《Against The Heavens》


 -2 Cultivation levels.

    To make it easier for people to remember the cultivation levels, I have decided to post them up here, making it easier to find the chapter where they are all mentioned. This is just a general listing of the realms, no real in-depth information. That will be added in the future once more information is revealed in the story.


    Human Rune Realm. Divided into Mortal Rune, Houtian Rune, and Xiantian Rune realms. One must use their Qi and their understanding of the laws to carve runes inside their dantian, slowly growing it larger to create space for more runes.


    Ascending Heaven Realm. Divided into the Ascending Foundation, Ascending Road, and Ascending Gate realms.After carving at least nine runes of one law into their dantian, the cultivator must connect all their runes using a thread of Qi, allowing the runes to create a large platform at the center of them all. This platform was the Ascending Foundation, and from this point on, the cultivator had to pour their Qi and understanding into the platform, slowly creating a mountain on top of it, their Ascending Road. Once the mountain could grow no longer, it would connect to the heavens, allowing the cultivator to enter the Ascending Gate realm.


    Immortal Rebirth Realm. Divided into Body Rebirth, Energy Rebirth, and Spiritual Rebirth realms. Once a person''s Ascending Road has connected with the heavens, they must survive three different tribulations, shedding their mortal coil and joining the ranks of immortals. The first tribulation tests and tempers the body, the second tests and tempers a person''s Qi, and the final one will test and temper one''s soul. After surviving all three tribulations, one must prepare to enter the Primordial Rune realm.


    Primordial Rune Realm. Divided into Early, Middle, and Late stage. After one has joined the ranks of the immortals, one must shatter the Ascending Road they have created, fusing it into the various runes they have already carved and used as the Ascending Foundation. This allows the runes to carry a piece of the heavens, letting them unleash even greater might. After doing this, one must fuse the strengthened runes, fusing 9 runes into one, a Primordial Rune. These Primordial Runes will serve as a blueprint to carve future Primordial Runes. Every three sets of Primordial Runes constitutes one of the three stages in the cultivation, 3 equals early stage, 6 equals middle stage, and 9 equals late stage.


    Celestial Immortal Realm. Divided into Earthly Immortal. Heavenly Immortal. Transcended Immortal.


    One has finished carving 9 Primordial Runes, now it is time for a cultivator to unshackle themselves from the heavens, becoming their equal. A cultivator must use the fragments of their Ascending Road that have fused into their Primordial Runes, letting the energy of them spread throughout the dantian, creating a pseudo-heaven. The more like the true heavens that this pseudo-heaven is, the higher their cultivation is.


    True Deity Realm. Divided into Earthly Deity, Heavenly Deity, Transcended Deity. At this cultivation stage, a cultivator starts turning their pseudo-heaven into a true heaven. They use every single law they have gained insight into, merging it into their pseudo-heaven and using vast amounts of energy to slowly fuse the laws with the pseudo-heavens. This slowly changes the pseudo-heaven, turning it from an all-inclusive pseudo-heaven into a true heaven that focuses solely on the laws that a cultivator has gained insight onto.


    Empyrean Realm. Divided into Early, Middle, and late stage. Thought to be the peak of cultivation, often titled Godkings. The true heaven within the cultivators dantian has not only become complete, but it has also become an entire universe, capable of birthing living beings and sentient species. The cultivator can draw power from these living beings, their faith and life-force becoming the might of the cultivator.

 -1 Interlude 1. The dream of the Burning Monk.

    Jing Yimu''s body ached, burning with pain, the disgusting taste of blood filling his mouth. His vision was blurry, but he didn''t need his sight to know that there were currently four other youths standing above him, kicking and punching him, abusing him as they wished.


    He was just a weak youth, how was he supposed to defend himself against the attacks of these four youths, who had already reached the middle stage of the Mortal Rune realm? His only choice was to grit his teeth and let them do as they wished to him, to endure all the pain, all the curses. But suddenly, the hail of attacks stopped, a sweet voice reaching his ears.


    "Are you okay, little child?"


    Jing Yimu''s vision was still blurry when he felt a warm stream of energy enter his body, his wounds quickly healing. When his vision returned to normal, he could finally see who had spoken to him, who had saved him from the beating.


    There was a couple, a man and a woman, standing by his curled up body, the four people who had beaten him now sprawled on the ground, whimpering in pain, the mark of a palm on their cheeks. The man was looking at Jing Yimu with a disinterested expression, but the woman had a slightly worried look on her face, her soft and somewhat cold palm placed on his back. The energy that came from her palm felt so warm to Jing Yimu, so safe and comfortable.


    Jing Yimu did not respond to the woman''s question, his mouth agape as he looked at the two people with a dumbfounded expression. The man was tall and handsome, an elegant and regal aura radiating from him. He had eyes like black holes, his long azure hair tied into a neat ponytail. The woman had delicate and exquisite features and had clear emerald eyes that shone like gems, her silvery-white hair looking like silk as it flowed down her back.


    But it was not their beauty that caused Jing Yimu to be dumbfounded, it was the fact that he had seen these people before. It was less than a year ago when the sky outside his hometown suddenly turned dark, violet lightning tearing the sky apart. And standing amidst that violet lightning, was this couple, their bodies standing tall and proud. They faced a large group of people, but their enemies were unable to even last ten moves, decimated without being able to put a single scratch on the couple. Two powerful people like them had bothered to save someone as insignificant as him. While he was remembering that scene, the woman spoke up again, her voice so soft and charming.


    "Your injuries are healed now, but you should take more care in the future. There is no shame in running and hiding if you find yourself unable to beat your enemies. Take this, it should help you if you get any more wounds in the future."


    The woman handed him a small bottle, an herbal fragrance emitting from the opening of the bottle. Jing Yimu could hear a few pills rolling around in the bottle, and there was no doubt in his mind that the pills were far too good for someone like him. But the woman did not even give him the chance to refuse, stuffing the bottle into his hands and then standing up. She grabbed onto the elbow of the man who had been standing calmly behind her, the two vanishing into the city.


    This was Jing Yimu''s first meeting with the future Thunder Monarch and Poison Empress, his first meeting with the people he would one day lead into ruin.


    It was this meeting, the soft care of Fang Ying, that caused Jing Yimu to throw himself into cultivation. It turned out that he had a high affinity for the laws of fire and wind, his relentless training producing quick results. But even when he got stronger, he never stopped his repetitive cultivation. He wanted to become even stronger, to become able to stand by the side of that beautiful woman that had even cared for a nobody like him.


    He also followed her example, helping others whenever he saw them in peril. He fought demons and evil cultivators, massacred devils and monsters to secure the safety of countless cities. Even the weak people who would be considered nobodies, worth nothing, he would seek them out and help them.


    Before he knew it, stories of a monk clad in fire and wind spread around the world, the people calling him the Burning Monk. But Jing Yimu paid no mind to these stories, continuing his pursuit for strength and justice always searching for the countenance that haunted his dreams.


    People thought that Jing Yimu had never married or had any relations with women because he was fully focused on cultivation, but they were all wrong. The reason he had never even glanced at any women was that the face of Fang Ying was firmly engraved in his mind, appearing whenever he closed his eyes. To be with her was one of the reasons he was so adamant about his cultivation.


    And in the end, his repetitive cultivation paid off. He met up with the Thunder Monarch and the Poison Empress again, but this time he was no longer a weak youth who was crumpled up on the ground. His cultivation was a bit weaker than theirs, but he could stand in front of them as equals.


    He was ecstatic, he could fight side by side with the woman he dreamt of, he could aid her. The only thing that brought him down was the fact that Fang Ying was completely set on Li Yang, she never even gave Jing Yimu a glance. But he could ignore it, he did not want to ruin what the two of them had, to tear them apart.


    He buried his feelings deep and continued to fight by their side, quickly growing closer to Li Yang. In Li Yang, he found someone that was similar to himself. He had started as a normal and weak youth, but thanks to his brutal effort, he had dragged himself forward, never stopping his efforts as he chased after the peak. He was their equal, their brother, he was content.


    So when was it, when did these whispers appear in his mind? When did the world he saw start to distort and twist? Exactly who was it that was telling him about the things that Fang Ying was capable of if she lost control? Who was it that showed him images of decayed cities, all life rotting under the poison that Fang Ying unleashed?


    Jing Yimu never questioned any of these things, they simply felt so natural to him, as if they were not worth questioning. Slowly they started to fester in his mind, terror gripping his heart whenever he thought about the possible future. In the end, he could only bury his feelings even deeper and do what he felt was necessary, do what had to be done to save the world he had grown to love.


    But no matter how he tried to explain this to Li Yang, he seemed unwilling to listen. Even when Jing Yimu said that there would be no peak to chase after if Fang Ying killed everyone, Li Yang refused to listen. Had he been wrong, was Li Yang not someone who chased after the peak with all his heart? The whispers in his mind quickly gave him his answer. Li Yang''s mind had already been poisoned, tainted by the woman who was always at his side.


    The answer seemed so obvious, so fitting, so Jing Yimu never questioned it. Not only the woman he loved but even the man he called brother, to save the world, he would have to kill them both. Jing Yimu buried his feelings and ignored the pain, not for one second believing his choice to be the wrong one. He gathered up like-minded people, friends he had gathered over the years, and did what he had to do.


    Many people died, but the end result was still the salvation of the world, the death of the Thunder Monarch and the Poison Empress. After healing from his wounds, Jing Yimu returned to the hill where they had died, but it was already gone, taken away by Li Yang''s other friends.


    Jing Yimu had prepared several traps and people, making sure that none of Li Yang''s friends would be able to interfere in what he considered his solemn duty.


    After killing Fang Ying and Li Yang, the whispers stopped sounding out within Jing Yimu''s mind, but the words and images had already festered in his mind. He also started working on erasing any information about Li Yang and Fang Ying, rather than having their true story known, he would rather have them be quietly forgotten. He had prepared himself to be tracked down by Zhao Feng and the others, killed by their collective effort for what he had done. But they were never able to find him, even when they were in the same city, they seemed unable to spot him.


    Time continued to move, Jing Yimu''s cultivation almost grinding to a halt, barely increasing over the years. But despite his cultivation barely increasing, his aging had already slowed to a halt, time seeming to have lost its grip on him. His friends aged and died, even Li Yang''s friends, people just as strong as Jing Yimu, were forced to attempt reincarnation. But Jing Yimu barely aged, continuing to travel around and helping people, the stories of the Burning Monk continuing to spread.


    Eventually, word of a cursed realm reached his ears, so he went to check it out, to see if it was a danger to the world. And to his surprise, he recognized the places within the cursed realm, they were places he had both heard about and been at before. And to his excitement, the legacy of the Thunder Monarch was buried within the realm.


    He was forced to kill the previous Thunder Monarch before he managed to produce an heir, so there was no one to carry his legacy forward. But now, Jing Yimu could pick up the legacy and hand it to someone worthy, raising a new Thunder Monarch, one that would not be tainted by poison. While imagining this wonderful dream, Jing Yimu was completely unaware of the fact that he would never be able to leave this hidden realm.

 1 At the top of that small hill.

    It was a small hill, one could find a hill like this anywhere in the world. But almost all of the most powerful people in the world were currently gathered around this small hill. The hill was surrounded by a large number of people, each one had a name that shook the entire world. But they all faced the people who stood at the top of the hill with trepidation clear in their eyes.


    At the top of the hill stood two people, a man and a woman. The two of them were currently holding hands, looking at the small army of people that had surrounded them. They only glanced at the small army for a short moment before they turned to face each other, completely ignoring everyone else.


    The man was clad in a violet robe. He had eyebrows that were sharp like swords, long azure hair that was made up into a ponytail and hung down to his waist, his deep black eyes seemed like bottomless holes, sucking in the souls of anyone who looked into them for too long. In his right hand he held a golden longsword that was covered in blood.


    He had an elegant and tyrannical aura, golden arcs of lightning were coiling around his body. His violet robe was tattered and torn, a large amount of injuries and blood visible on his body, his breathing was very rushed and weak.


    The woman wasclad in an azure robe. She had graceful features that made her seem like a delicate flower, long silvery white hair that hung freely down to her waist. She had a pair of clear emerald green eyes that held an intoxicating flavour, capable of bewitching anyone who met her eyes.


    Her aura was much more delicate and graceful. But the purple smoke radiating from her body was constantly corroding the earth around her, letting others know that she was not a flower that was easily plucked. She was in a similar state as the man, covered in blood and wounds, her breath weak and shallow.


    The sky was covered in black clouds, furious bolts of lightning flashing across the sky and lighting up the world. The earth was covered in corpses, blood flowing like a river, turning the land into a land of death where no life could grow. The heavy rain washed away the blood and drowned out nearly all sounds. The heavy rain made it seem like the heavens themselves were crying, the black clouds trying to prevent the heavens from seeing the unfolding tragedy.


    "Thunder Monarch! It did not have to end like this! If you had just handed over the Poison Empress, this could have all been prevented! So many people didn''t have to die for something so small! Why do you have to be so obstinate?!"


    A bald man standing at the forefront of the small army shouted towards the two people at the top of the hill. He looked at the sea of blood that surrounded the small hill, his heart twisting in pain. He had called many of these people brothers, he had even called the Thunder Monarch a brother at some point.


    "HAHAHA. Jing Yimu, have you ever heard of a monarch that has handed over his empress to someone else. You are right, it did not have to end like this. But it has! And even if I was given the chance to go back and change my answer, I would not! A thousand times I would reject your offer, a thousand times I would kill everyone who tried to take her!"


    The man standing at the top of the hill broke out into a loud laughter after hearing the words the bald man spoke. His lips curled into a mocking smile as he looked down at the bald man, loudly proclaiming his stance. He would never let go of the hand he was holding, no matter how many times he was asked, no matter how bad the final outcome would be.


    "Since that is how you feel, then there is nothing we can do. I wish you a good rest Thunder Monarch, being able to have known you is something I can take pride in!"


    The bald man shook his head and spoke out after letting out a sigh. Two of the proudest and most blessed people in the world would die here, their blood staining a nameless hill. The bald man waved his hand and the small army of people all unleashed their attacks, a rainbow of colorful energy flying towards the two people at the top of the hill.


    "Seems like this is it for us."


    The violet robed man turned towards the woman at his side, a wide grin on his face. Despite the rainbow of attacks heading towards them to reap their lives, his eyes were focused solely on the woman at his side.


    "Do you regret it? Ignoring my warning all those years ago and taking my hand? Had you not grabbed my hand back then, you would not end up here."


    The woman tightly squeezed his hand as she spoke, her voice almost as quiet as a whisper. This was a question that had been on her mind ever since the people of this world started hunting them, a question that haunted her and kept her awake at night.


    "HAHAHA. Regret it? Even if I knew that we would end up right here, I would still choose to grab your hand. Even if you did not want me by your side, I would still grab your hand. Grabbing your hand was the best choice I have ever made, how could I ever regret it?"


    In response to her words, the violet robed man only let out another loud laugh, tightly grasping her hand. Despite the cold rain and loss of blood, this hand was still as soft and warm as the day he had first grasped it. This was the one hand he would never let go off, no matter what everyone else said.


    "But you are dying now because of it."


    Tears started welling up in the woman''s eyes as she embraced the violet robed man. The man she loved was dying because of her, but he did not even care, he simply let out his usual loud laughter and tightly grasped her hand.


    "Death is but momentary. I am certain that there will be a day where we will be reborn. And in that life too, I will grab your hand. Through time and space, through life and death, I will chase after you. I will face the whole world just so that Ican grab your hand once more!"


