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nTranslator: Deep_Blue Editor: Kurisu

n“Fled???”

nStanding in the middle of the garden, Lu Sheng repeated softly.

nIt went without saying how vital the presence of Zhen Family was to the Northern Lands.

nWithout Zhen Family’s repression of supernatural forces, the Northern Lands would not be in much better shape than the drought-afflicted Yun Province. With demons, devils, and ghosts wreaking havoc, the human race would scarcely be able to survive.

nOf course, the human race was of value to the Noble Families. So, some other Noble Family would certainly step in to occupy the region. But who knew how many lives would remain in the entire Northern Lands by the time the other Noble Families make a move.

nLu Sheng’s heart weighed like a millstone.

nHe wasn’t worried about the countless, faceless mob of citizens, but the Crimson Whale Sect and himself.

nAs a direct vassal of Zhen Family, Crimson Whale Sect was the most important faction under its command and was kept in the loop about many pieces of intelligence regarding Zhen Family.

nOnce word got out about Zhen Family’s retreat, Crimson Whale Sect would be first target on Scarlet District’s list.

nRecognizing the gravity of the matter, Lu Sheng drew closer and opened his lips, but no words came out.

n“Zhen Family has left. Which means that from now on, we’re on our own,” Hong Mingzi’s voice carried a thick note of weakness and weariness within it.

n“I’ve given orders for our hidden agents dispatched outside to leave for the Central Plains with manpower and resources. Perhaps there’ll be a day to come in the future when we may start all over again.”

n“Why the pessimism, Senior Apprentice Brother? Until the very end, there may yet be a chance for the situation to turn around!” Lu Sheng exclaimed with a look of resolution.

nHe had taken only slightly more than a year to turn from a rich man’s son into a big shot in a powerful sect.

nIn the eyes of the common man, he had hidden his martial arts skills since his youth and bade his time to reveal them. Only he himself knew that he had truly taken only a year to build up and cultivate his strength.

nThis was why he dared not spell out the extent of his martial arts accomplishments to his family explicitly. It was simply too over the top.

nFrom the time he killed a ghost with one palm strike till now, he was no longer the meek and gentle young master that he once used to be.

nHe would never throw in the towel.

n“It’s no use… without the Noble Family… there’s no way we can put up a fight against Scarlet District…” Hong Mingzi seemed to have lost his courage entirely as he shook his head continuously.

n“How can you say that, Senior Apprentice Brother? With many things in life, there’s no telling how things may end without trying. Moreover, even if we were to die, we must pull some of our enemies down with us!” Lu Sheng licked his lips.

nBut Hong Mingzi continued to look resigned to fate, unable to muster any strength at all.

n“You don’t know how powerful Anomalies are… you don’t know… those who haven’t seen them assume that they’re like ghosts. But in actual fact, ghosts can’t hold a candle to them…” Hong Mingzi sighed. “I’ve already arranged a carriage team to set off for Central Plains. If Junior Apprentice Brother wants to, you can join them. You’re a new addition to our upper echelon. Perhaps Scarlet District would not blacklist you…”

n“Perhaps. But I’ve never pinned my hopes on any chances,” Lu Sheng composed himself.

nScarlet District was like a massive object that weighed heavily on his heart. Not only his, but the hearts of all of Crimson Whale Sect’s upper echelons.

nAlthough Lu Sheng was drawing closer to the realm of Bind, Bind was merely the most basic stage of Noblemen and Anomalies. Such strength was far from sufficient to keep him safe in the face of the incoming calamity!

n“So what do you intend to do, Junior Apprentice Brother?” Hong Mingzi gazed at Lu Sheng. In his eyes, no matter what they did now, it would be in vain. A mortal who dreamed of resisting an Anomaly was like a rabbit attempting to bite a tiger to death. The two were clearly not in the same league; no such possibility existed.

n“Nothing really,” Lu Sheng thought for a moment. “Can Senior Apprentice Brother lend me some contribution points so that I can browse some martial arts manuals and broaden my horizons?”

