nChapter 2 – A Night Later

n“Lord Si An, let’s talk while walking.” although his heart grieved, Zong Ling still kept basic etiquette.

n“Did Xiang Pang Yun come to kill Xue Ying?” As Lord Si An and Zong Ling walked together, Lord Si An couldn’t resist asking about this important affair.

nZong Ling nodded, “Assassins came to fulfill a Bloodshed tavern mission to kill Qing Shi. Xue Ying killed them, but then Xiang Pang Yun showed up and battled Xue Ying. They fought all the way from Snowrock Mountain to Black Wind cliff.”

n“Black Wind cliff?” Lord Si An blurted out, startled.

nAs a manor lord of this small county area, he naturally knew about terrifying places of despair within his territory.

n“They battled the entire way for more than 50 kilometers?” Lord Si An was shocked and couldn’t believe it. To fight like they did meant that both sides abilities were nearly equal, “To be able to maintain fighting and struggling for that long, Xue Ying’s strength must be comparable with the top 1000 rankers of Dragon Mountain Book.”

nHe still couldn’t believe it.

nHow old was Xue Ying? He was simply too great of a genius!

n“And the result? Asked Lord Si An.

nZong Ling gazed into the night sky. After a silent moment, “At first, we thought Xue Ying might survive. However no one expected that Xiang Pang Yun was not a human, but instead he was a mutated magical beast.”

n“A mutated magical beast that could change to human?” Lord Si An’s expression changed, “Sorcerer Palace?”

n“What is Sorcerer Palace?” inquired Zong Ling.

n“This is not something you have to care about,” excused Lord Si An. Behind this world’s ruler were the powerful Transcendents. Thanks to his identity as a core member of the Dragon Mountain Manor Lord’s staff, he knew some of the secrets that couldn’t be disclosed to the public. He knew that since time immemorial, the Sorcerer Palace and humankind were in a continuous struggle. How serious this information

/implication?

nSorcerer Palace has sent some magic beast to infiltrate mankind.

nFortunately, a magical beast needs to pay a hefty price to transformed into a human, so everything was still within control.

n“And then?” Lord Si An continue to asked, “after he revealed his real form, did he kill Xue Ying?”

n“No,” replied Zong Ling, “An explosion caused Xue Ying to be thrown out from Black Wind cliff and get swept into the Black Wind Abyss. While being dragged into the abyss and in mid air, Xue Ying threw some short spears. Suddenly flames burst from his whole body and the sort spears turned into meteors which then pierced through Xiang Pang Yun’s four hooved beast body. Three of the short spears stabbed into the beast’s vital points, and the four hooved creature met its demise.”

n“Fire? Killed by short spears?” Lord Si An muttered, utterly shocked, “Myriad, realm of Myriad Existences?”

n“Yes, Myriad Existences. Xue Ying could comprehended the Myriad Existences’ profound edict of fire.” Zong Ling sighed, as a Meteor ranker, he clearly knew the Dragon Mountain Book contents and recognized what Myriad Existences represented.

n“He, he only 22 years old? Realm of Myriad Existence?” Lord Si An announced, stunned. Heavens!

nIt was a big blow.

nThis kind of exceptional genius might only appears once every hundred years in the whole Dragon Mountain Empire. Such a genius would almost certainly be able to become a Transcendent.

n“This information is not false, right?” confirmed Lord Si An. He knew that once reported, this information would alert the Transcendents. It wasn’t easy for someone to become a Transcendent, and the empire only had a handful of them.

n“How could it be fake? If not for Xue Ying killing the four hooved beast, do you think we still would be alive in Snowrock Castle?” retorted Zong Ling. “If you still do not believe it, you can ask Great Mage Bai Yuan Zhi and Si Chen.”

n“I will definitely ask them.” nodded Lord Si An. He believed those people wouldn’t lie to him. He estimated, very soon, a Transcendent would visit here. In front of a Transcendent, mortals would very honestly tell everything.

n“And Xue Ying? pursued Lord Si An.

nThere was a hint of sadness in Zong Ling’s eyes as he calmly replied, “He couldn’t resist the black wind maelstrom and was swept into the Black Wind Abyss!”

nLord Si An was silent.

nHe got acquainted with Xue Ying when Xue Ying was only 15 years old. He still clearly remembered the first time he met the 15 years old Xue Ying, and the nice impression he got from this black clothed youngster. how he felt this very youngster would be terrific in the future. Six years later, Xue Ying was taller and, although he appeared reserved, also gave the impression of a mountain, sturdy and hard to shake. Recently, he had received intelligence from his superior suspecting that Xue Ying was a Legend ranker.

nBut the truth?

nXue Ying was even more stunning and dazzling than expected. He matched Xiang Pang Yun when locked in close quarter combat. When the beast showed its true form, in the final moment, Xue Ying used short spears to killed Xiang Pang Yun!

nOnly 22 years old and already entered among the top 50 rankers of the Dragon Mountain Book!

nSo dazzling! So brilliant!

nDestined to become a Transcendent, such an extraordinary existence, but…

nTo perish!

n“Pity, such a pity.” Lord Si An gently shook his head and felt regret. As a Dragon Mountain Manor core member, he understand what it meant to become a Transcendent. Transcendents were on a completely different level of existence. No matter how formidable a Legend ranker, they were still mortal, but a Transcendent… their difference was like heaven and earth.

nOf course, this difference did not include Pseudo Transcendents!

nA talented person like Xue Ying, if he were to stay alive, certainly he could become a Transcendent – a real Transcendent!

n“I will not disturb you any longer,” excused Lord Si An, “I will go to ask Bai Yuan Zhi and the others. I think this time, our Water Rites Town will be busy.”