    The man''s voice turned extremely gentle as he spoke these words. He dropped the sword that he held in his right hand and used his right hand to til the woman''s head upwards. As the myriad of attacks landed on their bodies, he planted a soft and gentle kiss on her lips, the last kiss they would ever share in this life.

 2 Another chance, no matter the price.

    "Li Yang."


    As the attacks landed on their bodies and the world around them descended into darkness, Li Yang suddenly heard a booming voice reverberate in the surroundings. Li Yang hurriedly opened his eyes, holding onto the faint hope that maybe the attacks had failed to kill them.


    But he was doomed to be disappointed. As he opened his eyes, he could not see anything around him. The hill was gone, the small army of people was gone, but most importantly, she was gone, Fang Ying was gone. Li Yang tried to see if he could spot anything around him, but there was nothing around him, his surroundings were a true void.


    "Li Yang."


    As Li Yang was inspecting the darkness around him, the booming voice sounded out again. The voice was so forceful that even the surrounding darkness seemed to shake. Li Yang had not sensed it before, but as he listened to the voice this time, a bone-deep terror suddenly filled his body.


    He could only hear a voice, but it contained such a tyrannical power that his knees nearly went weak. He had never felt such a feeling before, not even while he was still just a young child. Even when he faced the person who called himself the Thunder God had he felt such fear.


    "Where is Fang Ying?"


    Li Yang could not see anyone, nor could he even begin to fathom just how powerful the person talking to him was. But the only thing on his mind was to find out where Fang Ying was, everything else was unimportant.


    "I can give you a chance, a single chance to chase after her and grab her hand again. I can send your soul into reincarnation and allow you to be reborn, eventually regaining all your memories. If she makes the same choice, then the two of you can meet again."


    The voice spoke out again, this time sounding like a soft whisper next to his ear, containing infinite temptation.


    "I accept."


    Li Yang instantly responded. He did not even stop to think about what would happen if Fang Ying did not accept the offer, nor did he stop to think about what it would cost him. All he knew that he would be given a chance to grasp her hand again.


    "Hoh, so quickly? You haven''t even bothered asking what I want in return."


    The voice rang out inside the void again, sounding rather surprised. It had expected Li Yang to accept his offer, but it had never expected him to accept it so quickly, nor so easily.


    "I don''t care. You could be the greatest demon in existence and I would still accept your offer. All so that I can hold her hand again."


    Li Yang responded with a chuckle. In their last life, he had fought against the entire world for Fang Ying, so why would he care about any type of price now? Even if the voice belonged to heaven''s greatest demon, he would still gleefully accept the offer.


    "But what if she does not accept the offer?"


    Li Yang could not see the owner of the voice, but he had the feeling that whoever was talking to him had just raised their eyebrows at him.


    "She will. I have yet to brush her hair enough times, so she will chase after me and make me brush her hair until she is satisfied with it. She will make me brush it a hundred times, a thousand times. As many times as it takes until she is satisfied with it. And then she will make me do it all over again."


    As he spoke, Li Yang could not help but grin. He could still remember it vividly. Fang Ying sat on a log, her long hair hanging loosely behind her. He stood behind her with a wooden comb that he himself had made, gently combing her hair under the moonlight, simply wasting the night away. Others feared her poison and it''s terrible effects, but to him, it was the sweetest of fragrance.


    "HAHAHA. I really wasn''t wrong in choosing you! Very well Li Yang! Since you are the only person in this universe to ever manage to comprehend true destruction, you can be considered my successor. I will send your soul into reincarnation, giving you the chance to meet up with your wife again. "


    The voice suddenly broke out into a loud laughter, it''s laughter causing the void around Li Yang to furiously shake as if it was about to break apart. it''s words caused Li Yang''s pupils to furiously contract.


    The only person who ever knew that he had managed to comprehend true destruction was Fang Ying, other than her, no one else had ever found out. Even when the two of them were besieged and killed, he had not brought out his powers of destruction.


    The reason behind this was very simple. What he had comprehended was not just destruction, it was true destruction. If it was normal destruction, it would be things like destroying lives of towns, maybe destroying half a planet.


    But true destruction was different. True destruction was the inevitable destruction of the universe, of all creation. Not even the heaven''s would be spared once true destruction arrived, everything would cease to be.


    If he brought out his powers of destruction, the entire planet they were on would vanish. He was not willing to destroy that planet, after all, that planet was where they had first met, where he first combed her beautiful hair, where he first grabbed her warm hand.


    "Since Fang Ying is also the only person in this universe who managed to comprehend true creation, she can be considered my wife''s successor. If she accepts the deal, her soul will be sent to reincarnate. If fate wills it, the two of you will meet up again and one day take over this tedious job of ours."


    As the loud voice rang out one last time, Li Yang felt a strange power surround his body. The void around him vanished, turning into a large gray wheel, the wheel of reincarnation. The strange power surrounded him and flung him into that wheel, protecting his memories and sending him into his next life.


    ¨C


    While Li Yang was surrounded by an empty void and was conversing with the booming voice, Fang Ying found herself standing on a peaceful meadow. Countless flowers bloomed on the meadow, a myriad of different animals and monsters peacefully resting around the meadow.


    Not far from her stood a small round table that grew out from the ground. Two chairs were placed around the table, a fragrant pot of tea as well as two crystal cups resting at the top of the table. A beautiful white clothed female was sitting on one of the chairs, looking at Fang Ying and beckoning her over with a smile.


    "Senior, would you happen to know where Li Yang is?"


    Fang Ying walked over to the table and gave the white-clothed woman a short bow before she asked her question. She could see a myriad of different races resting on the meadow, but she could not see the person she wanted to see, Li Yang.


    "He should be conversing with my husband right now. There is no need to worry, nothing will happen to him."


    The voice of the white-clothed woman was soft and calming as if it seeped into a person''s heart and eased all their worries. But despite this, Fang Ying was still worried. She knew that Li Yang had a terrible habit of easily causing trouble, so how could she be at ease if she was not at his side to make sure that he did not start any trouble?


    "I will give you an offer. I can send your soul into reincarnation, allowing you to be reborn into a different world a single time, eventually regaining all your former memories. If he chooses to accept the offer of my husband, he too will be reincarnated in the same world as you, allowing the two of you to meet up again."


    The white-clothed woman poured some amber colored tea into the two crystal cups, offering one to Fang Ying while she spoke. Fang Ying took the cup and listened patiently, gently sipping the fragrant and mellow tea.


    "I accept."


    Fang Ying did not stop to think, nor did she hesitate. She did not care what the price would be, all she cared about was that she would be given the chance to stand beside him once again, to see that confident and calming smile one more time.


    "As easily as that?"


    The white-clothed woman could not help but raise an eyebrow as she sipped her tea, clearly surprised by how easily Fang Ying accepted her offer.


    " I want to hold his hand and feel that safe warmth that it always brings. I wish to be with him, no matter what price I have to pay. Did you know? The first time he saw my poisonous Qi, instead of talking about how monstrous it was, he called it beautiful."


    Fang Ying shook her head as she spoke. She wanted to grasp the hand of the one person who had never feared her or detested her, the one person who had not called her a monster.


    "You seem very certain that he will accept."


    The mouth of the white-clothed woman curled into a smile. As she looked at Fang Ying, she felt like she saw her past self, before she had taken on this job.


    "I know that he will accept it. I have yet to finish the song he wanted to listen to, so he will chase after me and force me to finish and perfect that song. And once I have finished that song, he will make me create another song about another one of our adventures."


    Fang Ying''s lips curled into a sweet smile as she spoke, her mind drifting back to those old memories. Li Yang vividly remembered combing her hair, but she had a different vivid memory.


    The two of them were sitting in a small pavilion, a pot of fragrant wine placed on the table in front of them. Snow was gently drifting down from the sky, covering the surroundings in a white layer. She had a zither placed on her fang, gently plucking its strings and singing about one of their adventures.


    He was simply sitting next to her, sipping the wine as he listened to her play and sing. The two of them simply sat like that for several days, enjoying the rare peace that they had been given.


    "I see, then I wish you luck in creating a beautiful song. I hope that you two manage to meet up and take over this job of ours. Since the two of you can be considered our successors, we will make sure that the old geezers do not act against you while you are weak."


    Hearing her words, the white-clothed woman let out a clear laugh and waved her hand. Before Fang Ying had a chance to ask who the old geezers the white-clothed woman was talking about, a strange stream of energy surrounded Fang Ying.


    The peaceful meadow vanished, replaced by a gray wheel, the wheel of reincarnation. The strange power surrounded her, protecting her memories and sending her into the wheel of reincarnation, into her next life.

 3 Liang Tribe.

    Wildbourne was a small village that was owned by the Liang tribe. All the houses in the village were made out of a mixture of wood and mud, as the Liang tribe was too poor to afford the proper equipment to process the rocks around the area. Since it was a tribe located in the Cloud Wilderness, it was at constant risk of getting attacked by Demonic beasts.


    The Demonic Beasts were a constant threat, but they were also an opportunity. Whenever someone in the village came of age, they would have to venture into the wilderness and try to tame a Demonic beast, taking it as their companion. Those that failed to tame a Demonic beast would become normal citizens, while those that managed to tame a Demonic beast were taken in as warriors and protectors of the tribe.


    Another opportunity that the Demonic beasts presented were their strong bodies. If they managed to kill a Demonic beast, they could eat its flesh and drink its blood, absorbing the abundant energy within. Absorbing this energy would make it easier for them to open their dantian as well as engraving their runes.


    At the very edge of the village, a small and thin child was resting with his back against a tree. Despite being thin and small, the child had sharp eyebrows that resembled swords. He had short hair that was a brilliant azure in color, and deep black eyes that captivated anyone who looked at them for too long. He was clad in simple brown cotton clothing.


    "Brother Yang, it is almost time for the affinity ceremony, so it is time to head to the village square."


    Another child clad in cotton clothing came running up to the child that was resting against the tree. The child ran up and reminded the resting child, but he did not step within ten meters of the resting child, seemingly afraid of getting closer.


    Within the village, everyone knew about Li Yang. Li Yang''s parents died not long after Li Yang turned six, so everyone expected him to die early on. But he did not, no matter how bad the weather got, no matter how broken down his house got, no matter how little food he was given, Li Yang never seemed to be affected.


    Everyone in the village knew Li Yang as a very kind and cheerful child, a faint smile always visible at the corners of his lips. But they also knew that he was a very strange child. His eyes were simply far too deep, far too inscrutable. No matter how hard they tried, they were simply incapable of reading him.


    Because of this, some of the children and adults in the village were slightly scared of Li Yang. He was simply far too calm. Even when his parents had died, Li Yang had not shed a tear. He had simply buried their bodies and kneeled by their graves for three days. After the three days were up, he knocked his head against the ground nine times. After that, he never spoke of them again.


    "Ah? Alright, I''ll be there."


    Hearing the child shout at him, Li Yang tilted his head towards the child. He stood up and brushed off the dust from his clothing, walking over to the child as he spoke. Whenever Li Yang took a step closer, the child would take one step back, making sure to keep his distance.


    Li Yang did not mind the actions of this child, nor did he mind how some of the others in the village did the same. When Li Yang was born, while he did not have all the memories of his past life, he had some spread memories about his past life. These memories were also the reason why he had not been sad after his parents in this life had died. To him, they were only the parents of this body, they could never become his actual parents. The three days of kneeling and the nine kowtows had been him paying his respects for birthing this body, as well as severing his ties with them.


    His sight had never been on this village, it had always been on a much grander scale. He was just waiting for the right time to leave the village. Li Yang did not know much about this world, the fact that he had been reborn into a small village located in a remote wilderness did not help this fact.


    But he knew a few things about this world, while other things he managed to guess thanks to the few memories he had of his past life. One thing he knew was the cultivation system that this world used, as it was rather similar to the one he had in his past life.


    Cultivation was based on using the natural energy in the surroundings, the Qi, to open a space in the dantian. After opening this space, a person would use their understanding of the world to engrave runes into this opened space. The more runes one wanted to engrave, the larger they would have to make the space.


    The more runes one had, the stronger a person would be and the longer they would live. The number of runes a person had also signified their cultivation level. 1-3 runes meant that the person was at the Mortal Rune realm. 4-6 runes meant that the person was at the Houtian Rune realm, while 7-9 runes meant that the person was at the Xiantian Rune realm.


    Before a person engraved a rune, they could only use the surrounding Qi to strengthen their bodies and make physical attacks. But after engraving a rune, a person could use the surrounding Qi to summon forth whatever rune they had engraved. Engraving a stone rune would let a person summon and control stones, a blood rune would let them summon and control blood, while a death rune would let them control dead bodies. Of course, the prerequisite was that they managed to gain an understanding about what they were engraving.


    The strongest person in Wildbourne was Liang Zhu, the leader of the Liang tribe. He had two runes that he had engraved using his understanding of stones, so he was someone at the middle stage of the Mortal Rune realm. While the people in the village believed that a person had reached the peak of cultivation when they reached nine runes, Li Yang refused to believe this. There would always be a higher peak. Li Yang refused to believe that the peak cultivation level of this world would be something as weak as nine runes.


    Of course, people could also have more than one type of rune. Liang Zhu, for example, had two stone runes as well as one wind rune. But since cultivation only cared for the one rune type that he had the most runes with, so he was still only considered at the middle stage of the Mortal Rune realm.


    Having more than one type of runes could make a person stronger, as each rune would allow their strength to increase by a little. But it would take them more work to increase their cultivation level, as they had to divide their attention between understanding several different things.


    Li Yang also knew that the village he lived in was placed on a truly massive continent called Cloud''s Peak continent. Half of Cloud''s Peak continent was covered in a vast wilderness that was simply called the Cloud Wilderness. Wildbourne village was located at the outskirts of this Cloud Wilderness.


    Demonic beasts were animals, plants, or even just normal materials like rock, air, water, or metal, that had absorbed enough Qi to start cultivating. Demonic beasts followed a different cultivation path from humans, but they were still called by the same cultivation levels as humans. So Li Yang knew that a Demonic beast that could match Liang Zhou would be called a middle stage Mortal Rune realm Demonic beast.


    Li Yang headed towards the village square, hands behind his head as he walked with a leisure gait. Today was the time where they would test the affinity of the young children in the village. Testing their affinity would allow them to know just that, what the children had an affinity for.


    It would show if a child had an affinity for understanding things about blood, about wind, about flowers, about water, letting them know exactly what the child should focus its cultivation on. Li Yang did not have too much interest in this ceremony, but he also did not have a reason not to go to it.


    What Li Yang was doing now was waiting. He could feel that there was something important in his memories from his past life, something he had to remember no matter what. Once his memories awakened and he managed to remember that important thing, that would be the day he would leave the village.


    He was already twelve years old, and could almost be considered an adult. He would soon have to venture into the wilderness to search for a Demonic beast to tame. If he did not regain all his memories before that time, he would not mind heading out into the wilderness and seeing if he could find a suitable Demonic beast.

 4 Affinity crystal.

    The village square was a large open area located at the center of the village. It was mostly used for special ceremonies or to announce whenever something big happened either inside the village or in the surroundings. At the center of the square stood a wooden platform a few meters in width and length.


    The platform was currently surrounded by people, both young and old, who were gazing at the platform with excited eyes. A few children and youths stood atop the platform already, waiting patiently behind a few old men clad in simple cotton robes. At the head of this group of old men stood a middle-aged man clad in gray linen robes. He had strong features that seemed like they were carved with a knife, a stern expression on his face.