n“It’s already come to this and you still…!” Hong Mingzi was at a loss for words. But looking at Lu Sheng, he saw that his gaze was resolute and knew that he must have had a plan. Thus, he said no further.

n“Very well then. It’s of no use to me anyway. I’ll lend you three significant contributions to the sect—enough to exchange for any martial arts manuals you want from the Martial Proclamation Library.”

n“Since the sect is about to be overturned, why bother keeping to these supposed rules? Why not just open up the Martial Proclamation Library?” Lu Sheng suggested. He was naturally discontented with merely three significant contributions.

n“That’s the rule. It was instituted right from the start by Zhen Family…” before he could finish, old Sect Master fell into a daze. After a moment, he shut his eyes slowly and waved his hand, “Whatever… whatever you want… as long as the librarian agrees…”

nHaving achieved his aim, Lu Sheng said a few more words of consolation to Hong Mingzi then quickly exited the garden.

nHong Mingzi did not bother paying a visit to Transformation Clan. Clearly, he already had insider information. Or perhaps, he had already personally verified the answer he sought.

n‘Such a pity… all the members of the upper echelons of the sect who’re in the know must be filled with despair,’ exiting the garden, Lu Sheng walked along the corridor, down the stairs and straight to Martial Proclamation Library.

n‘If not for my Modifier and Yin Qi… without enough martial arts manuals to upgrade, I guess I’d be in despair just like these ordinary people…’

nThese people have spent decades laboring in martial arts training only to find that their cultivation bases of a lifetime could not even stand up to a single strike by ghosts and Anomalies.

nFacing such a wide chasm, they did not even have a glimmer of hope left that anything they could do in the short run could ever turn the situation around.

n‘But I’ve still got a chance!’

nLu Sheng made up his mind. If he upgraded his cultivation base at all costs, using tonic herbs and Yin Qi to plug the gaps, he may yet be able to achieve a significant upgrade.

n‘At the very least, I’ll leave the Northern Lands with my family. Even if we’re arrested, I’d still have a fighting chance because they’d underestimate my strength. However…’

nA gleam of viciousness sparkled in Lu Sheng’s eyes. ‘That’s just my last resort. If I’m really on the Scarlet District’s blacklist, they surely wouldn’t let me off the hook easily. Leaving Mountain-Edge City might be even more dangerous.’

nDifferent possibilities flashed across his mind one by one. But in the end, they all converged into a single reality.

n‘No matter what, raising my combat strength as fast as possible—that’s the way to go!’ After all, he still had much potential waiting to be explored.

nAfter leaving the garden, he headed straight for Martial Proclamation Library.

nPresently, the library was empty except for the old man dozing off behind the counter.

nThe doors to the library were wide open and lamps shone brightly inside.

nLu Sheng walked up slowly.

n“Sir Librarian. Why’re you still here? With this calamity coming upon us, why don’t you seek refuge in the Central Plains?” Lu Sheng came up to the counter and said to the sleepy-eyed old man.

n“Seek refuge?” The librarian opened his murky eyes and glanced at Lu Sheng. “There’s no use. Our links with Zhen Family are way too deep. You look like one who sees the situation pretty well. If anything happens, it’s still best to ride it out inside Mountain-Edge City.”

n“Mountain-Edge City?” Lu Sheng was surprised.

n“That’s right… then it’s a matter of how much face Scarlet District is willing to give to the royal family behind the court…” the librarian waved his hand. “Come on, speak. Why’re you here?”

nLu Sheng mulled for a while and spoke, “Now that Zhen Family’s leaving, there’s no more point in keeping Martial Proclamation Library’s rules, is there? I’d like to browse the manuals freely. How about that?”

nThe librarian was stumped. He clearly had not expected such a request from Lu Sheng. He had assumed that he was sent by Sect Master Hong Mingzi to help out in the fight. He did not think that Lu Sheng merely wanted such a permission.

n“Rules are rules. But, you’re senior management. And, it is extreme times. If it’s just you alone, you can pick a few manuals freely.”

