, let us not talk about this anymore. Yi Yun, you have contributed the most this time. I will reward you. You are about to break through to the Yuan Foundation. Here, I have a elixir, something that you can use right now."

As the City Lord spoke, he took out a small porcelain vase and handed it over to Yi Yun.

Yi Yun received the vase and removed the cap. A elixir in the color of dark red blood rolled out.

Just holding the elixir made Yi Yun's hands feel hot. It was like he was holding a flame.

"Many years ago, I obtained a primordial herb. Its name is the Dragon Blood Lucidum. This primordial herb looks no different from normal lucidums. However, when you cut its roots or pileus, juice the color of blood will flow out, hence its name.

The Dragon Blood Lucidum is extremely difficult to catch, much harder than the Heaven Purple Yang Ginseng you obtained. I used it as the main drug to refine a Blood Yang Elixir. Blood Yang Elixirs are extreme Yang herbal items. You are cultivating the pure Yang laws and with your fortuitous opportunities, you have now a partial pure Yang body. If you were to eat this Blood Yang Elixir before you break through to the Yuan Foundation realm, it will benefit you greatly!"

"To break through to the Yuan Foundation realm and using this Blood Yang Elixir, a normal person might end up dying from his body exploding, ignoring the fact that it would be a waste. However, I believe that giving it to you will make the Blood Yang Elixir be put to good use.

"At that time, I will give you a heaven-grade room in the central divine tower's 99 floor to allow you to go into reclusive training to break through. The Blood Yang Elixir will allow your Yuan Foundation realm to become even sturdier!"

"Remember, the Yuan Foundation realm is extremely important. Yuan Foundation, Yuan Foundation. Yuan means "first", while foundation means the "base foundation". Yuan Foundation realm is the base of your martial arts. You have to create a solid and sturdy Yuan Foundation. It will greatly affect your future success!"

Yi Yun felt heartfelt gratitude when he heard the middle-aged scholar say all this. All these great conditions were probably the highest possible treatment a young warrior in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom could enjoy while breaking through to the Yuan Foundation realm.

He had sincerely worked hard for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom while the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom reciprocated likewise. This relationship was very rare.

"This is also for you."

As the middle-aged scholar said this, he handed over a wooden box to Yi Yun.

The wooden box had an ancient make to it. When Yi Yun held it in both hands, he felt his hands sink. The wood was surprisingly several times heavier than metal.

It was Divine Ebony.

Yi Yun recognized this wood. Divine Ebony was harder than metal. It would not decay, even when buried in the ground for 100,000 years. However, the Divine Ebony box in Yi Yun's hands were lined with the marks of time. It was mottled with age. It was unknown about how much time this wooden box had experienced noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

Yi Yun opened the wooden box, and within it was a yellow silk fabric. Above the silk fabric were nine jade scrolls.

All the jade scrolls were lined up, with one piece larger than the other. Yi Yun could feel the jade scroll's heat when he picked up one of them and placed it in his hand. It felt like flesh and blood.

"This is… the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'!" Yi Yun's eyes lit up.

"That it is. This is the complete jade scroll set of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. These nine jade scrolls correspond to the nine levels of the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. The higher you go, the fewer the jade scrolls. Especially the ninth jade scroll, it only has one copy!"

"Attempts to replicate the ninth jade scroll have been made since ancient times by the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's Emperor, the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord and anyone else who have had great accomplishments in the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique'. However, all attempts have failed. The only few copies that exist are too different from the original copy!"

The replication of cultivation techniques is extremely difficult. There was the requirement of the replicator completely mastering the cultivation technique before one even had the ability to replicate. And to completely master the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', this was just too difficult.

"Now, I am passing the nine jade scrolls to you. They are the foundations of our Tai Ah Divine Kingdom! There are rumors amongst the citizens that the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' was created by the founding Emperor of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, but in fact, this is not true… This Sacred Technique was found within an ancient ruin by the founding Emperor. The nine jade scrolls in your hands are the original copies the founding Emperor took out from the ruin!"

"From now on, the jade scrolls will be left with you. However, if the crisis really comes, then I will take them away from you. You… still do not have the ability to protect them."

"These nine jade scrolls are invulnerable and impermeable to water and fire. They have been handed down without problems for over tens of millions of years in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. I do not wish for them to be lost by my hands!"

The middle-aged scholar looked seriously at Yi Yun as he spoke. With that, he placed a hand on Yi Yun's shoulder.

Yi Yun found the hand very heavy.

These nine jade scrolls were actually the original jade scrolls the founding Divine Emperor left behind. Their value was obvious.

It was unexpected that the City Lord would give the original jade scrolls to him for cultivation.

This amount of debt could not be said to be light.

The Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord had placed very high expectations on Yi Yun. He was also hoping that, in the event that the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom encountered anything terrible, Yi Yun would become the remnant seed of the Divine Kingdom.