n“I will walk Manor Lord out.” Zong Ling accompanied Lord Si An to Castle’s main gate.

nZong Ling watched Lord Si An take his men and travel to Great Mage’s Building.

nZong Ling noticed a figure standing not far from him. That figure was precisely the petite young girl Ji Rong. She appeared delicate and charming.

n“You’re still not leaving?” Zong Ling icily chided her, his face unsightly.

n“I want to see Qing Shi!” said Ji Rong.

nZong Ling coldly humph and turned his back to her.

nThe last thing Xue Ying had said before he fell into the Black Wind Abyss was for his brother to leave Ji Rong! Zong Ling definitely stood with Xue Ying’s point of view, so naturally he disliked this Ji Rong.

n ……

nCastle, inside the library.

nQing Shi sat on the chair that his big brother usually sat on and gently stroked the desk. His memory traversed back through the times he spent growing up with his big brother. His big brother cherished him more than anything. For his apprenticeship, Xue Ying had disregarded any danger and had gone into Mountain Range of Desolation.

nHe couldn’t forget his brother’s words.

n“Unless I, Dong Bo Xue Ying die, nobody else will be permitted to harm my little brother! Even you, Xiang Pang Yun!” his brother, with a spear in his hand, had said those words in front of Xiang Pang Yun. Those words now faintly echoed in Qing Shi’s ears.

n“Qing Shi! Live well, do not disappointed me!”

nEven when he began to fall into the Black Wind Abyss, Xue Ying still looked after him.

nPa! pa!

nTears fall down onto the desk, disintegrating into small drops.

nPeople felt regret only when they lost the thing precious to them.

n“Brother, I believe you will come back. You will definitely come back. I will be waiting for you, always waiting,” whispered Qing Shi, “Rest assured, I will not let you down. My big brother, Dong Bo Xue Ying, is the greatest genius in the whole world. As your younger brother, I will not smear your name!”

nDong dong

nKnocking on the door.

n“Qing Shi,” Zong Ling’s voice called from outside, “Ji Rong is still at castle’s gate, saying that she wants to see you.”

nQing Shi stood up and open the library door.

nZong Ling stood outside the library.

n“Let’s go,” Qing Shi calmly said.

nZong Ling nodded. He saw Qing Shi grow up, so he knew, although Qing Shi was a little bit innocent, he was a good child. Zong Ling trusted Qing Shi, so he came to tell him about Ji Rong and to let him settle it.

n ……

nOn top of the castle’s wall.

nQing Shi stood atop the castle’s wall and looked down at Ji Rong’s figure, standing alone down there.

n“Qing Shi” Ji Rong looked up, there was pain expressed in her eyes.

n“What my brother told me, is it true?” Qing Shi coldly asked.

nJi Rong replied hastily, “No! it’s not true!”

n“I ask once more, is it true?!” Qing Shi glared down, his expression sharp, like a blade, eyes staring into Ji Rong’s eyes.

nStared at like that, Ji Rong hesitated slightly, “Qing Shi, you also don’t believe me?”

n“Do you think I can still believe in you!?

n“Ha ha….. Because of you, I broke my big brother’s heart, haha, how stupid of me, what a joke! Ha ha ha…” Qing Shi laugh crazily.

nZong Ling silently watched from the side. He knew Qing Shi was venting.

n“Leave!”

nQing Shi coldly said, “My brother already ordered that you have to leave Snowrock Mountain tomorrow and from this moment, you can no longer take a step in entering Snowrock Mountain!”

n“Qing Shi, you really want…” Ji Rong’s eyes were full of tears.

n“Take my order!” command Qing Shi, “if tomorrow afternoon Miss Ji Rong is still within SnowRock Mountain, use force to throw her down the mountain.”

n“Understood!” responded the surrounding patrol guard on the castle wall and all the soldiers down there.

nQing Shi then turned around and left.

n“Qing Shi, Qing shi…” called Ji Rong. She could only see Qing Shi as he walked away from the castle’s wall and vanished from her sight.

nJi Rong’s face took on an unsightly appearance, her heart was full of wrath, “Dong Bo Xue Ying, damn! Even in near death moment, you still obstruct me.”

n ……

nThat night.

nLord Si An quickly reported the news. Within the night, the news delivered to Tranquil Sun Province’ s Dragon Mountain Manor Lord Council who also immediately reported it to the Transcendent beings.

nAt the same time, Mage Si Chen also traveled through the night, back to his Si Clan who controlled everything in Azure River County. This kind of important news would definitely have to be reported to Si Clan’s old ancestor, Si Liang Hong.

n ******

nFinally the unordinary night passed by and dawn of the second day came.

nAt the bottom of Black Wind Abyss.

n“Hu,” Xue Ying opened his eyes after sitting cross legged and meditated for a night. His physical injury already fully healed.

nHe got up and went to the cave entrance.

nAlthough the black wind maelstrom up there made him unable to see the sun, the valley floor was still brightly lit and appeared very different from the night before. The grass and flowers around made the valley floor appear beautiful, like a fairyland. The valley wall was mottled with mosses and the distant majestic immortal cave dwelling continuously emitted a faint azure light.

nThe light emitted by the cave dwelling was more faint in the daylight. The light circulated around with endless mystery.

n“Unfortunately, I will die if I go closer,” pondered Xue Ying, “That Demon God Emissary and Xiang Pang Yun storage spaces have food and water. I can utilize World Energy so my food consumption is low. But still, it only might last for a year. If I can’t find the way out in this one year, I will surely starve to death!”

n“Although it’s dangerous, I must find way out.” Xue Ying pondered and carefully examine the cave dwelling exterior.

n