    At the top of this wooden platform stood a one-meter tall crystal that looked like quartz. This was the crystal that was used to test persons affinity as well as their talent for cultivating. If one had low talent, it would take them more Qi to open their dantian, as well as taking longer to gain an understanding about the laws.


    Laws were what the more educated people called the things a person gained an understanding of. If one gained an understanding about stones, it would be called the laws of stone, while an understanding about blood would be called the laws of blood.


    Li Yang arrived at the village square and walked up to the wooden platform, politely greeting a few people as he passed them. While some people were slightly scared of him, not everyone would be scared of him just because he was much calmer than other people.


    He ascended onto the platform and cupped his hands at the group of old men, as well as the stern-faced middle-aged man. The old men returned a polite greeting, but the stern-faced man''s face cracked into a smile as he greeted Li Yang.


    The old men were all elders of the Liang tribe, so they could be considered to have a rather high standing in the village. The stern-faced man, however, had a much higher standing than the old men. He was Liang Zhu, the tribe leader, and the village chief.


    "Yang''er, there is no need to care too much about today''s ceremony, just consider it gaining some experience."


    Liang Zhu had a wide smile on his face as he pat Li Yang on the shoulder, pushing him towards the other children that were waiting in the back. No one was surprised by how Liang Zhu treated Li Yang, they all knew that Li Yang''s deceased parents had been good friends with Liang Zhu. They could not quite understand why Liang Zhu had said those words, but they assumed it was because he did not want Li Yang to have too high ambitions.


    "Brother Yang, I look forward to seeing our affinity. Maybe we are lucky and both of us have high affinity. At that point, we can help the tribe grow stronger, slowly increasing the size of the village."


    When Li Yang walked over to the other children, a tall youth walked over to him with a wide grin on his face as he spoke. The tall youth had the same strong features as Liang Zhu, but where Liang Zhu had short and spiky hair, this youth had long and silky black hair.


    This tall youth was Liang Zhu''s son, Liang Zhou, the person who was to become the next tribe leader. Liang Zhou was already seventeen years old, and also a person who had already opened his dantian but not yet engraved any runes. He only took part in today''s ceremony because he was curious about whether or not he had gained any new affinities.


    Liang Zhou was one of the people in the village who had always been kind to Li Yang. When Li Yang did not have a lot of food after his parents perished, Liang Zhou would often visit him and bring over food, pretending like he had gathered too much.


    "That would be very nice Big Brother Zhou, but first I have to enter the wilderness and tame a Demonic beast."


    Li Yang responded with a grin of his own, standing next to Liang Zhou and waiting for the ceremony to start. Liang Zhou entered the wilderness not long after he turned twelve, and managed to tame a Stone Crocodile. A Stone Crocodile was a Demonic beast that had the potential to become a Demonic beast at the Houtian Rune realm, so the entire village was overjoyed when they heard the news.


    Of course, Li Yang only spoke those words to be polite. Once his memories returned, he would leave this village. But he was not a person who did not reciprocate kindness. Since Liang Zhou and Liang Zhu had shown him kindness, he would protect this village even after leaving it.


    Li Yang also greeted the other children that were waiting, but he did not have much of a relationship with any of them, so it was only a quick and polite greeting. After giving them a greeting, he continued to talk with Liang Zhou, waiting for the ceremony to start.


    As time went on, many more children were brought over by their parents. To use the affinity testing crystal, the tribe elders would have to charge it with their Qi. This charging would sometimes take several years, depending on the number of elders that were charging the crystal.


    Because of this, the affinity ceremony was a very big deal to the entire village. After a few more hours of waiting, almost everyone in the entire village had come to watch the ceremony. Only those who were too old or weak to walk had not arrived.


    "Silence! The affinity ceremony will now begin."


    When almost the entire village had shown up, one of the elders called out in a loud voice, causing everyone to turn quiet. After making sure that everyone was quiet, the elder walked over to the affinity crystal and placed both hands on the crystal, infusing it with his Qi.


    When he infused it with his Qi, the crystal lit up with a faint white light. Seeing this white light, everyone knew that the affinity ceremony was about to start.

 5 Fire and Ice.

    "Which child wishes to be tested first?"


    As the crystal lit up, the elder turned towards the waiting children as he spoke. His words caused a small commotion amongst the children, as they were all eager to learn their results, but worried about what would happen if they had bad results.


    "I guess I will go first then."


    Liang Zhou nonchalantly stepped forward, a calming smile on his face. He placed both hands on the crystal, and after a short moment, the crystal reacted. Within the crystal one could see a rock the size of a person''s head, as well as a tiny patch of earth.


    "Affinity for the laws of stone, talent grade 3. Affinity for the laws of earth, talent grade 1."


    The elder spoke out in a loud voice, making sure that everyone could hear his words. His words caused a few faint exclamations from the crowd, as someone with a talent grade of 3 was very rare within their small village.


    Talent grade was separated into nine different grades, with grade one being the lowest grade, and grade nine being the highest grade. Most of the people in the village only had a talent grade of one, with some people not even having a talent grade.


    Seeing the result, Liang Zhou and Liang Zhu could not help but smile faintly. When Liang Zhou had been tested last time, he had only had an affinity for the laws of stone, and back then it was only with a talent grade two. His new result was clearly much better.


    "I did not disappoint you, father."


    Liang Zhou walked over to Liang Zhu as he gave a deep bow. He was Liang Zhu''s only son, so all of Liang Zhu''s hopes had been placed on him. It was his responsibility to protect the village and allow it to flourish.


    While Liang Zhu was patting Liang Zhou on the shoulder, telling him how proud he was, Li Yang was inspecting the crystal with a curious gaze. He only had a few memories of his past life at the moment, and none of them contained a crystal like this, so he was rather curious about it.


    "Who is next?"


    The elder in charge of the crystal turned towards the rest of the children, speaking out once more. A few of the children started calling out that it was their turn, but Li Yang remained silent. He was content with simply watching for now.


    "Liang Xinyi, you can be the next one."


    While the children were bickering, the elder decided to take charge and appoint someone as the next person. The child he pointed at was a young girl who seemed no older than 10 or 11. She was clad in a simple white robe that was slightly patched up.


    "Yes, Elder Ruogang."


    The young girl gave a short bow in acknowledgment and walked up to the crystal, placing her hand on it. After a short moment, the crystal reacted. A small green seed appeared inside the crystal. Once the seed appeared, it slowly sprouted into a flower that was slightly larger than a person''s head.


    "Affinity for the laws of plants, talent grade 3."


    The elder spoke out, his voice containing both shock and excitement. If every generation had one person with a talent grade 3, they would already consider themselves incredibly blessed. But now they had two people in the same generation with a talent grade of 3.


    And she even had an affinity for the laws of plants, one of the laws that was the most useful for the entire village. This law would allow her to use her Qi to speed up the growth of plants, as well as allow new varieties of plants to grow. She would be a huge boon to their fields and food production.


    "Excellent! Truly wonderful! It seems like the gods have decided to bless my Liang tribe!"


    Liang Zhu couldn''t help but shout out loudly, his voice ringing through every corner of the village. He quickly had an elder take Liang Xinyi away, bringing her to a place where they could teach her everything that they knew about cultivation. After all, the quicker she grew, the quicker she would be able to help the entire village.


    After Liang Xinyi was taken away, the affinity ceremony continued unabated. There were still several children that had to be examined, so despite their joy, the ceremony had to go on.


    The ceremony continued for several hours, with a new elder being put in charge of the crystal every half hour. Many more children were tested, but there were no other children who revealed a talent grade of 3. There were four who had talent grade 2, which once more caused the elders to beam with happiness. It truly seemed like the gods were smiling on their village.


    Li Yang only decided to step forward when there were only three more children left. He stepped forward nonchalantly and placed his hands on the crystal, waiting to see what would happen.


    He felt a strange energy enter his body from the crystal, coursing through his entire body as it seemingly searched for something. After coursing throughout his entire body, it returned into the crystal, causing it to light up slightly.


    The image of a small fire, as well as a small block of ice, became visible inside the crystal, but it was clear from their size that his talent grade would not be very good, it would certainly not be a talent grade 2.


    "Affinity for the laws of fire as well as an affinity for the laws of ice, talent grade 1 on both."


    Just as expected, the elder spoke out again, announcing the talent grade. But no one in the village was surprised by the talent grade. They were a village of completely normal people, so it was only to be expected that their talents were not the best.


    If it were people who had been born into a good family or people who held special Demonic beast bloodlines, they would easily get a talent grade that surpassed 3. some people in the village had even heard about people who had such strong Demonic beast bloodlines that they had been born with a talent grade of 9.


    "There is no need to be discouraged, Brother Yang. It might only be a talent grade of 1, but you still have an affinity for two very strong elements. Since you are already twelve, I am sure that father will send you into the wilderness very soon, maybe even within the upcoming days. If you manage to tame a good Demonic beast that has an element that matches yours, you can still gain great strength."


    Liang Zhou walked over to Li Yang, patting him on the shoulder as he spoke encouragingly. Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders with a faint smile. Talent grade 1, so what? Once all his past memories awakened, Li Yang was certain that his potential would skyrocket. Something as simple as a lack of talent would not be able to stop him.

 6 Choosing a weapon.

    After the affinity ceremony ended, the children who had taken part all returned to their own homes. Since they now knew what they had an affinity for, they would be able to progress their cultivation much smoother.


    Of course, before anything else, they would have to absorb some Qi to open their dantian. Only once their dantian was open could they start engraving runes and harness their power.


    After the ceremony ended, Li Yang returned to the same tree where he had rested earlier. He sat down in a cross-legged position and calmed down his breathing. To absorb the surrounding Qi, one would first have to empty their mind and allow themselves to sense the existence of the Qi.


    This first step of sensing the surrounding Qi could cause some people to be stuck at their current stage for years. But it was not a problem for Li Yang, as he had been able to sense the existence of Qi ever since he had first been born into this world.


    He could sense the surrounding Qi at all times, but he preferred to sit down with his legs crossed and calm his breathing before interacting with the surrounding Qi. When he sat down and calmed his breathing, every breath of his would drag in the surrounding Qi, pulling it into his body.


    Some people struggled to control the surrounding Qi, as it was not their own Qi. But Li Yang had never had a problem with this, whenever he interacted with the surrounding Qi, it was like soldiers following the orders of their general.


    Li Yang continued to sit with his legs crossed, calmly breathing in the surrounding Qi, for the rest of the day. Even as the sun set, he did not stop his tedious cultivating. Ever since he was born, he had found that he quite enjoyed spending his time like this, just peacefully cultivating.


    Despite spending half the day and the entire night cultivating, there was not a single change in his dantian. The Qi entering his body felt like a drop of water entering the ocean. He had long realized that he would need a truly massive amount of Qi to progress his cultivation, so he was not surprised.


    "Brother Yang. My father told me to bring the two of you to the weapon storehouse so that you can choose a weapon before you enter the wilderness."


    When the sun started rising, Li Yang''s quiet cultivation was interrupted by Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi. Liang Xinyi was slightly surprised that Li Yang was sitting under this tree instead of at his house, but Liang Zhou was already used to it.


    Li Yang had a house of his own, the house that his parents had left for him when they died. But he had always preferred sitting under this tree, so almost everyone in the village knew that it was better to look for Li Yang by this tree, rather than at his house.


    "Good morning Big Brother Zhou, Sister Xinyi."


    Li Yang stopped his cultivation and stood up, stretching his body and enjoying the sound of his joints popping. After stretching his body, he gave the two of them a polite greeting, a slight smile on his face.


    Liang Zhou was clad in a gray linen robe that seemed to be a slight bit too large for him. This robe could only be worn by the leader of the Liang tribe or the person who was to be the next leader of the Liang Tribe.


    Liang Xinyi was clad in the same white cotton robe that she had worn at the affinity ceremony. Her raven black hair hung down past her shoulders, and her blue eyes looked at Li Yang with a curious gaze. She was slightly thin, but Li Yang noticed that she was not as thin as yesterday. It was clear that the Liang tribe had given her plenty of food after the affinity ceremony.


    "The tribe has a weapon storehouse?"


    After greeting them, Li Yang turned towards Liang Zhou, raising his eyebrow as he asked. He had never heard about the tribe having a weapon storehouse, nor had he heard about them handing out weapons to the children who enter the wilderness.


    "The weapon storehouse is typically only open for people who help the tribe, or during times of war. But father is worried that something might happen to you if you enter the wilderness without a weapon, so he has made an exception for you."


    Liang Zhou had a wide smile as he spoke, grabbing Li Yang''s arm and dragging him into the village. While some elders were slightly disgruntled about Liang Zhu''s choice, Liang Zhou completely agreed with his father. Li Yang was much calmer and smarter than most children, but there was no telling what could go wrong when he entered an unfamiliar wilderness.


    Liang Zhou dragged the Liang Xinyi and Li Yang to the center of the village, bringing them into the largest building in the village. This was the only building in the village that was constructed using only food, and it was also the only building that was taller than one floor.


    This building was where the elders of the Liang tribe lived, and it was also where the Liang tribe stored their wealth. After entering the building, Liang Zhou stopped dragging them, instead walking a little bit ahead of them and leading them around the building.


    "This floor was built by the first leader of the Liang tribe. Only elders and people with special rights are allowed to enter it."


    Liang Zhou brought them to a hatch in the floor that led to a secret underground floor. After entering the underground floor, he lit up a torch and used it to light up the path for them. A few more minutes of walking lead the group to a locked wooden door.


    "This is the weapon storehouse. Father said that you can both choose one weapon."


    Liang Zhou unlocked the wooden door and lead Liang Xinyi and Li Yang into a dark room. Li Yang could not see anything in the room, but he could still smell the scent of metal when Liang Zhou opened the door.


    Liang Zhou entered the room, using his torch to provide light for Liang Xinyi and Li Yang. The walls of the room were lined with weapons made out of bone or metal. Swords, hammers, spears, bow, sabers. All kinds of weapons were kept in the room. After seeing the room, Liang Xinyi could not help but let out a small gasp. For someone who was only used to seeing things made out of wood and dirt, seeing so much bone and metal was a completely new experience.


    After entering the room, Liang Xinyi started walking from weapon to weapon, touching and slowly examining each and every single one. Li Yang, however, immediately walked over to where all the swords were placed. He could not quite tell why, but he could feel that he had an affinity with swords. He mused that it was probably something from his past life.


    After walking over to the section that contained the swords, his eyes were immediately attracted by one of the swords. It was a standard Jian sword, it''s handle fitting perfectly in his hand, with a blade of 70 centimeters. The sword was completely unadorned and made out of completely normal metal.


    But Li Yang quite liked this sword. It fit perfectly in his hand, it was not too light, nor too heavy. It was made out of completely normal metal and looked plain, but the blade focused on hardness as well as sharpness.


    "Do you like this sword, Brother Yang?"


    Seeing Li Yang caress the sword, Liang Zhou walked over and commented. The sword in Li Yang''s hands was made out of normal metal, so it was not very important to the tribe. Even if Li Yang took this sword, the elders would not complain.


    "Indeed. I will take this sword."


    Li Yang nodded his head and took the sheath of the sword down from the wall. He fastened the sheath at his waist and sheathed the sword. Since Liang Zhou had said that they could take one weapon each, there was no need to ask before taking it."


    "I want this one, Big Brother Zhou."


    After Li Yang took the sword, Liang Xinyi spent a bit more time choosing her weapon. She eventually settled on a short bow made out of some type of black wood. So that she would not have to spend time preparing her own arrows, she was given a quiver as well as some arrows.