When this seed germinated, it could one day grow into a towering tree...

True Martial World - Chapter 345: Meeting the City Lord

Although the alliance tournament had ended, the audience still cheered, with each wave louder than the other.

The Tai Ah Divine City warriors were too excited and they could not stop at all.

The glory belonged to the Tai Ah Divine City today, and it belonged to Yi Yun even more.

Yi Yun stood on the Divine Wilderness Stage with his eyes closed as the waves of cheers roared.

Although this cheering was intoxicating, Yi Yun was not enjoying the cheers. He was trying to gain some insights.

In the battle with Feng Lin, Yi Yun had gathered new insight on the sword intent when he used the Pure Yang Sword Palace sword intent, and that brought some changes to Yi Yun's dantian.

Following that, Yi Yun drank the Golden Crow species's blood. In the intense battle, the Golden Crow species's blood slowly merged with Yi Yun's blood, forming a harmony in his body.

And in the battle with Bai, this harmony reached an extreme. Yi Yun's understanding was continuously being accumulated and increased.

Finally, when Luo Huo'er healed him, the cool energy that entered Yi Yun made his meridians harmonize and clear. It was as if he was going to break through soon.

He could vaguely feel his body's Yuan Qi slowly gathering towards his dantian, and slowly binding together.

Yi Yun knew that once the Yuan Qi bound and condensed together, he would be entering the Yuan Foundation realm.

Yuan Foundation was the foundation for a warrior to climb to the peak of martial arts!

"Yi Yun!" Cang Yan jumped down from the Elder stands. "You little kid, you grew that much by being out for less than a year."

Cang Yan looked at Yi Yun, but he felt the more he looked at him, the more he didn't understand. It was amazing how Yi Yun had come this far.

"Senior Cang Yan." Yi Yun bowed.

"The City Lord wants to meet you!" Cang Yan suddenly said.

Yi Yun was slightly stunned. Meet the City Lord?

Yi Yun nodded and said, "I got it. I had gained several insights in the battles before. In two hours time, I'll meet the City Lord."

It was rare for warriors to gain insight. The insights gained from a close fight were especially valuable. If one did not strike while the iron was hot to convert the insights into one's strength, then these insights would fade away after a period of time.

"Alright. Feel at ease while digesting them. There's no need to rush to meet the City Lord."

Cang Yan didn't seem to mind. Now, the more he looked at Yi Yun, the more he liked him. Yi Yun not only had gained seats for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, but he had gained glory for the Tai Ah Divine City. It also gave Cang Yan a life goal.

At Cang Yan's stage, his position and status was pretty much at the peak of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, however, it was all meaningless to Cang Yan.

He was on the path of pursuing martial arts, but due to his age, his potential had been expended, so he could not go further anymore.

Even with his martial arts at its end, Cang Yan still wished to pursuit other things.

Cang Yan also wanted to leave a name in history.

For so many years in the history of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, there had been so many Sages since ancient times. In that long river of history, Cang Yan was not outstanding. However, if he were to groom Yi Yun well, then it would be different.

He could make history from achieving this feat.

...

The news of Yi Yun defeated all the Yun Long Divine Kingdom warriors, and winning first place in the overall group match for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom was immediately spread like the wind through various channels the moment the tournament was over!

All sorts of long distance arrays, jade scrolls and letters were used.

Soon, Yi Yun was the most dazzling person in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

Numerous factions paid attention to Yi Yun. And countless numbers of young warriors treated Yi Yun as an idol. His achievements were really amazing. Besides, he was still young, so his future was limitless!

At that moment, Yi Yun was in his residence, having just finished two hours of meditation.

Bit by bit, he clarified his understandings as he consolidated his foundations and cultivation level.

Yi Yun felt that he had reached a critical point. He was close to breaking through to the Yuan Foundation realm.

"It's time to meet the City Lord!"

Yi Yun stood up and calmed his mind. Against the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord, Yi Yun did not feel at ease. He knew that in a while, he would be questioned a lot.

Outside the door, three law-enforcers had been waiting all that time.

"Are you ready?" A peak-Human Lord cultivation level law-enforcer, who was usually cold, now turned respectful when he met Yi Yun.

"Yes!" Yi Yun nodded. He followed the three law-enforcers all the way to the top of the central divine tower.

In the middle of the central divine tower, there was a vertical tunnel. And in the tunnel, there was a spirit boat powered by relics. Yi Yun rode the spirit boat together with the three law-enforcers, flying to the top of the tower.

The Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord residence was located at the 99th floor of the central divine tower!

This level had only three other heaven-graded rooms other than the City Lord's residence. These three rooms were provided to guests. For example, people from neighboring countries of equal level to the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord or the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom's Emperor would use these rooms.

The City Lord residence was situated in the middle of the three heaven-graded rooms. There was a large plaque on the door, and on it there were two large carved words, "Tai Ah"!

