Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

With a series of booms, bursts of fireworks were shot into the air and scattered like thousands of colorful flowers blooming against the night sky. Each one sparkled with brilliant radiance, heralding the end of New Year’s Eve and the beginning of a new year.

The silence was deafening in the Happycloud Heights. Back then, Su Wuming had undergone the Life-risking Hermetic Training for three years and smashed through the barriers separating heaven and man. His sword light could be seen from hundreds of miles away as he directly attained the Exterior level, shaking up the entire Jianghu. However, besides two other ranked young masters in his generation who subsequently achieved the same breakthrough, many years had passed without a similar occurrence.

He Jiu had been dominating the first place on the ranking for many years, resulting in speculation that he was about to repeat his predecessor’s success. Of course, talents like Su Wuming were rare to come by. That was why Bai Wenyuan and the others didn’t quite believe that He Jiu could make a direct breakthrough. They thought that he would briefly pause at the Half-step level like Aunt Bai and condition his body and mind before smoothly rising to the next level a year or two later. Who knew, not only did He Jiu make a direct breakthrough, so did Ledgerkeeper of Lives!

The current generation of members on the ranking was terrifying! Even in Su Wuming’s generation, there had never been two people breaking through at the same time!

Eastsea Sword Village’s Exterior-level Elder Gongyang Hao smiled as he stood up to congratulate them. “Congratulations, Heightslord and Childe Wang, for directly breaking through to the Exterior level.”

He felt nothing but gratitude for Wang Siyuan’s final stroke.

Hong Qian, Qian Kai, and the other Exterior-level masters rose from their seats and saluted. “Congratulations to Heightslord and Childe Wang for breaking through the barrier.”

From today onwards, He Jiu and Wang Siyuan were no longer new stars on the ranking. Like them, they were now Exterior experts who were capable of suppressing others.

Meng Qi and the others got up to congratulate them as well. He Jiu loudly chuckled and gestured for his servants to bring out the wine and delicacies. The Party of Happycloud had officially begun, but in actuality, it had already ended.

Crown Prince Zhao Qian was the first to take his leave after everyone admired some music and dance performances. He left with Eunuch Wei Gao and Hua Yan, a divine monk of the Samantabhadra Temple.

‘Buddhist Heart Palm’ Xuan Zhen followed shortly after. It seemed that Shaolin Temple’s stance regarding Zhao Qian was still rather vague.

With such an awe-inspiring opening, the guests had been shaken one by one. Guests began streaming out, either brimming with motivation or dragging their heavy hearts along as the Party of Happycloud neared its end.

Jiang Zhiwei, dressed in a light yellow robe, slowly made her way to Meng Qi with a smile. She sighed and said, “I never thought I’d be able to rise two ranks just like that.”

Right now, the only person above her in the ranking was ‘Demoness of Grand Luo’ Gu Xiaosang. However, compared to improving her rank simply because those above her had made breakthroughs, she would rather conquer her obstacles step by step.

“Don’t worry, you can still surpass them on the Terrestrial Rankings next time!” Meng Qi teased, the admiration in his voice apparent.

Jiang Zhiwei nodded. “I’ve learned something from watching them make their breakthrough. Since I’ve been training outside for a long time now, I’ve attained countless experiences through sparring and battles. I feel like quietly cultivating for a while to digest everything I’ve learned and thought about the path I wish to seek.”

“I plan to return to the Sword Washing Pavilion now. How about you, little monk?”

“I’m about to do some quiet cultivating as well. No matter where I go, it won’t be quiet cultivation anyway. So how about I build a house next to the Sword Washing Pavilion?” Meng Qi joked.

He would’ve really considered doing that if the Sword Washing Pavilion wasn’t located in the far Northwest. However, it was simply too far away and would delay his progress. He might as well digest and internalize his experiences, as well as open his Nine Apertures before heading over.

Jiang Zhiwei smiled. “Remember to pay rent.”

She could tell that what Meng Qi wanted the most right now was a place to quietly cultivate. So she didn’t invite him to join her on her journey back to the Sword Washing Pavilion.

“I’ll go into hiding and flee from Ying City tomorrow. Even if the Myths want to vent their frustration, they shouldn’t be able to find me…” Meng Qi suddenly mentioned the Myths. “It’s a pity that I couldn’t teach them a lesson.”

Since he was using Secret Voice-sending, he wasn’t worried about the Exterior masters present hearing him. In any case, they more or less knew what they had to know. It was possible that there were even other experts who were intentionally helping him keep his secret.