    "Excellent. The two of you should head home and prepare, in two days, you will have to enter the wilderness to try and tame a Demonic beast."


    After the two chose a weapon, Liang Zhou brought them out of the weapon storehouse and they returned to the village square. Liang Zhou was going to bring Liang Xinyi to her home and help her prepare, so the words were only spoken for Li Yang to be able to prepare. Li Yang gave a quick nod of his head before he returned to the tree at the edge of the village.

 7 Entering the Cloud Wilderness.

    Two days after choosing his weapon, Li Yang stopped his cultivation early in the morning. Today was the day he was going to head into the Cloud Wilderness to try and tame a Demonic beast. Besides the sword hanging at his waist, he had only packed a bit of dried meat that he could eat if he failed to find any food.


    "Brother Yang. Big Brother Zhou said that we should meet him on the other side of the village."


    Right after Li Yang stopped cultivating, Liang Xinyi ran up to him, her face slightly red as she spoke. She had been standing not far away, but she had been too shy to walk up and stop Li Yang''s cultivation.


    "I see. Thank you for telling me this, Sister Xinyi. Shall we head over there together?"


    Li Yang had a faint smile on his face as he spoke. He stepped forward, standing next to Liang Xinyi as he indicated towards the other side of the village. Li Yang had, of course, noticed that she had been standing not far away, but since she had not disturbed him, he had not bothered stopping his cultivation.


    "Yes!"


    Liang Xinyi hastily responded, her eyes roaming over Li Yang''s body as they started walking towards the spot where Liang Zhou had told her to meet him. She was not scared of Li Yang, she felt more curiosity and admiration towards him.


    She was curious about why he was always able to stay so calm and inscrutable, and she admired him for the exact same reasons. Despite his parents dying while he was young, he managed to survive on his own. And he was also a very kind person, polite and courteous, always a faint smile on his lips. Such a person was easily admired.


    After walking for a little while, the two of them reached the other side of the village. Liang Zhou was currently standing at the exit of the village that led deeper into the Cloud Wilderness, he was carrying a large hammer made out of Demonic beast bones on his back.


    Next to Liang Zhou was his tamed Demonic beast, a Stone Crocodile. The Stone Crocodile looked like a normal crocodile and was a little over one meter long, it''s entire body covered with thick gray scales. Its jaws held enough power to crush stones. Once it became as strong as a person with one rune, it would gain the ability to control the surrounding stones, leading to it being called a Stone Crocodile.


    "There you are. Are you ready to enter the wilderness and tame a Demonic beast?"


    Seeing the two of them walk over, Liang Zhou''s face cracked into a smile. Whenever a child was to enter the Cloud Wilderness for the first time, someone from the tribe would join and assist them. Liang Zhu had nominated Liang Zhou, something he wholeheartedly agreed to.


    "Yup, I can leave at any time. It seems that you are the one who will be following us?"


    Li Yang gave a polite greeting before nodding his head. He had only packed some dried meat, as he planned on hunting the rest of the food he needed after entering the Cloud Wilderness.


    "Excellent, then we can leave immediately. Xiao Wei, you guard the back."


    Liang Zhou nodded at Li Yang, answering his question. He turned to Liang Xinyi, making sure that she too was ready to enter the Cloud Wilderness. Seeing that the both of them were ready, he decided that there was no point in standing around any longer.


    Liang Zhou turned around and lead the two of them into the Cloud Wilderness. Liang Zhou walked in the front, while his Stone Crocodile, Xiao Wei, walked in the back. This way, Li Yang and Liang Xinyi only needed to guard the sides.


    "As we head deeper into the wilderness, I will teach you all I know about the various herbs and Demonic beasts that can be found in the wilderness."


    Liang Zhou also had the duty of teaching the two of them everything that he knew about the Cloud Wilderness. So as they walked deeper into the Cloud Wilderness, he would often stop and point at some herbs that were useful for healing wounds, concealing their smell, curing poisons.


    "See that Ganoderma, that weird mushroom-like thing growing on that tree? It is called a Blood Thinning Ganoderma. Eating it in small doses is fine, it can even help cure some clogging in your veins. But if you eat too much of it, the blood in your body will start flowing out from your orifices, leading to a slow and agonizing death."


    "That small white flower over there is called a Duality Flower, it is good for curing some of the more common poisons that you can find here on the outskirts. Eating the top of the flower will cure most poisons, but the roots are highly poisonous, so be careful."


    "That cluster of grass over there is called Closing Grass. If you chew it up or boil it into a paste, you can apply it to any wound and have it close up faster. You should always gather as many of these as you can."


    "That vine over there is called a Demon Concealing Vine. Turning it into a paste or just wearing it around your body will hide your scent, making it so that the weaker Demonic beasts will be unable to find you. We are only in the outskirts of the wilderness, so the odds of meeting any Demonic beasts that have managed to reach the Mortal Rune realm are low, making it a very useful vine."


    Liang Zhou pointed out many herbs and plants that Li Yang and Liang Xinyi would have to take note of. Some were dangerous, so he warned them not to eat them. Others were very beneficial, so he told them about the proper procedures to eat them.


    "Let''s set up camp for the day here. We can continue tomorrow morning. I will spread the Demonic beast feces, the two of you can set up the camp."


    After walking for a long time, Liang Zhou found a good spot where they could make up camp. He sent out Xiao Wei to hunt for some animals that they could eat, while Liang Xinyi and Li Yang set up the tents that Liang Zhou had brought along.


    Liang Zhou spread some white powder around the entire camp, making sure that it made a perfect circle around the camp. This was the dried excrement of a Demonic beast. It was used to prevent other Demonic beasts from wandering into their camp.


    After spreading the excrement around the entire camp, Xiao Wei returned to the camp, a dead deer in his jaws. The group quickly skinned and cut up the deer, starting a small campfire that they could use to roast the meat. After eating a quick meal, they decided on who should stand guard after Liang Zhou.


    After deciding on the guard order, Liang Xinyi and Li Yang went to bed, with Liang Zhou standing guard first. The moment the sun started rising, they would continue traveling, so it was important that they got as much rest as possible.

 8 Reed Vine.

    The Cloud Wilderness covered half the continent, so it would obviously not just consist of a single massive forest, but rather a wide variety of environments. The Liang tribe lived on the outskirts of the Cloud Wilderness, so they were surrounded by a large forest. But once Li Yang and the others went deeper into the forest, the forest started giving way to plains, mountains, and lakes.


    Since they started traveling from the outskirts of the Cloud Wilderness, for the first few days of traveling, they barely encountered any animals. They would occasionally spot a deer or some smaller herbivores, but they had yet to encounter a single predator.


    "We have been traveling for a few days, so if things go like normal, we should start meeting some predators soon. It should only be some normal animals, like wolves or panthers, but it is best to be on your guard at all times. There is no telling when a Demonic beast will wander into the outskirts."


    The group sat at the side of a small lake, refilling their waterskin with the cold water. Liang Zhou had already told them to stay on guard several times, but he made a point to repeat it several times every day. Only when he repeated it several times would he feel at ease.


    "Don''t worry Big Brother Zhou, we will make sure to keep our guard up."


    Liang Xinyi rapidly nodded her head as she assured Liang Zhou, while Li Yang simply gave a nod of his head. The truth was that Liang Zhou had only repeated these words for Liang Xinyi. He had seen how calm Li Yang was, despite entering such an unfamiliar area, so he was not too worried about him.


    Liang Xinyi he was slightly more worried about. As they traveled through the Cloud Wilderness, he had noticed that she seemed to be slightly airheaded. She would often start wandering around, inspecting everything that caught her fancy.


    "How long does it usually take for people to tame a Demonic beast?"


    While sipping some cold water, Li Yang slightly tilted his head towards Liang Zhou as he asked. If it continued like this, this trip could easily end up taking up to a month. Maybe even longer.


    "Hard to say. When I tamed Xiao Wei, the entire trip took me around half a month. But I have heard about people who spent several years in the wilderness to tame a Demonic beast, too ashamed to return without one."


    Liang Zhou shrugged his shoulders as he responded. How long the trip would take depended entirely on their luck. If they met a Demonic beast early on and managed to tame it, the trip would obviously be shorter than if they did not manage to meet a Demonic beast.


    "Mind telling me something? Why did we bring Liang Xinyi? I thought you had to turn 12 before you were allowed to enter the wilderness? Forgive me for being rude, but she is slowing us down. And it seems a bit too dangerous for her to enter the wilderness this early."


    Li Yang glanced at Liang Xinyi and Xiao Wei, who had started walking away from their group, inspecting the myriad of plants around the lake. Because she would occasionally wander around, they were forced to stop their traveling and inspect the various plants or items that she had found.


    She also did not seem to realize just how dangerous the Cloud Wilderness was. Her wandering could easily lead to her or them ending up dead, but she simply kept on doing it, filled with a childlike curiosity.


    "Honestly? My father ordered me to bring her along on this trip. He said that the sooner she manages to tame a Demonic beast, the better. He also hopes that I can foster a good relationship with her, hoping that I can take her as my wife once she grows older."


    Liang Zhou responded with a sigh. He agreed with Li Yang that Liang Zhou was slowing them down, it was also too dangerous for her to be this curious even after entering the wilderness. But he could not go against his father''s orders.


    He had to think about what was best for the tribe, so he had to do everything he could to foster a good relationship with Liang Xinyi. If the two of them got married and had children, with the both of them having grade 3 talents, there was no telling how talented their children would be.


    "I see. It seems like the tribe leader is hoping for the two of you to create extremely talented children."


    Li Yang fondled his chin slightly as he spoke. He could guess at the tribe leaders intentions. After all, if Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi had children, there was a chance that their children would inherit both their affinity as well as their talent, maybe even improve it.


    Someone with the plant element and a grade 3 talent was already something that made the tribe overjoyed, what if someone who had a grade 4 or 5 talent and the plant element was born? At that point, the strength of the tribe would reach a whole new level, allowing them to stand on par with the stronger tribes in the area.


    "Ahh!"


    While Liang Zhou and Li Yang were chatting, they suddenly heard a short scream not far from them. They both quickly turned around, quickly turning towards where the scream came from.


    Not far from them, Xiao Wei and Liang Xinyi were entangled by reeds that had grown out of the lake. The reeds were entangling their limps and trying to drag the both of them into the lake.


    "Fuck! It''s a Reed Vine, a plant type Demonic beast. Li Yang, quickly, we need to save her."


    Seeing the green reeds entangling Liang Xinyi and Xiao Wei, Liang Zhou let out a loud curse, dashing towards Liang Xinyi. He pulled out the bone hammer he carried on his back and slammed it down on the reeds that were entangling Liang Xinyi.


    The hammer hit the reeds, but they simply bent slightly. The Reed Vine was a plant type Demonic beast, so it could almost completely ignore blunt attacks like the ones from Liang Zhou''s hammer.


    He originally wanted to free Xiao Wei first, as it was the Demonic beast that he himself had tamed. But as the future leader of the tribe, he had to think about the best of the tribe. If Liang Xinyi accidentally died while he tried to save Xiao Wei, he would never be able to face the tribe again.


    "Help me, Big Brother Zhou!"


    Seeing Liang Zhou''s attack failed to do anything, Liang Xinyi could not help but scream out once more, her entire face covered in tears. She had never been this scared in her entire life, she also finally understood why Liang Zhou kept reminding them to stay on guard.


    At this time, Li Yang had also reached them. With his eyes staring directly at the Reed Vine that was entangling Xiao Wei and Liang Xinyi, he found himself more focused than ever. It was like time slowed down around him, allowing him to clearly see even the slightest movement that the Reed Vine was doing.


    His hand found it''s way to the hilt of his sword, pulling it out in one swift and clean motion. It felt so natural as if the sword had always been in his hand, as if it was just an extension of his arm.


    He didn''t think, he only moved his right arm on instinct, slicing out with the sword. Even he himself was surprised at the speed that the sword reached, at the sheer force he managed to put behind the attack. It was like a bolt of silver lightning struck forth, slicing through the reeds that entangled Xiao Wei and Liang Xinyi.


    The moment the reeds were cut, Li Yang pushed Liang Xinyi to the side, causing her to fall into the arms of Liang Zhou, while he himself grabbed Xiao Wei and pulled back. Liang Zhou immediately caught on, pulling Liang Xinyi into his embrace and moving backward, away from the water.


    After they pulled away from the water, the Reed Vine had no way of chasing after them, so they could be considered safe. Liang Xinyi was crying in Liang Zhou''s embrace, while Liang Zhou was trying to comfort her. Li Yang, on the other hand, was still slightly drunk on the feeling he had when he grasped the sword.

 9 To the Demon Plains.

    "Brother Yang, thank you."


    While comforting Liang Xinyi, Liang Zhou turned his head to Li Yang, a grateful expression on his smile. Li Yang had not only saved both Liang Xinyi and Xiao Wei, but he had also pushed Liang Xinyi over to him, giving him the chance of comforting her.


    It was just comforting her, but since she was in such a vulnerable state right now, it was very easy for this instant of comforting to be firmly imprinted in her mind. This would make it easier for Liang Zhou to grow closer to her, giving him a greater chance of having her become his wife.


    "Don''t mention it, we are companions after all."


    Li Yang shrugged his shoulder as he responded, pulling himself out of the half-drunk state he had just been in. He cast a last glance at his sword before sheathing it.


    "So that was a plant type Demonic beast?"


    Li Yang pointed at the spot where the Reed Vine had been as he spoke. This Reed Vine had been the first Demonic beast they had encountered, so he was rather curious about it.


    "Indeed. Not only animals can become Demonic beasts, almost everything can become a Demonic beast if it manages to absorb enough Qi. Even the elements can grow into elementals."


    Liang Zhou had a serious expression as he spoke. Since almost everything could turn into a Demonic beast, it was incredibly hard to know which areas were safe. One could be drinking from a river in one moment, and in the next moment, the river could rise and swallow you.


    "You have heard about how a person can unleash the power of their runes into the surrounding world after engraving it, right? If a person with a fire rune unleashes the power of his rune into his surroundings, he will spawn fire in his surroundings."


    Liang Zhou turned away from the river, turning his gaze to Li Yang as he spoke. Li Yang nodded at his words, these were all things that he had heard before.


    "Most people have the same type of fire, but there are special exceptions. If a person manages to find an elemental that matches his rune, he can absorb it into his body, permanently changing the power of his element. My father once told me about one such elemental that would imbue a person''s stone element with the burning heat of fire."


    Liang Zhou''s eyes were alight with a burning desire as he spoke, his words greatly surprising Li Yang. There were such wonderful things in the world? Having such an elemental could easily give someone a massive advantage over others.


    "Thank you Big Brother Zhou, Brother Yang. I''m sorry for making you save me."


    After spending a bit more time crying and getting comforted by Liang Zhou, Liang Xinyi managed to calm down. She quickly gave both Liang Zhou and Li Yang a deep bow. When the Reed Vine had first attacked her, she had been too scared to even attempt to dodge it.


    "No need to worry about it, everyone needs to be saved at times."


    Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders, not too bothered by it. Everyone had to be saved in some way or another at times, it was never something to be ashamed of.


    "We should get moving again. The screams may have attracted other Demonic beasts, so staying here is not the safest option."


    Liang Zhou scanned the surroundings as he spoke, his words garnering no resistance from Li Yang or Liang Zhou. Just as they got up and prepared to leave, Li Yang suddenly felt a sweltering heat pass over him.