This plaque was written by the first Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord himself. It had experienced the test of time.

When Yi Yun walked over, the door to the City Lord residence opened automatically.

Yi Yun adjusted his breathing before he walked in.

He entered a brightly lit hall after walking through the doors. Yi Yun saw a middle-aged scholar standing between some columns. His hands were held behind his back as he was admiring a picture.

This picture looked very strange. It had some abstract red lines that stretched endlessly. It looked like smeared out blood.

Just looking at this picture gave one an extremely unpleasant feeling.

Although Yi Yun vaguely knew what the picture was, he did not ask. He stood silently behind the City Lord.

This was the first time he met the Tai Ah Divine City's City Lord. It was not convenient for him to ask too much.

The middle-aged scholar looked for a long while before he turned around to look at Yi Yun.

"City Lord!" Yi Yun bowed.

The middle-aged scholar smiled, "Yi Yun, can you tell me how you mastered the 'Myriad Beast Totem'?"

Yi Yun had already expected that the middle-aged scholar would ask him that. He thought through his words before explaining how he met the pure Yang spirit and being unable to do anything to it, he met the Golden Crow species. He then witnessed the fight between the two pure Yang beings.

Later on, he mentioned how he used the protective charm Su Jie gave him. He managed to use the protective charm to resolve his crisis, and then, how he finally killed the Golden Crow species.

Everything Yi Yun said was the truth, without any lies. There were only some things that he did not reveal.

The City Lord nodded, "I see. In the way you describe it, it's indeed a very good opportunity… However, I guess, that isn't all the opportunities you have encountered, right..."

The middle-aged scholar was hinting at something, causing Yi Yun's heart to beat fast.

"Yi Yun, you don't have to be nervous!"

The middle-aged scholar laughed, "No matter what you encountered in Fallen Star Gate, all of them belong to you. As a junior, you risked your life to obtain them. If I were to vie with you for it, then with my outlook and aspirations, I am not worthy of being a City Lord."

The Tai Ah Divine City had stood for tens of millions of years. All these years, the Tai Ah Divine City had Sages residing it. Elites often went out into the Divine Wilderness for training, so it was not uncommon for them to have a fortuitous event.

If the Divine City's Sage level Elders fought for the fortuitous events every genius encountered, then it would be chaos. If this went on, the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom would have been destroyed in a short period of time.

The middle-aged man carried on, "At my stage, the chances of me breaking through to the Great Emperor realm is infinitely tiny. No matter how big a fortuitous opportunity it is, it would be very difficult. As I have expended a large amount of my potential, the gap from the peak of the Sage realm to the Great Emperor realm is like a divine moat. It is impossible for me to cross it, so you do not worry about me coveting your possessions."

"And even if it were you, with a large fortuitous opportunity, it would be extremely difficult to break through to the Great Emperor realm. If you were managed to do so, it will be a huge blessing for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom and me!"

When the middle-aged scholar said this, he suddenly felt an endless amount of emotions.

"Yi Yun, many of your accomplishments now are unprecedented in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. However, when placed in some factions which you can't even imagine, it is probably nothing."

"Now, you have gained insights on the saber tomb and the sword tomb, you managed to master the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique' in tens of days, and you mastered the 'Myriad Beast Totem'. All this achievements have surprised me. However… it is just a surprise. This is because I know that in your current state, you have a chance of becoming a Great Emperor in the future. But when placed in that vast world, so what?"

"This world is too big. You are not the only young person who I have not been able to see through. For example, the Luo Huo'er who healed you of your injuries may have achievements in the future that far exceed you."

When the middled-aged scholar suddenly said this, Yi Yun felt alarmed.

The middle-aged scholar knew that Luo Huo'er had healed his injuries!

Indeed, although Luo Huo'er had chosen a concealed area to heal him, with the middle-aged scholar's means, he probably had methods to track him and Luo Huo'er with his perception, seeing the process of Luo Huo'er healing him.

"You don't have to worry. Regarding that young lady, I have no intentions in investigating her. She comes from a very huge faction. I also do not think that faction has any machinations on the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, so I am not too concerned."

The middle aged scholar turned away slightly as he spoke. Again, he looked at the blood picture behind him.

"The Tai Ah Divine Kingdom is like a tiny leaf in this world. It is extremely rare for it to stand for so long. In the future, it has every possibility to capsize...for example this crisis we are facing now!"

Yi Yun quietly listened to the City Lord's words. He could feel the temperament of a leader from the middle-aged man. What concerned the middled-aged scholar the most was the future of the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom.

"City Lord, are you referring to the Shepherd Boy?" Yi Yun asked cautiously.

"Maybe..." The middle-aged scholar sighed. "This picture you see in front of you was drawn by a Sage from the imperial city. He expended a few hundred years of his life span to use the Tai Ah Compass to draw a… Divination Picture!"