“You’ll get the chance to do that in the future,” replied a smiling Jiang Zhiwei, throwing Meng Qi’s own words back at him.

The two of them chatted for a while until Hong Qian bade farewell to Gongyang Hao, and the latter left with Jiang Zhiwei.

Meng Qi planned on returning to his compound to get a good sleep. The next day, he hid among the crowd and slipped out of the city. He spotted Wang Siyuan, who had just exchanged pleasantries with He Jiu, walking toward him.

“Su Meng.” Wang Siyuan coughed a couple of times. “Disaster will befall you soon.”

“Huh?” Meng Qi was shocked and stared at Wang Siyuan, waiting for him to elaborate.

Wang Siyuan turned around calmly and left him with a mere sentence, “I can’t divulge any further, for these are Heaven’s secrets.”

“This… this man is asking for a beating!” Meng Qi thought, his face twitching. Even fraudulent fortune-tellers along the streets would give detailed elaborations after shocking and swindling their customers! They would at least recommend some way of avoiding the calamity to cheat them of their money, unlike that fellow who had left without another word, leaving him in shock and at a loss!

He tried to chase after Wang Siyuan to probe further but the Exterior master was much quicker and disappeared from the hall in the blink of an eye alongside Wang Rui.

“… exactly what kind of disaster is it!” Meng Qi spat, frustrated and baffled.

…

Since the Misty Rain Mountain was close to the Happycloud Heights, Crown Prince Zhao Qian, the divine monk Hua Yan, and Eunuch Wei Gao arrived at the foot of the mountain in no time under the protection of several guards and monks.

Out of the blue, the mountain and ground began rumbling. Large boulders started rolling down, throwing smoke and dust into the air. Everything turned into a blur around them.

Blood-curdling shrieks continued to echo as the falling boulders crushed the guards one by one.

Hua Yan shifted his body in front of Zhao Qian. His aperture points emitted a faint golden light and converged into the illusion of the Golden Body Buddha. Soft chanting of “Amitabha” reverberated throughout the place.

He produced the Precious Vase Seal and so did the Buddha image. The two of them seemed to overlap as they directed a blow upward.

Buddha’s light flashed and the force of the attack shot out like raging waters. It collided with a boulder the size of a small mountain that was hurtling toward them from above.

Boom!

The mountain peak shattered and the entire rock exploded, turning into a shower of tiny pebbles sprinkled with tiny specks of Buddha’s light.

Hua Yan’s two feet sunk into the soil while a shadowy figure was suddenly flung backward, landing not too far away from them. The mountain peak had been derived from a single punch of his and the aura of the mountains gathered around him. Moreover, it seemed like he had directly moved half a small peak!

The quaking of the mountains increased as the figure landed on the ground.

He was wearing the mask of Mountain God, a figure commonly seen in plays.

Eunuch Wei Gao’s expression changed drastically. He felt only the man’s growing murderous intent and his Sword Qi disturbing his mind.

Swiftly, he pushed both of his hands out. Ripples began spreading, grinding the boulders and soil into dust everywhere that it passed.

Clang!

A long sword came out of nowhere, piercing the ripples and instantly dispersing them.

The one wielding the sword was yet another masked man. He donned the mask of the Star of Northern Dipper from plays.

He whipped about as his killing intent engulfed Wei Gao from all sides. Every strike made the eunuch shudder and soon, he was on the losing end.

The remaining guards and monks quickly surrounded Zhao Qian to protect him. One tried to release a signal to request for assistance from the Exterior masters of Ying City.

Right then, the blades in the guards’ hands sprung up as if they had come to life. In some sort of crazed dance, they stabbed the hearts and throats of their wielders and the bodies of the monks next to them.

Painful screeches ripped through the air as the guards and monks collapsed one after another.

A poised and honorable woman riding on a golden cloud appeared from around the mountain. She tapped away with her blade-like fingers, the white Qi around her surging in all directions. The guards and monks collapsed as if she was removing weeds from a garden. Nobody could get near the Crown Prince nor could anyone release a distress signal.

The woman was wearing a mask as well—Golden Emperor Queen Mother of the West!

Zhao Qian, suddenly embroiled in an ambush, was at a loss of what to do. He suddenly spotted a black figure. Devil Qi circled all around him, making it impossible to perceive what was shrouded within. Zhao Qian could feel nothing but a terrifying evil from the figure.