    He hurriedly raised his head, looking at the spot where the heat came from. When he raised his head, he spotted the same large figure that he had seen while they were heading towards the weapon storehouse. The heat seemed to come from that soaring figure, but it once more vanished into the distance before Li Yang could see it properly.


    He glanced at Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi, but neither of them seemed to have noticed the heat or the soaring figure. Li Yang slightly narrowed his eyes, staring into the distance where the soaring figure had vanished, but he quickly shook his head. He could not make Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi follow him on a trip where he did not even know what he would find.


    The three of them continued to head deeper into the Cloud Wilderness, but Liang Xinyi was obviously much more careful this time. She no longer wandered away from them whenever she saw something that caught her fancy.


    Liang Zhou continued to teach them about the various herbs and plants that they spotted along the way, stopping the group to pick up some of the more helpful ones. It was hard to know when someone would get injured, so having some medicinal herbs on their body at all times was a smart decision.


    "In two more days, we will reach a place that the tribe calls the Demon Plains. Like the name suggests, it is a large plain where a large amount of weak Demonic beasts gather."


    After moving a good distance away from the lake, Liang Zhou had the group set up camp and rest for the night. After setting up camp and preparing the food, he gathered the group around the fire to tell them their plans for the future.


    "We will use Demon Concealing Vine to hide our scent and slowly make our way around the outskirts of the plain. Once we find a suitable Demonic beast, we will lure it away from the plain and work together to weaken it, allowing one of you to tame it."


    He took out some Demon Concealing Vine and boiled it into a paste as he spoke. The Demon Plains was where most of the people from the tribe managed to find and tame their Demonic beasts, so it was obviously the best place for them to go.


    Liang Zhou was the one in the group who knew the most about the Cloud Wilderness, so neither Li Yang or Liang Xinyi had anything to say about his plans. The group proceeded to eat the food that they had prepared and then went to bed, leaving one person to stand guard.

 10 Demon Plains.

    Just like Liang Zhou had said, the group reached the Demon Plains after two more days of travel. In these two days of travel, they had constantly worn the Demon Concealing Vines on their body, making sure that they were not accidentally discovered by any Demonic beasts as they traveled.


    If they were accidentally discovered by any Demonic beasts, they would lose the initiative in the fight. None of them had yet to engrave any runes, and Liang Zhou was the only one who had opened his dantian, so they could not afford to lose the initiative.


    "That is the Demon Plains. We will move in a circle around the outskirts, retreating into the forest whenever we spot something that we feel is out of our league."


    Liang Zhou stopped the group at the edge of the forest, pointing to a vast plain that expanded outwards from where the forest ended. The plain was covered in yellow grass that swayed in the wind, hills, and mountains of various sizes dotting the plain.


    "In battle, me and Xiao Wei will take the lead. Brother Yang, you support me and Xiao Wei, attacking whenever you feel there is an opening. Little Sister Xinyi, you use your bow to support us from the back."


    Liang Zhou pulled out his bone hammer, holding it ready with both hands. He divided the roles based on what he knew about their combat abilities. He and Xiao Wei were the strongest, while Li Yang had proven that he was capable. He was slightly worried about Liang Xinyi freezing up during combat, so he put her in the back.


    "Understood."


    Li Yang and Liang Xinyi responded with low voices, pulling out their weapons as they spoke. Holding his sword in his hand, Li Yang once more felt that matchless sense of calm, that peerless focus that he had when he first sliced at the Reed Vine. With sword in hand, he felt more confident and safe than he ever had before.


    "Good. Follow me."


    Liang Zhou nodded his head with a satisfied smile upon seeing their expression. He took the lead, heading out of the forest and onto the plain that stood in front of them. Liang Xinyi followed right after him, with Li Yang and Xiao Wei defending the rear.


    "That over there is a Gale Eagle. It is a Demonic beast capable of flight, and at the later stages of its growth, it can even control the wind."


    While they were slowly making their way around the outskirts of the Demon Plains, Liang Zhou would point at some of the Demonic beasts that they spotted, explaining their powers. As the son of the tribe leader, he obviously had access to more knowledge than most others in the tribe.


    The eagle he pointed at looked exactly like a normal eagle, the only difference was that it had emerald green eyes and that some of its wings had a green hue at the tip.


    "That one is a Molten Lizard. It''s a Demonic beast that mixes the earth and fire element, capable of creating lava once it has reached adulthood."


    The next Demonic beast he pointed at was a small lizard, not even half a meter in length. The entire lizard was covered in brown scales that would occasionally pulsate with a red light.


    "That rock over there is, in fact, a Four-Legged Crab. It looks like a rock, but it is actually a Demonic beast in the shape of a crab, capable of shooting out beams of compressed water."


    The rock he painted at looked completely unremarkable, only around one meter in height. Seeing a Demonic beast with such camouflage, Liang Xinyi could not help but tense up slightly.


    "See that panther over there? It is called a Shade Panther. It can control the surrounding darkness, even vanishing into the darkness, entering the shadows and becoming nearly untouchable."


    The last Demonic beast he pointed at was a two-meter-long black panther that was resting on a large rock, basking in the sun. Every inch of the panther''s body was covered in black fur, even its claws had a black sheen to them. If it were not for the fact that it was day right now, they would be completely unable to spot it.


    "There!"


    After the group spent a few hours wandering along the outskirts of the Demon Plains, Liang Zhou''s eyes lit up. A short distance away from them, there was a small lake filled with clear water. At the edge of the lake stood a small wolf, a little less than one meter in length. It looked like a small wolf, but there were roods and vines coiling around its body, making it clear that it was not a normal wolf.


    "That is a Vine Wolf. It is a Demonic beast that has the plant element, it is perfect for Little Sister Xinyi. It does not seem to have reached the same level of strength as a Demonic beast that has opened its dantian, so we should be able to handle it. You retreat into the forest first, I will lure it over."


    Liang Zhou explained the properties of the small wolf, before sending Li Yang and Liang Xinyi back into the forest. Since they had walked in a circle around the outskirts of the Demon Plains, the forest was still right behind them.


    Li Yang, Liang Xinyi, and Xiao Wei retreated back into the forest, waiting for Liang Zhou to lure over the Vine Wolf. After making sure that the others had retreated into the forest, Liang Zhou moved closer to the Vine Wolf, removing his Demon Concealing Vine as he did so.


    The moment he removed his Demon Concealing Vine, the Vine Wolf immediately noticed him. It turned it''s head toward him, letting out a low growl as a sign of warning. Seeing that Liang Zhou did not stop approaching it, the Vine wolf slightly bent it''s body, baring its claws and fangs.


    Liang Zhou took another step forward, and the Vine Wolf immediately attacked, dashing directly towards him. Seeing the Vine Wolf charge at him, Liang Zhou retreated with all his might, moving into the forest. The Vine Wolf did not stop chasing him, after all, as a Demonic beast with the plant element, the forest was it''s home.


    "Now!"


    The moment the Vine Wolf entered the forest, Liang Zhou called out. Xiao Wei dashed out from it''s hiding spot, taking up position next to Liang Zhou. Li Yang did not leave his hiding place, instead choosing to silently move through the forest, circling the Vine Wolf. Liang Xinyi strung her bow, preparing an arrow.


    The Vine Wolf quickly realized that it had been tricked, and moved to leave the forest. Liang Xinyi shot the arrow she had strung, causing it to fly towards the Vine Wolf. The Vine wolf managed to dodge the arrow, but it was forced to dodge towards Liang Zhou and Xiao Wei, who both moved to attack him.


    Despite both Liang Zhou and Xiao Wei moving to attack the Vine Wolf, the Vine Wolf clearly had the advantage in speed. It kicked off with its legs, dodging Liang Zhou''s bone hammer and Xiao Wei''s jaws.


    Another arrow came flying towards the Vine Wolf, forcing it to once more change its direction. It had just dodged the arrow when it suddenly felt a strong sense of danger coming from its side. It moved away on instinct, narrowly dodging a sword strike that flashed out from the forest.


    After dodging the sword strike, the Vine Wolf realized that these people would not allow it to leave the forest. In that case, the only option it had was to take them all down, if it did not, it would die. The first person it set its eyes on was Liang Xinyi.


    Her ranged support could easily cause it to fall into a disadvantage if it was not careful, and she also seemed to be the weakest. After making up its mind, the Vine Wolf immediately charged at Liang Xinyi. Li Yang tried to catch up since he was slightly closer to Liang Xinyi than Liang Zhou, but he was too slow to immediately catch up.


    Seeing the Vine Wolf charge at her, Liang Xinyi quickly paled, her limbs turning stiff as her body froze. Attacking it from a distance was one thing, seeing it up close like this was completely different. The vine Wolf sent its body crashing into Liang Xinyi''s abdomen, sending her body backward and causing blood to spew out of her mouth. A slight crunching sound rang out as two of her ribs broke.


    The wolf raised it''s paw, slamming its claws down towards her head to finish the job. But it was at this time that Li Yang managed to catch up, reaching Liang Xinyi''s side. He threw his body down, grabbing onto Liang Xinyi and rolling to the side of the attack.


    Him rolling to the side forced the Vine Wolf to alter the direction of its attack, weakening it significantly. But the attack still landed on Li Yang, its claws creating three bloody marks that went from the middle of his forehead, down over his right eye and down to his cheek.


    Li Yang finished rolling to the side, quickly standing up and pushing Liang Xinyi towards Liang Zhou. The three bloody marks on his face burned with pain, blood running down his face. It made for quite a gruesome sight, and it would probably leave a scar.


    But Li Yang did not care. All he felt right now was excitement. His heart was beating like a drum, his face alight with searing pain, his blood was rushing through his body like a tidal wave, he felt like every inch of his body was filled with strength. He had never felt this much excitement in his life, it was like his entire body was screaming in joy and excitement.


    With his sword in his right hand, he locked eyes with the wolf, licking some blood from his lips as he did so. Seeing the mad glint of excitement in the eyes of Li Yang, the Vine Wolf could not help but slightly falter. It had never seen such an expression before, it could not help but feel a slight amount of fear.

 11 Alone in the Cloud Wilderness.

    Li Yang did not care for what the Vine Wolf felt, all he knew was that he needed to release this excitement, this strength that coursed through his entire body. He charged directly at the Vine Wolf, his eyes ignoring the blood that was streaming down his face, completely focusing on the Vine Wolf.


    The Vine Wolf tried to charge to the side, but it found that Li Yang had already moved to the side as it made it''s move, blocking its path. When his eyes completely focused on the Vine Wolf, he could notice even the slightest of its movements. It was easy to know where it would move if he could just read the signs.


    He struck out with his sword the moment the Vine Wolf moved, his sword slicing through the air like a silver bolt of lightning. The Vine Wolf lowered its body, but it found that it could not dodge the sword. The edge of the sword sliced a small wound on the back of the Vine Wolf, severing several vines.


    Li Yang took this chance, kicking out with his leg. His foot made contact with the lower jaw of the Vine Wolf, forcing its head upwards and disorienting it. He had not forgotten what they were here for. He could not kill this Vine Wolf, as Liang Xinyi still needed to tame it.


    With the Vine Wolf slightly disoriented from having it''s lower jaw struck, Li Yang attacked once more. He twisted the sword in his hand, stabbing it downwards and through the paw of the Vine Wolf, nailing it to the ground.


    Without the ability to dodge like it used to, the Vine Wolf was forced to become Li Yang''s punching back. He could not kill the Vine Wolf, but he still needed to release all the excitement and strength that his body was filled with.


    He rained a flurry of blows down upon the Vine Wolf, hitting every single part of its body, causing it to let out a mournful howl. It had lost battles before, sometimes even getting close to losing its life, but it had never been beaten this badly before.


    After releasing all the excitement in his body, Li Yang raised his head towards the sky and released a long breath, a content smile on his face. His face was still bleeding, the taste of blood stuck on his lips and tongue, but he did not care. Right now, he felt nothing but contentment.


    While he was feeling this contentment, he felt all the strength in his body gather beneath his navel, at the location of his dantian. He hurriedly turned his vision inwards, inspecting his dantian. The energy had gathered there, creating a small crack. He had not managed to open his dantian yet, but he had gotten much closer to opening it.


    Upon noticing this, he felt like letting out a loud laughter, but he quickly pushed that thought out off his mind. They were still inside the Cloud Wilderness, so there was no telling what his laughter could attract.


    He grabbed the Vine Wolf and dragged it over to Liang Zhou, who was currently applying some medicinal paste to Liang Xinyi. Liang Zhou was looking at Li Yang with an astonished gaze, almost finding it hard to believe that the Li Yang he knew and the Li Yang he had just seen was the same person.


    The Li Yang he knew was calm and kind, a faint smile always at the corner of his lips. But the Li Yang he had just seen had a crazed excitement in his eyes as he fought, completely ignoring the wound on his face. He had savagely beaten that Vine Wolf with his bare fists.


    "How is she? Will she still be able to tame the Vine Wolf?"


    Li Yang dropped the Vine Wolf down in front of Liang Zhou, sitting down with his legs crossed after doing so. He took out some paste made from Closing Grass and applied it to the three gashes on his face. It would leave going from the middle of his forehead, down over his right eye and onto his cheek, but the attack had not managed to wound his eye, so he did not mind it.


    "Ah? Ah, yes. She has some broken ribs and some of her organs have been slightly displaced, but she should be able to make a full recovery once we return to the tribe. There also should not be a problem with taming the Vine Wolf."


    Liang Zhou quickly regained his clarity, quickly nodding his head and responding to Li Yang''s questions. He felt like he had seen a completely new side of Li Yang, a side that made him happy that Li Yang was part of their tribe. With the three of them, there would be no problem for the Liang tribe to rise.


    "Little Sister Xinyi, place your hand on the head of the Vine Wolf and see if it will agree to follow you,"


    Liang Zhou helped Liang Xinyi place her hand on the head of the Vine Wolf. She locked eyes with the Vine Wolf, telling it what she wanted. The Vine Wolf looked unwilling, but once its eyes glanced at Li Yang, it seemed to sigh.


    If it was Li Yang who wanted to tame it, it would be more than happy to follow him, he had after all managed to beat it in fair combat. But this little girl in front of him had fallen after one attack. But what choice did it have? If it did not say yes, they would probably kill it.


    The Vine Wolf nodded it''s head, agreeing to follow Liang Xinyi. Once the Vine Wolf agreed, a strange stream of energy connected it''s mind and body with Liang Xinyi, allowing them to understand each other and talk to each other using their minds.


    No one in the tribe knew where this strange energy came from, they only knew that it allowed them to connect with a Demonic beast. With Liang Xinyi and the Vine Wolf now being connected, there was no longer a danger of the Vine Wolf attacking them. It would also follow and protect Liang Xinyi until either of them died.


    After the taming finished, Liang Zhou moved his gaze from Liang Xinyi onto Li Yang, a complicated expression in his eyes. Liang Xinyi was injured and would have to return to the tribe to get healed, but Li Yang had yet to tame a Demonic beast.


    "There is no need to worry, Big Brother Zhou. You take Sister Xinyi to the tribe so that she can be healed. I will continue looking around for a Demonic beast of my own. I am sure you saw that I can hold my own in a battle."


    Li Yang realized what Liang Zhou was thinking, so he spoke with a carefree smile. Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi leaving would actually give him greater freedom of movement, so he would not mind if they left.


    Liang Zhou moved his gaze between Li Yang and the wounded Liang Xinyi for a short while. Li Yang was also slightly wounded, but thanks to the Closing Grass, the wound had already stopped bleeding. After a day or two, it would only leave behind a scar.