nLu Sheng thanked him and turned towards the second story.

n“Although I’ve no idea why you’ve come to browse manuals, this old man would advise you to hurry. Martial Proclamation Library is our Crimson Whale Sect’s crucial grounds. All manuals and resources will be packed and taken away from here. We’re about to start packing them in a bit,” the old librarian reminded.

n“Thanks for reminding me,” Lu Sheng sped up his pace.

nHe went straight to the shelves he had visited previously and found the hard body skills he wanted.

nDusk Dantian Inflating Skill, Golden Veil Skill, and several other Strength Proficiency hard body skills collected by Crimson Whale Sect. But there was none of the Intent Proficiency level.

nLu Sheng picked a total of five of them and, while he was at it, picked two inner force mantras as well.

nWhen he went down the stairs to exchange them for the actual manuals, the old librarian’s eyelids jumped at the sight.

n“You’re trying to empty the entire library!” He was speechless.

n“I’ll return them after reading,” Lu Sheng replied earnestly.

n“Can you borrow them one by one then?”

n“No, I can’t. I’m afraid there may not be a next time,” Lu Sheng replied honestly.

n“So you also know that there won’t be a next time?” The librarian was speechless.

n“These hard body skills aren’t a problem. But as for these two inner force skills… because these are extreme times, you can borrow only the hand-written duplicate copies,” he said.

n“Alright then,” Lu Sheng understood that this was the time for Crimson Whale Sect to begin packing its manuals. During this dangerous period of time, every original copy loaned out was one less martial art owned by Crimson Whale Sect. They were already very nice to him by allowing him to borrow so many in one go.

nAnd, perhaps it was also because of the fact that he was a member of Crimson Sun Sect.

nAnyway, his inner force had already reached the maximum capacity of his body’s constitution and meridians’ limits. He couldn’t practice the inner force skills even if he took them away. So he wasn’t bothered by it.

n“Alright then,” the old librarian retrieved the original copies of the hard body skills. Not all hard body skills required a meditative intent diagram. Hence, several of them were handwritten copies.

nLu Sheng tried to pick a hassle about that but the librarian simply responded with a roll of his eyes.

n“Well then, junior takes his leave,” Lu Sheng picked up the manuals and clasped his hands together.

n“Go ahead, go ahead…” the old librarian remained still behind the counter, as if he would continue sitting guard there forever.

nRight before turning to leave, Lu Sheng took one last glance at him, wondering what was going on in his mind.

nSomehow, he had the sense that this elder was shrouded in some mystery and was unsure if it was just his own imagination.

nLeaving Martial Proclamation Library, Lu Sheng headed straight to the dispensary in Crimson Whale and quickly gathered the herbs and medicinal ingredients needed by these hard body skills. He even helped himself to some extras. After all, once chaos breaks out in this place, it wouldn’t be as easy to gather the ingredients he needed anymore. The ordinary pharmacies in the city surely wouldn’t cut it. Many of these herbs were special ingredients needed only by martial arts practitioners.

nCarrying a huge pack, Lu Sheng swiftly headed out on the deck. Immediately, a mob of people boarding the Crimson Whale under the escort of Crimson Whale Sect disciples entered his view.

n“Who are these people?” He frowned and turned to the guard by his side.

n“In reply to External Head, these are the survivors from Transformation Clan… because they were injured in the fire, they have been sent here for medical aid,” the guard called out, fighting to make his voice audible over the noise of the mob.

n“I thought it wasn’t really a fire? How come there’re burn casualties? Has the Transformation Clan Chief been spotted?” Lu Sheng asked again.

n“Er… your subordinate here is not clear. But I heard them say that after the beacon fire was lit, it accidentally spread to the headquarters building.” The guard paused and dropped to a whisper, “I heard that even the Clan Chief himself was roasted alive in the fire… his remains were mixed with the wooden ash and dust from the beams of the house. It’s tragic…” his dialect, which caused his sentences to end on a rising intonation, revealed that he was not a local from Mountain Edge City.

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