The devil-like shadow grabbed Zhao Qian and a soundless demonic roar immediately struck his Vital Spirit.

A golden dot appeared on Zhao Qian’s mid-brows, carrying an inexplicable solemnness to it. With a power that resembled God descending upon the world, it countered the demonic roar.

The trembling mountains seemed to stop for a brief moment as he swiftly drew his long sword. It was none other than the sword art from the Book of Shocking the World .

Sword light flashed, appearing to suppress Devil Qi. It gradually dissipated to reveal the figure it had been concealing—another masked man, this time in the guise of the Mahesvara who had turned his back on Devil Lord and sided with the Celestial Court in the past!

Its supreme art had never been handed down and thus no one knew what it was. The same went for the Myths, who had no choice but to use other Divine Skills in its place.

The sword clashed with the two claws and was suddenly stuck to them. All the force the sword possessed was magically sucked into the ‘demonic shadow’ like water from streams converging into the sea.

Zhao Qian could also feel all his genuine Qi gushing out of his body. Even his blood, flesh, and bones seemed to have a will of their own and desperately tried to go to the enemy.

Faced with such a bizarre change and a terrifying Half-step expert, Zhao Qian was mired in a hopeless situation. He was on the verge of being sucked dry and turning into a mummified corpse.

However, the Book of Shocking the World wasn’t to be trivialized. Eunuch Wei Gao had obtained immense strength after practicing only a small part of it. In a life-and-death situation, the genuine Qi in Zhao Qian’s body transformed into several ripples. Disregarding the possible consequences on his body, they dispersed the Devil Qi using powerful vibrations and cut off the sucking force.

Just then, the demonic shadow eerily cackled. The genuine Qi suddenly changed and Zhao Qian felt himself plunged into a state of extreme bliss! It felt multiple times better than when he had women doting on him!

His genitals engorged and tears and mucus began flowing down his face from the amazing feeling. He looked like he was on the brink of collapsing and dying. His flesh, blood, bones, and genuine Qi couldn’t be controlled any longer as they began flowing toward the demonic shadow.

He had barely gotten the faintest taste of Extreme Bliss of Heaven and Demon!

“Amitabha…”

“Just as I’ve heard…”

Buddha’s light emerged from within Zhao Qian’s Vital Spirit at that critical moment. A Buddha’s relic with a colorful glaze surfaced at his mid-brows, holding his blood and flesh in place. The blissful feeling vanished and tranquility filled the surroundings, preventing the Skyscraping Devil from invading it.

Seizing his chance, Zhao Qian released the distress signal.

The secret object fired into the air, tearing through layers of smoke and fog before exploding mid-air into a golden-colored exotic flower.

It dissipated the haze that had kept their activity concealed at the same time. The crowd at the nearby Happycloud Heights became alert to the things happening on the mountain.

“The Crown Prince? The Myths?” Slivery-badge Arrester Qian Kai, who had been in the midst of a conversation with Meng Qi, fixed his eyes on the mountain. Horrified, he instantly leaped up and out to their rescue.

He Jiu’s expression suggested his thirst for battle and inexplicable joy. Together with Gongyang Hao, he embodied his Sword Qi and flew toward the Misty Rain Mountain.

Meng Qi couldn’t quite make out what was going on at the mountain at his current level of strength, but he had heard Qian Kai’s mumbles.

“‘The Myths ambushed the Crown Prince?” The corner of his lips twitched a little, though one couldn’t tell for sure if it was in shock or delight. “Could they also believe that the True Emperor Seal is with the Crown Prince?”

“Will Prince Jin interfere?”

“Could he be related to the Myths? Their attack is so sudden and resolute. Unless they’ve confirmed that it’s not with Zhao Yi either…”

“What a show, to watch as they mutilate each other…”

“Hm? The Myths have Exterior masters? So why was Old Zhong the only one who made the attack in the Valley of Unkempt Tombs, allowing Sikong Tu to escape?”

Meng Qi gazed into the distance as various thoughts filled his head. Despite his uncertainty, he felt a rush of excitement of watching things from the sidelines.

All things had to come to an end and the same went for the Party of Happlycloud. The entire place was quiet. When Meng Qi scanned his surroundings, he saw only a few servants remaining.

“All the masters have left…”

“All the masters have left!” He suddenly realized something as he recalled Wang Siyuan’s reminder.

A disaster would befall him soon!

Clang! He unsheathed his long saber.

His surroundings started to melt into a pitch-black darkness out of the blue.

Wolf King?