    Liang Xinyi, on the other hand, was wounded more heavily, she also wasn''t as capable as Li Yang. After a short moment of thinking, Liang Zhou let out a loud sigh as he shook his head.


    "If possible I really would not like to leave you here."


    Liang Zhou had a bitter smile on his face as he spoke. Taking Liang Xinyi back to the tribe was the right choice, but he did not feel good about making it. Li Yang was someone he considered a friend, how could he just leave him there alone.


    "But you must. Liang Xinyi is worth more to the tribe. You two be on your way now, lest another Demonic beast finds us. There is no need to worry about me, I will return to the tribe after finding a Demonic beast."


    Li Yang still held a carefree smile as he spoke. He even used the fact that Liang Xinyi was worth more to the tribe in an attempt to cause the two of them to leave faster. He helped Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi stand up, pushing them away from the Demon Plains. With Liang Zhou leading the way, there was no chance of them getting lost.


    Liang Zhou sent one last look at Li Yang, closely inspecting his face before he let out another sigh and started heading away from the Demon Plains. He was uncertain if Li Yang would be able to return to the tribe, but it seemed like Li Yang refused to return without first taming a Demonic beast.


    With Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi disappearing into the forest, the smile on Li Yang''s face grew wider. He turned his head towards the direction where he had seen that soaring figure vanish. Without Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi around, he could investigate that area as much as he wanted to.

 12 Titanic figure.

    Li Yang did not leave immediately after Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi left. He climbed up one of the trees, making sure that he was hidden from view. He covered himself in Demon Concealing Vines and found a branch where he could sit comfortably.


    After making sure that he would be sitting steadily, even if he were to fall asleep, he closed his eyes and calmed his breathing, slowly absorbing the surrounding Qi. Before he ventured towards where he had seen that soaring figure, he first wanted to make sure that he was in peak condition.


    He sat hidden inside that tree for two days, constantly adjusting his condition. When he got hungry, he would eat some of the dried meat he had brought. When he got thirsty, he would drink a little bit of the lake water that he had prepared.


    Some Demonic beasts would occasionally wander beneath the tree he was sitting in, or climb in some of the surrounding trees. But thanks to the Demon Concealing Vine and staying perfectly still, none of them managed to discover him.


    After two days, his body was in peak condition. The crack in his dantian had grown slightly and stabilized, pushing him slightly closer to opening it. The wound on his head had completely closed, resulting in three long scars going from his forehead, over his right eye, and down to his cheek, giving him a ferocious look.


    After making sure that he was in peak condition, Li Yang undressed. He took off his robes, leaving him in his underwear. After taking off his clothing, he threw it over to a tree that was not too far away from him. His clothing was covered in dried blood, so if he kept on wearing it, there was a chance that the smell of blood would attract Demonic beasts.


    After throwing away his clothing, Li Yang swiftly made his way down the tree. After reaching the ground, he turned towards the opposite direction of the Demon Plains, heading towards the same direction as that soaring figure.


    He didn''t know what that soaring figure was, but he could feel that his body craved for it. He had seen it twice, and both times he had been the only person who had seen it. Coupled with the feeling it gave him, he knew that he had to find that soaring figure.


    Li Yang did not go far away from the Demon Plains, instead choosing to carefully move around inside the forest, climbing up some trees and hiding whenever he felt uneasy. He continued doing this for an entire day until he was lucky enough to spot a normal wolf that was the right size.


    He even managed to savagely beat the Vine Wolf, so a normal wolf posed absolutely no threat. He quickly killed the wolf, breaking its neck after a short battle. After killing the wolf in a bloodless way, he grabbed onto its legs and moved away from the Demon Plains, for good this time.


    He continued dragging the body of the wolf until he managed to reach the lake where they had rested at earlier, the lake with the Reed Vine. Because he had been dragging the body of the wolf, it had taken him an extra day to reach the lake, resulting in it almost being evening when he arrived.


    After reaching the lake, he pulled out a small knife and moved towards the wolf. He started by disemboweling it and removing it''s organs, storing them away at the side. He then skinned the wolf, putting the intact skin to his side. After the wolf was skinned, he sliced off a few chunks of meat that he would keep for himself.


    He took the remainder of the carcass, along with the organs that he had removed earlier, and threw them into the lake, at the place where the Vine Reed was. As the body of the wolf hit the water, reeds quickly shot out and started coiling around it, dragging it into the depths.


    While the Reed Vine was busy eating the wolf carcass, Li Yang quickly moved towards the lake, choosing a spot that was a good distance away from the Reed Vine. He quickly filled up his water-skins, making sure that he had plenty of water.


    After that, he cleaned the wolf skin as well as his own body, removing all traces of blood from both. After making sure that both he and the wolf skin were clean, he retreated away from the lake.


    He entered the forest once more, picking up several branches that he could use to make up a campfire. After making sure that he had enough wood, he made a small campfire and started roasting the wolf meat. While the wolf meat roasted, he placed the skin of the wolf next to the fire, allowing it to dry.


    When the meat was finished roasting and the skin was completely dry, the sun had already started rising. Li Yang waited for the meat to slightly cool before he cut off a few pieces and ate them. The meat was chewy and tasteless, but it was food. He wanted to eat more, but he knew that he had to ration it, as he did not know when he would be able to hunt another animal.


    He put out the campfire and donned the wolf skin, wearing it almost like a robe. This was another one of the reasons he had stalked the area around the Demon Plains for an animal, food, and clothing.


    He donned the wolf skin robe and was just about to set out when he suddenly felt a dreadful pressure cover his body. The area around him was quickly shrouded in darkness. He hurriedly raised his head, only to see a titanic figure fly over him.


    Its leathery wings seemed to cover the entire sky blotting out all light. Just it flying over him left Li Yang with the feeling that he was going to be crushed. He could not even imagine how terrifying it must be to stand in front of it.


    Li Yang''s expression turned slightly grim when he saw that the titanic figure flew in the same direction that he was heading, towards that soaring figure he had seen earlier. Despite its massive frame, the flying figure vanished from sight just as quickly as it arrived, vanishing into the horizon.


    After the titanic figure vanished and the pressure covering him vanished, Li Yang stood there in silence for a short while. He refused to believe that the titanic figure traveled in the same direction as the soaring figure because of a coincidence.


    "Forget it, let''s just consider it my bad luck."


    After spending some time thinking in silence, Li Yang shook his head and started moving, heading in the same direction as the titanic figure. He could not just ignore the feeling that the soaring figure had given him, he had to go and see what that soaring figure was. If anything happened to him, he could only blame his bad luck.

 13 Golden Crow versus Torch Dragon.

    Li Yang did not move in a straight path as he went in the same direction as the titanic figure. Whenever he encountered an area that made him feel uneasy, or he suspected that there might be Demonic beasts there, he would walk in a circle around the area, not willing to risk walking through them. He was already risking his life by following that titanic figure, why bother risking it even more?


    Thanks to the time he spent with Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi, Li Yang knew most of the herbs that he spotted as he was traveling. Of course, he would occasionally spot a herb or plant that he did not recognize. Whenever he encountered a plant like this, he would make sure to keep a good distance, in case the plant was toxic or a Demonic beast in disguise.


    He took several detours, traversing a wide variety of different terrains, but he knew that he was on the right track, he could feel it in his chest. As he kept walking, he noticed that the air started getting hotter and hotter, some plants even starting to wilt.


    After four days of continuous traveling, only stopping when he needed to eat, drink, or take a quick nap, he reached a vast plain. The plain was completely barren, not a single plant in sight. There were mountains and hills dotting the entire plain, but the thing that caught Li Yang''s attention was a massive valley that split the entire plain in half.


    The valley went straight down into the ground like someone had sliced the plain in half with a massive sword. He stood far away from the valley, but Li Yang could still feel an icy wind reach out from the valley and onto the plain.


    After reaching this plain, the heat in the air had turned sweltering, beads of sweat constantly running down Li Yang''s face. Li Yang slowly made his way onto the plain, using all the rocks and hills he could find as cover. He could not see the titanic figure or the soaring figure, but he could feel in his chest that they were here.


    After he spent almost two hours moving a measly two kilometers closer, a loud roar resounded over the plains. When the roar sounded out, it was like the earth itself was cracking apart, even the sky was trembling.


    After the roar sounded out, the heat in the air started intensifying even more. A whooshing sound came from the valley, two figures flying out from the valley and stopping in the air above it, staring at each other.


    One of the figures was the titanic figure Li Yang had seen four days ago. It had a snake-like body, with a massive dragon head, it''s entire body stretching for several kilometers. Two leathery wings extended from it''s back, almost covering the sky. Its body was clad in crimson scales, it''s two massive eyes glowing with a red light. Its body was riddled with wounds, large amounts of blood dripping into the valley beneath it.


    The other figure was much smaller than the titanic dragon, only being around 40 meters in length, Li Yang recognized this as the soaring figure he had seen twice, he could feel it. But despite it being much smaller than the titanic dragon, Li Yang was no less shocked upon seeing this figure than he was upon seeing the titanic dragon.


    Its body was in the shape of a crow, but it had a third leg sprouting out from its chest. Its entire body was covered in beautiful golden feathers that shone under the light of the sun. its entire body was wreathed in ferocious golden flames that destroyed anything that came in contact with them.


    Its body was also covered in wounds, one of its legs almost completely torn off. Blood that was a mixture of crimson and gold dripped down from its wounds, falling into the valley beneath them. Despite living in a small tribe, Li Yang had still heard about these two beasts. The Golden Crow and the Torch Dragon, two divine beasts.


    "Yangwu! I simply wish to retrieve Bing Di''s body! Why must you fight so hard to stop me?!"


    The Torch Dragon opened it''s massive maw and spoke out in the common tongue of this world. It''s masculine and powerful voice resounded out over the plain, even reaching places far away from the plain. Li Yang did not know who this Bing Di was, but since a Torch Dragon was trying to acquire his body, he must have been someone extraordinary.


    "Zhulong, Bing Di''s body is not for someone like you to desecrate. Even if I must drag you with me to death, I will never let you lay your hand on his body."


    The Golden Crow opened her beak, her voice calm and soothing. Hearing this voice, Li Yang felt like his body had been surrounded by a shield, protected from the sweltering heat.


    "Then you leave me no choice, Yangwu!"


    The Torch Dragon opened it''s maw once more, it''s voice cold and merciless. It spread out its wings, crimson flames appearing in the air around it. It flapped its wings, and the flames shot out, heading straight for the Golden Crow. The Torch Dragon followed right after the flames, it''s massive body shooting at the Golden Crow like a bolt of lightning.


    The Golden Crow did not back away from the fight, spreading its wings and unleashing its golden flames. When the two flames came into contact, they immediately rejected each other, shooting away from the plain at high speeds, vanishing into the distance.


    Li Yang was slightly worried about the flames that had shot away from the plain, after all, the tribe where he had lived was not too far away from this plain, at most ten days march. At the speed those flames had traveled, such a short distance counted for nothing.


    But now was not the time to worry about that, the Torch Dragon had reached The Golden crow. The Torch Dragon opened it''s massive maw and tried to bite down on the Golden Crow, who surprisingly enough, chose not to completely dodge the attack.


    The Golden Crow allowed the Torch Dragon to bite down on its wing, but the moment the Torch Dragon bit down on its wing, the Golden Crow sprung into action. It used its two undamaged legs to grab onto the head of the Torch Dragon, golden flames blooming forth from its body and flooding into the Torch Dragon.


    "Yangwu, are you insane?! Do you truly wish for the both of us to die here?! Just so Bing Di''s body can remain undisturbed?!"


    The slightly panicked and pained voice of the Torch Dragon rang out, it seemed like the golden flames caused more than just a little pain to it. The Golden Crow completely ignored the cries of the Torch Dragon, only bursting forth with even more Golden Flames.


    The Torch Dragon let out a pained roar and opened it''s maw, letting go of the Golden Crow''s wing. But the moment it let go of the wing, it moved it''s head sideways at full speed, sinking its teeth into the actual body of the Golden Crow.


    "Since you are so intent on dragging me to hell with you, then so be it! Let me reunite you with Bing Di by the yellow springs!"


    After the voice of the Torch Dragon rang out, crimson flames spewed out from its maw, covering the body of the Golden Crow. Both divine monsters covered in flames, the temperature of the area rose dramatically, yet Li Yang still found himself covered by that shield that protected him from the sweltering heat.


    The two divine monsters kept scorching each other for around an hour, neither willing to let go of the other. After an hour passed, the flames surrounding the both of them started dimming, allowing Li Yang to see their bodies once more.


    Both of their bodies were completely scorched, the Golden Crow''s beautiful feathers now a deep black. The crimson scales of the Torch Dragon had cracked and shattered, large drops of blood dripping into the valley beneath them.


    The light in the eyes of the two divine monsters dimmed and they started dropping from the sky, falling towards the valley beneath them. Just as Li Yang thought that their bodies would vanish into the valley, the Golden Crow turned it''s head, staring straight at him.


    "You who was born again. My child, please protect him."


    The calm voice of the Golden Crow rang out in his mind, shocking him immensely. It knew that he had been reborn into this world? Before he had a chance to think about it further, the Golden Crow exerted the last of its strength to tear off a piece from its stomach, sending it towards Li Yang.

 14 Monarch reborn.

    After the flesh of the Golden Crow landed in front of Li Yang, the bodies of the Golden Crow and the Torch Dragon vanished into the depths of the valley. Li Yang did not immediately move, sitting there and waiting in silence for a while longer.


    After waiting for two hours and not hearing a single other sound from the valley, Li Yang finally dared move again. He had not heard the sound of their bodies hitting the floor, so he realized that the valley was incredibly deep, far deeper than he could possibly imagine.


    Li Yang cautiously moved to the edge of the valley, but as he tried to peer into its depths, the cold air made it impossible for him to keep his head there. He quickly retreated away from the valley, returning to the piece of its stomach that the Golden Crow had sent to him.


    He carefully touched it, pushing aside the feathers that covered it. When he moved the feathers aside, a golden egg was revealed to him, hiding beneath the feathers. The egg was about the size of his hand, much larger than a normal bird''s egg. Li Yang knew that this must be the egg of the Golden Crow.


    Li Yang gently grabbed the egg, trying to pull it away from the feathers. Once his hand made contact with the egg, he felt a sharp pain in his hand, as if a small blade had stabbed him. He hurriedly pulled his hand away and saw that there was a small wound on his palm, dripping with a few drops of blood.


    A few drops of his blood landed on the golden egg, quickly sinking into it and vanishing. Before Li Yang got to question what wounded him, the golden egg started glowing with a golden light, cracks spreading across its shell.


    After a short moment, the golden egg had completely shattered. Out from the shattered egg came a small crow, only around the size of Li Yang''s hand. It only had two legs, and its entire body was covered in black feathers. It looked no different from a normal crow, but Li Yang knew that this was the child of the Golden Crow.


    The crow looked at its surroundings with a curious expression, its eyes showed a surprising amount of intelligence and pride. Its eyes landed on Li Yang and a smile flashed through its eyes. It hopped forward and flapped its wings, barely managing to fly high enough to land on his shoulder. It started nudging his neck, seemingly trying to tell him something.


    "You want me to do the taming ceremony?"


    After looking at it for a short while, trying to guess at its intentions, Li Yang came up with a guess that he felt was feasible. The crow on his shoulder started quickly nodding its head, seemingly capable of understanding his words.


    Seeing it like this, a slight smile appeared on Li Yang''s face. This little crow was surprisingly cute. He reached out with his hand, placing it on the top of the little crow''s head. The both of them performed the taming ceremony, and a strange stream of energy connected the two of them.


    "Caw!"


    Once the strange stream of energy connected the two of them, Li Yang heard the childish voice of the little crow ring out in his mind. It didn''t seem to be capable of talking yet, as it only spoke using caws.


    "So you are going to be my partner from now on. My name is Li Yang since your mother was called Yangwu, how about I just call you Jinwu?"


    After the ceremony was over, Li Yang gently pat the head of the crow as he mused. Since it was going to be his partner, he needed to give it a name. After hearing the name he had come up with, the crow jumped around slightly, seemingly very pleased with the name.


    "Jinwu it is then. Together we will have to aim for the top of this world, or even beyond."


    Li Yang''s face cracked into a smile upon watching Jinwu jump around. Once his past memories awoke, there was no way he would become someone normal, so having a divine monster as a partner suited him just fine.


    Jinwu nodded it''s head rapidly. It was a divine monster, it was destined to stand at the peak of the world eventually. Just as Li Yang was about to stand up, Jinwu used its beak to point at the piece of the Golden Crow''s stomach that was still lying there.


    "You want me to eat it?"


    Li Yang couldn''t help but raise his eyebrow as he looked at Jinwu. He was too young to speak, but thanks to their connection, they could still understand what the other meant. Jinwu wanted him to eat the meat that remained on the piece of the stomach that the Golden Crow had thrown at him.


    Upon seeing Jinwu vigorously nod its head, despite still being slightly wary, Li Yang decided to do it. One reason was that Jinwu was adamant about him eating it, the other was that he still had that feeling in his chest, the same feeling he had when he first spotted the Golden Crow while he was still in the tribe.


    "Please forgive my rudeness."


    Li Yang grabbed the piece of meat and muttered slightly. He bit into the part of the stomach that did not have any feathers, sinking his teeth into the meat and tearing small chunks out of it. The meat was raw and chewy, it had an awful taste that almost made Li Yang vomit.


    But he forced the meat down, even drinking every drop of blood that he managed to squeeze out of the meat. As he drank the blood and ate the meat, he felt his entire body slowly heat up, blood and energy coursing through his veins like a ferocious tidal wave.


    Li Yang finished all the meat in only three bites, as it was only a small part that he had in front of him. After he finished the meat, he couldn''t help but fall to the ground and curl up his entire face white. It felt like it wasn''t blood running in his veins, but rather liquid fire.


    "AHHH!"


    The burning pain spread throughout his entire body and he couldn''t help but scream out, his entire voice turning hoarse as he almost ruined his throat. He was just about to completely lose his mind when all the energy and burning pain gathered in his dantian, assaulting that wall that sealed it off.


    After only a single attack from the energy, the wall that sealed off his dantian completely shattered, allowing all the energy and burning pain to flood into his dantian. It was at this moment that the world turned dark. It didn''t turn dark because Li Yang lost consciousness, it turned dark because the entire sky was suddenly covered in black clouds.


    The black clouds started churning, furious bolts of lightning lighting up the sky. The sound of thunder rumbled forth, drowning out all other sounds. Azure bolts of lightning started striking the earth around Li Yang, some even hitting his body and sinking into his flesh.


    But Li Yang did not notice any of this. At this moment, his mind was flooding with information. Large amounts of memories flooded into his mind, every scene of his previous life replaying inside his mind. The moment his dantian opened, the seal on his memories had vanished, allowing him to remember everything about his past life.


    As the memories flooded into his veins, changes also started happening to his dantian. The energy that the azure lightning bolts brought with them gathered at one spot in his dantian, while the energy that the Golden Crow meat brought with it gathered at another spot. There was also a third type of energy in his dantian, this energy gathered at the very center of his dantian, all the other types of energy giving it plenty of space.


    The three energies started solidifying and twisting, turning into three glorious runes that glowed with resplendent light. The first rune was a completely golden rune that seemed alight with flames. The second rune was an azure rune that crackled with arcs of lightning. The last rune was completely pitch black in color like it was a black hole that destroyed all.


    As the three runes formed, the world around Li Yang once more reacted. The bolts of lightning in the sky grew more furious, striking and shattering the earth beneath them. Flames started spewing out from the cracks in the ground, reaching towards the heaven as if they wanted to compete with the lightning.


    At the very center, where the lightning and fire would meet, a small black hole appeared. Anything that touched this black hole completely vanished, not even leaving behind dust. The fire and lightning around this black hole quickly calmed down, acting like meek sheep.


    Jinwu stood next to the curled up Li Yang, looking at the spectacle taking place with an interested expression. After half an hour, the black clouds that covered the sky vanished, as did the flames and the black hole, the world returning to its usual calm.


    Li Yang''s curled up body moved into a sitting position. He looked no different from before, the three scars were still there, his hair was still azure, but his black eyes had become much deeper and resplendent, almost shining like two black stars.


    Li Yang clenched his fist, causing crimson fire and azure lightning to suddenly appear around his fist. Feeling the power coursing through his body, as well as seeing those three glorious runes located in his dantian, a large smile appeared on his face. He was nowhere near his previous level of strength, but it was a start.


    "Fang Ying, I told you that I will chase after you through life and death. Now I am coming to find you."

 15 Power of the runes.

    Li Yang did not leave immediately after awakening his memories. First, he wanted to experiment a little bit. He started by drawing upon the energy from his fire rune, interacting with the natural Qi around him. He found that he could interact with the surrounding Qi with ease as if a simple wave of his hand would cause it to follow his orders like loyal soldiers.


    Drawing upon the power of his fire rune, crimson flames blazed into existence in the air around him. The crimson flames blazed with a terrifying temperature, scorching the earth black and almost melting some of the smaller rocks in the area around Li Yang. Li Yang was slightly surprised upon seeing this.


    This was just the weakest type of crimson fire, yet it already held such strength. What if he found stronger types of fire in the future and managed to absorb them, how strong would his fire be then?


    Seeing this fire, Jinwu''s eyes lit up as it jumped up and flapped its wings, shakily flying into the fire. Li Yang was just about to pull back the fire when he noticed that Jinwu seemed to enjoy bathing in the fire, the heat incapable of even harming his feathers.


    "A divine beast really is a divine beast."


    Li Yang couldn''t help but click his tongue when he saw this. He had wondered why the child of the Golden Crow looked like a normal crow, but upon seeing it bathe in the fire like it was nothing, there was no doubt that it really was the child of a Golden Crow.


    Li Yang also noticed that Jinwu was not only enjoying bathing in the fire but also seemed to be nourished by it. After bathing in the fire for a short while, Jinwu flew out of the fire, landing on Li Yang''s shoulder with a satisfied expression. It slightly pecked his neck, opening its mouth and letting out a few caws.


    "You can improve your strength by bathing in fire and ice? But it has to be higher quality than this little candle I brought out? Why ice, aren''t you a Golden Crow?"


    Li Yang could understand what Jinwu was trying to convey. Upon understanding the first sentence, he was both surprised and confused, it could improve itself by bathing in both fire and ice? But upon understanding the second sentence, he couldn''t help but be slightly exasperated.


    He was fairly satisfied with the fire he had conjured forth, but this little fellow called it a little candle. He couldn''t help but shake his head with a bitter smile, a divine beast really has high standards, even if it had been born just recently.


    Jinwu responded to his question with a few more caws and a gesture that seemed to be it trying to shrug its shoulders. Li Yang couldn''t help but feel a slight headache when he understood what Jinwu meant. He himself did not know why he could strengthen himself by using both fire and ice, only that its bloodline had told him that he could.


    "Fine, fine. We''ll look for some high-quality fire and ice while we are traveling, I''m sure that we will find some eventually."


    Li Yang could do nothing but shake his head. Even in the memories of his past life had he ever seen a Golden Crow that could use both fire and ice to strengthen itself, so he had no idea what to do about it. He decided to put the matter aside for the moment, the truth would probably reveal itself once Jinwu grew stronger.


    After he finished chatting with Jinwu, he returned to his experiments. He made the fire vanish, drawing power from his lightning rune next. As he drew power from the lightning rune, arcs of blue lightning crackled into existence around him, the sound of thunder rumbling in the air.


    Li Yang continued to test the power of the lightning, having it strike down on nearby rocks and seeing how conductive it was. He was pleasantly surprised when he noticed that this blue lightning was stronger than the blue lightning he was used to seeing in his past life, none of the rocks in the area were capable of resisting the lightning.


    Lightning came in several different types, each one stronger than the last. Li Yang himself had used four different types of lightning in his past life, one normal type, and three heavenly tribulation types. Heavenly tribulation lightning was lightning that only appeared when something that defied the will of the heavens appeared. Cultivators would have to face this heavenly tribulation at certain stages in their cultivation. The stronger they were, the more frequent and the more powerful the heavenly tribulation would be.


    Li Yang had first used the normal blue lightning, then he started using the stronger version, red lightning. After he grew stronger, he started using purple lightning, which was the stronger version of red lightning. And the last type he used was golden lightning, the strongest type of lightning that he had been able to use in his past life.


    Seeing the strength of this world''s blue lightning, he could not help but look forward to seeing how strong the other types of lightning would end up being. Li Yang put the thought aside for the moment. Even if he was lucky enough to find such lightning right now, he was too weak to absorb it.


    He also looked forward to the time he managed to engrave an ice rune into his dantian, allowing him to draw upon the power of ice. In his last life, he had only used the power of lightning and on a rare occasion used the power of true destruction. Now that he had the chance to also use the power of fire and ice, he would of course not waste it.


    After he made the lightning vanish, he drew power from the last of his runes, his true destruction rune. Immediately upon drawing power from the rune, he felt his entire body grow weak, his face turning as white as paper.


    A tiny black hole appeared in the air in front of him, only the size of a pea. Despite the weakness in his body, he moved the small black hole around, testing its power. Anything that came in contact with the black hole was completely destroyed, turning into nothing. The only thing that was not destroyed upon coming into contact with the black hole was the feathers that remained of the Golden Crow.


    This, of course, did not mean that the Golden Crow could resist the power of true destruction. It only meant that the current Li Yang was too weak to draw out the full power of true destruction. Once the full power of true destruction was drawn out, even the universe itself could be destroyed.


    "I''m just testing the power of my runes and checking how much energy each of them requires to use. My lightning and fire rune only require a small amount of my Qi to activate, but the true destruction rune requires basically all my Qi to just barely activate."


    Jinwu couldn''t help but let out a few caws as it saw Li Yang turn pale, wondering what he was doing. Li Yang made the pea-sized black hole vanish and pat Jinwu on the head as he explained. Not knowing how much Qi his runes required to activated could end up being a fatal mistake during a fight.


    "I guess it is about time we head back."


    Li Yang raised his head and looked towards where the Liang tribe was. He had awakened his past memories and even managed to tame a baby divine beast. It was time for him to leave the Liang clan and look for Fang Ying.

 16 We will meet again.

    As they were heading back to the Liang tribe, Li Yang spotted several areas that were scorched completely black, even the earth and the rocks had melted. These areas were where the fire of the Torch Dragon and the Golden Crow had landed.


    Of course, now that he had managed to engrave three different runes into his dantian, he faced no danger on his way back. On the way back, he also checked up on a few more things, so as to be prepared for it in the future.


    "Alright, little Jinwu, which one of these would you prefer to eat?"


    While walking towards the Liang tribe, Li Yang held out a piece of meat that he had roasted recently, as well as some edible herbs. Jinwu was still perched on his shoulder, refusing to stand anywhere else, and looking at the various pieces of food that Li Yang held up.


    After only a short moment, it hopped onto his right hand, digging into the roasted meat that he was holding. This meat was meat from a deer that Li Yang had caught and roasted as he left the place where the Golden Crow and Torch Dragon had fought.


    "Alright, meat it is."


    Li Yang nodded his head upon seeing Jinwu eat the meat. He packed away the edible herbs, storing them away in a leather pouch in case he should ever need them. Without knowing what type of food Jinwu liked eating, how was Li Yang supposed to feed him?


    After Jinwu finished eating the deer meat, it hopped back onto Li Yang''s shoulder. It slightly pecked his neck, seemingly dissatisfied with how low the quality of the meat was.


    "Alright, alright. What do you want me to do, it''s not like I can just start hunting high-level Demonic beasts just because you say so. You will just have to bear with it."


    Li Yang pat Jinwu on the head, stopping him from continuing pecking his neck. He spoke with a bitter smile, slightly shaking his head. He had been lucky and managed to acquire a baby divine beast as his partner, but it seems like this divine beast was more than just a little bit picky.


    After traveling through the Cloud wilderness for a few days, Li Yang managed to return to the outskirts of the Liang tribe. Engraving those three runes had greatly increased his strength, so the trip back was much shorter than the trip out had been. Upon seeing that the village had not been hit by the Torch Dragon or the Golden Crow''s fire, he let out a slight sigh of relief.


    "Brother Yang!"


    As Li Yang entered the village, he heard a shout from the side. Liang Zhou came running up to him, his entire face lit up with a smile. When Li Yang had said that he would stay behind, Liang Zhou had half expected that he would never see him again.


    "It''s good that you managed to return, Big Brother Yang."


    Liang Xinyi followed Liang Zhou, arriving in front of Li Yang. Ever since she had seen how Li Yang fought against that Vine Wolf, she had felt that simply calling him Brother Yang was no longer enough. He was only two years older than her, but he was much stronger, so it was only right to call him Big Brother Yang.


    "Did you see the massive fireballs that appeared in the sky a few days ago? They didn''t land in the area around you and hurt you, did they?"


    Liang Zhou couldn''t help but examined Li Yang, worriedly asking. Several days ago, they had seen the sky light up with crimson and golden flames. Large swathes of the forest had been scorched down, so Liang Zhou had worried that Li Yang was accidentally hit by the fire.


    "I saw them. But my luck was very good, no fire landed in the area around me, so I managed to return without a problem."


    Li Yang''s face held a slight smile as he spoke. He had done more than just see those massive fireballs, he had been right there when they had first been unleashed. Such a display of power was a sight he would never manage to forget.


    "What''s this? Did you manage to tame a Demonic beast?"


    Liang Xinyi suddenly noticed Jinwu who was perched on Li Yang''s shoulder, letting out a slight exclamation. She had never seen such a cute little crow before. Jinwu noticed Liang Xinyi looking at him with sparkling eyes, so he let out a few self-satisfied caws before hopping down from Li Yang''s shoulder and into Liang Xinyi''s arms.


    "That''s Jinwu, I was lucky and managed to tame him not long after you left. I don''t quite know what type of Demonic beast he is though, so I might just have been unlucky and tamed a normal little crow."


    Li Yang shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. There was no way he could tell them that Jinwu was a Golden Crow. One reason was that they would never believe him, even if he did tell them. Another reason was that there was a risk that they might tell others.


    If others knew that he had a baby Golden Crow with him, there was no telling what they would do. They would probably do everything in their power to hunt him down so that they could catch Jinwu.


    "What matters is that you managed to come back alive, despite there being such a massive disturbance in the Cloud wilderness."


    Liang Zhou pat Li Yang on the shoulder, thinking that Li Yang had not managed to find any other Demonic beasts, but was too ashamed to return to the tribe without having tamed one.


    "Right. Big Brother Zhou, do you know where the closest city is located?"


    Li Yang nodded his head, not bothering to correct Liang Zhou''s misunderstanding. He changed the topic, asking where the closest city was located. He knew next to nothing about this world, not even where the closest city was located.


    "The closest actual city would be Cloud''s End. It is a small city located at the very edge of the wilderness, about seven days march away from here. Why do you ask?"


    Liang Zhou was rather surprised by Li Yang''s question, but he still answered him. As the son of the Liang tribe leader, it was obvious that he would know more about the world outside of their Liang tribe than others.


    "There is someone I am looking for, so I need to leave the Liang tribe to look for her."


    Li Yang did not lie, straightforwardly telling Liang Zhou what he was planning.


    "Someone you are looking for? You are planning on leaving?"


    Liang Zhou''s face quickly twisted with worry, hurriedly grabbing onto Li Yang''s shoulders as he asked. Li Yang was just 12 years old, Liang Zhou had no idea what would happen if he were to leave the tribe. He also wondered who this person Li Yang was looking for was, as he had never left the village. But he had the feeling that even if he did ask, Li Yang would not tell him.


    "I see, it seems you really must leave. I hope you manage to find her."


    Upon seeing Li Yang''s determined eyes, Liang Zhou let go of his shoulders, sighing as he spoke. He did not call him Brother Yang as a joke, he truly considered Li Yang his younger brother. Upon seeing him this determined, how could he possibly tell him to stay behind?


    "Thank you Big Brother Zhou."


    Li Yang''s mouth curled into a bright smile. Liang Zhou had been with Li Yang ever since Li Yang was born into this world, always by his side and helping him. Liang Zhou and Liang Zhu were the only reason Li Yang returned to the Liang tribe before he left. He truly considered these two people as his friends.


    "Follow me."


    Liang Zhou nodded his head, grabbing Li Yang and dragging him over to his house. Once they entered Liang Zhou''s house, Liang Zhou brought out a small leather pouch as well as a rolled up parchment.


    "We may not have many maps of the areas outside of the wilderness, but we at least have a map that shows where Cloud''s End is located. You should also take these, money is very important in the cities outside of the wilderness."


    He handed both items to Li Yang, rolling up the parchment to reveal a simple map. The pouch gave off the sound of coins hitting each other, so it was clear that it was filled with money that Liang Zhou had saved up.


    "Thank..."


    Seeing this, Li Yang felt his chest fill up with warmth. Despite not knowing where he was going, Liang Zhou was still willing to give him all this.


    "There is no need for thanks, we are brothers, after all, this is the least I can do, I only hope that you will bring back a sister in law for me the next time you return. I don''t know exactly where you are going, but I want you to know this. No matter how far you go, no matter who you become, I will always be your Big Brother Zhou."


    Liang Zhou cut Li Yang''s words short. He placed both hands on Li Yang''s shoulders and pulled him close, giving him a strong hug as he spoke. He did not want to separate from Li Yang, but Li Yang was a man in his own right. If he had decided to do something, it was Liang Zhou''s job as a big brother to support and aid him.


    "I know. Farewell Big Brother Zhou, Sister Xinyi. I promise that we will meet again."


    Li Yang''s face once more lit up with a bright smile. He gave Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi a deep bow. Jinwu flew out from Liang Xinyi''s grasp and onto the shoulder of Li Yang, giving a short bow of his own.


    After giving the bow, Li Yang turned around and headed directly towards the village exit, he did not look back a single time. He had said that they would meet again, so there was no need to look back. Li Yang was a man of his word, he had promised that they would meet again, so he would make sure that they would meet again.

 17 Xun Zhi.

    After spending a day following the map that Liang Zhou had given him, Li Yang found a large road that was marked on the map. This road would lead directly to Cloud''s End City and was frequently used by some of the tribes that wanted to transport wares to the city. Of course, the Liang tribe was far too small and poor to be able to send wares to the city.


    Li Yang followed the road for half a day until he heard the faint sound of horse hooves hitting the ground coming from behind him. When he turned around, he spotted a small caravan, only two carts, heading his way. Both carts were covered by an arched tarp, shielding the inside from the sun.


    Both carts were pulled by two strong horses, and the person sitting at the front of the first caravan was clad in fine clothing, so it was clear that this was a caravan either coming from a large tribe, or a caravan that had been sent by a merchant company to pick up some items from one of the tribes.


    "Greetings. Would you happen to have space for one more person on your journey?"


    As the caravan got closer, Li Yang greeted the man at the front with a bright smile. The man was slightly fat, small beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. He had short brown hair and a thick mustache that he seemed to care for greatly, as it was trimmed and greased. On each side of him sat a person clad in thick leather armor that even covered most of their heads, they were clearly his bodyguards.


    When he spoke up, the bodyguards and the fat man looked at him with suspicious eyes. While Li Yang was slightly small and thin, he had three large scars on his face and was clad in the skin of a wolf, making him look rather ferocious. Only upon noticing that Li Yang had not even started cultivating, did the fat man put on a smile.


    Of course, it only looked like Li Yang had not even started cultivating. If he was someone from a very powerful and famous family, it would not be suspicious if he had his current cultivation at his age. But he was just a small child from a backwaters place, it would look suspicious if people could see his actual cultivation, so he had hidden it using a special technique.


    "Of course we have room for this little brother. You can hop onto the wagon behind us, we are heading to Cloud''s End to deliver some wares that I just picked up."


    The fat man pointed at the wagon behind them, telling Li Yang that he could sit in that one. The way he saw it, Li Yang was probably some orphaned kid who probably had been kicked out of his tribe. He did not mind picking up and helping a child like that.


    "Then it seems like I must thank you, as that is where I too am heading."


    Li Yang cupped his hands across his chest and thanked the fat man, before passing by his wagon and hopping onto the wagon in the back. In the second wagon, squeezed in amongst a few boxes, sat two people.


    One of the two people was a youth who looked around 16, he was clad in a clean light blue robe. He had a muscular muscle and bronze skin. His hair was short shaven and he had strong and pronounced features. The youth sat with his eyes closed and his legs crossed, silently cultivating.


    The other person was an old man with a pair of gentle blue eyes and whose face was slightly wrinkled. There was no hair on the old man''s head, but it seemed like he had cut it off, rather than had it fall out naturally. The old man was clad in the same fine clothes as the fat man driving the caravan.


    "Sit down child, it will still take a few more days before we reach Cloud''s End. I am Xun Zhi."


    When the old man, Xun Zhi, spotted Li Yang, he put on a kind smile and moved around some boxes, opening a space for Li Yang to sit.


    "Thank you, senior. I am Li Yang."


    Li Yang responded with a smile of his own, sitting down in the place that Xun Zhi had cleared for him. All the boxes in the wagon were completely nailed shut, so it was clear that the boxes were not supposed to be opened during the trip. Thanks to the cloth covering the wagon, it was nice and cool.


    "Who is he?"


    Li Yang couldn''t help but point at the cultivating youth as he asked Xun Zhi. Li Yang could tell that the youth had recently opened his dantian, so he wondered why he would be following this caravan.


    "He is the young master from the Shentu tribe. You do not need to mind him too much. He recently managed to open up his dantian, so he is spending all his time meditating. Once he closes his eyes, it''s not strange for him to meditate silently for many days."


    Xun Zhi shook his head as he spoke. Li Yang had heard about the Shentu tribe before, it was the tribe that owned the land that the Liang tribe lived on. Every year, the Liang tribe would pay a small number of resources to the Shentu tribe, allowing them to continue living on the land.


    "Why would he be following this caravan?"


    Being the young master of the Shentu tribe could be considered very lucrative and glorious for people who lived in the outskirts of the Cloud Wilderness, so Li Yang was slightly interested in why he would leave the Shentu tribe.


    "He has heard stories about the Wolf Queen and has set out to meet her and make her his woman."


    Xun Zhi spoke with a chuckle. Li Yang did not have much of a reaction, but if anyone else had heard him, they would surely have laughed out loud.


    "Who is the Wolf Queen?"


    Since she had been given such a title, and there were stories about her even in a place like this, it was clear that this Wolf Queen was not a simple character. Li Yang knew next to nothing about this world, so gathering as much information as possible was a must.


    "She is a cultivator who was adopted by the great Tian clan. When she was young, she was lucky and managed to tame a baby Void Wolf, a true divine beast. As she grew older, she started blooming in splendor, showing that she had a great talent for cultivation and quickly possessed great strength. She is only 17 now, but there are many people who greatly respect and fear her."


    Xun Zhi spoke with great respect. Anyone who had the luck and skills to manage and tame a divine beast, even if it was a baby, was worthy of respect. Not to mention that the Wolf Queen was also strong in her own right.


    "What is the Tian clan?"


    Since the Tian clan was described as a great clan, it was clear that it was an extremely powerful clan. Knowing about such a clan was always good.


    "The Tian clan is one of the three great clans that rule over this continent, protecting it from the horrors that lurk on and around the continent. The other two clans are the Duan and the Huo clans. With each clan having their own fields of expertise."


    Xun Zhi had already guessed that Li Yang knew very little about the world outside the Cloud Wilderness, so he explained everything very patiently and clearly. Even repeating himself if he felt that Li Yang needed to hear it again.


    "What are their fields of expertise?"


    If he knew what the clans specialized in, it would be easier for Li Yang to eventually fight against people who belonged to these clans. Of course, he could never tell Xun Zhi this, so he just pretended to look very curious.


    "The Tian clan specializes in using the laws of wind, the Huo clan specializes in using the laws of fire, while the Duan clan specializes in using the laws of water. The Huo clan guards against the Cloud Wilderness. The Duan clan guards against the great ocean. And the Tian clan guards against the sky-born beasts."


    ¡§


    Seeing Li Yang like this, the smile on Xun Zhi''s face grew wider as he explained with a slight chuckle. Each great clan defended against one type of threat, the Huo against land-based threats, the Duan against sea-based threats, and the Tian against airborne threats.


    "I see. But why would he think that he could meet her and make her his woman?"


    Li Yang nodded his head a few times, now having a clearer understanding of what the three great clans specialized in. What he did not know, however, was why this youth felt like he could chase after the Wolf Queen.


    "In three years, the Huo clan will host a competition for all the powerful youths of the continent. Rumor has it that they will open one of their hidden realms, a space created by a powerful cultivator, for this competition. The Wolf Queen will participate in this competition."


    Xun Zhi did not mind explaining, he was always fond of talking. This was also information that Li Yang could easily find if he just asked around once he reached the city, it was not like Xun Zhi was telling him any secrets.


    "I see. Thank you for telling me all this."


    Li Yang put on a bright smile as he thanked Xun Zhi. He was very interested in this competition that would take place in three years. No matter what he wanted to do, he would require the strength to protect himself and Fang Ying. Hidden realms would often contain rare herbs and other items, they were great ways of growing stronger.


    "No problem, passing on information to the next generation is what we old fogeys should do."


    Xun Zhi responded with another chuckle. He found that Li Yang was very reactive when they chatted, often nodding his head or moving his body as he responded, such a person was very fun to talk to. As the caravan kept moving towards Cloud''s End, Xun Zhi and Li Yang continued chatting about the state of the continent as well as some things that Li Yang needed to be aware of.

 18 Royal Dragon Pavilion.

    After spending two days following the main road, the leader of the caravan, who had introduced himself as Ren Jie, stopped the caravan to let the horses have some rest. While the horses were resting at the side of the road, the rest of the group made up a small campfire and boiled some soup using dried meat that they had brought along, even the person from the Shentu clan had stopped his cultivation and joined them.


    "Excuse me sir, but I am planning on traveling around the continent, so I was wondering if you knew about a place where you can find a large amount of information, as well as a place that lets you travel around and earn money?"


    While they were sitting around the campfire, Li Yang turned towards the fat man, Ren Jie, as he asked. The more information Li Yang was able to buy, the easier it would be to find Fang Ying. At the same time, he would also need a large amount of money and a way of traveling around the continent. If she ended up being on the other side of the continent, he could not simply walk the entire way.


    "You want to know where you can easily find a large amount of information? As well as a place that can let you travel around and earn money? That''s not hard."


    Upon hearing Li Yang''s question, Ren Jie chuckled slightly. If Li Yang had been someone from the city, he would never have needed to ask that question.


    "There is an organization on this continent called the Royal Dragon Pavilion. Almost anyone can join this organization, granted that they prove that they have the required strength. Royal Dragon Pavilion can be called a mercenary organization, as it not only allows it''s members to undertake missions to receive a reward, but also lets them purchase all kinds of information."


    Royal Dragon Pavilion had a branch in nearly every single city on the continent. The sheer amount of wealth and information that they possessed was unimaginable. Yet there was not a single organization on the continent that dared openly work against them.


    "I don''t imagine just anyone who is a member can buy all kinds of information?"


    Li Yang''s face held a slight smile as he questioned. If they allowed any member to buy any kind of information, that could only mean that the price of the information would be incredibly inflated. While speaking, Li Yang did not forget to occasionally feed Jinwu some meat, otherwise, Jinwu would start pecking his neck and annoying him.


    "Clever. Upon joining the organization, you will receive the rank of One-Clawed Dragon and will have access to rank one missions as well as rank one information. Upon clearing enough missions, your rank can increase, allowing access to more dangerous but more rewarding missions, as well as allow you to buy more information."


    Ren Jie responded with a smile of his own. Royal Dragon Pavilion had a strict ranking system, no matter what connections you had, you could only buy information and do missions within your own rank.


    "The the ranks go upwards all the way to Five-Clawed Dragon, or Titled Dragon. Above Titled Dragon is a special rank, which is only for people who far transcend the power of a Titled Dragon, that rank is Divine Dragon."


    As Ren Jie spoke about the higher ranked people, his voice was filled with respect and awe. To become a Titled Dragon required you to hold immense power, but to become a Divine Dragon, you needed to completely dwarf a Titled Dragon in strength.


    "But there is not much point in us talking about Divine Dragon''s, even a Titled Dragon is far above any of us. Every three years, the Royal Dragon Pavilion will release a ranking list of the Titled and Divine Dragons, allowing people to know a little about them."


    Ren Jie shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. He was just a small-time merchant, even interacting with a Three-Clawed Dragon was incredibly hard for someone like him. Titled and Divine Dragons were far too far away from him.


    As he spoke, he dug around the inside of his clothing for a little while, fishing out a small rolled up scroll and tossing it to Li Yang. Once Li Yang unrolled the scroll, a small stream of Qi shot out from it and entered his forehead, filling his mind with information.


    Li Yang had seen such scrolls in his past life, so he was not surprised when the stream of Qi shot out from it. The scrolls were used to store information in the form of Qi, unrolling the scroll would send out the information into the mind of the person holding the scroll, directly transmitting the information into their mind.


    Li Yang leisurely looked through the information, there were 100 people on the Titled Dragon list, as well as 100 people on the Divine Dragon list, noting some of the more memorable names. But his eyes suddenly hardened when he spotted the title of a person on the Titled Dragon list.


    Ranked 100 on the Titled Dragon list, the lowest possible rank, was a person who was titled Poison''s Kiss. The list did not have a name for this person, but it listed that she was a woman and specialized in using the laws of poison to kill her enemies.


    "Poison''s Kiss? Quite a gruesome name isn''t it? Do you know anything about her?"


    Li Yang put on a calm and slightly curious expression as he asked Ren Jie, but he was far from calm on the inside. The only lead he had to find Fang Ying in this world was that the specialized in the laws of poison, so he would, of course, pay a lot of attention whenever he heard about a woman who used the laws of poison.


    "Poison''s Kiss? Very little is known about her, she has never even told anyone her real name, not even shown her face. She should be in the middle of her twenties, but no one has learned the truth yet."


    Ren Jie shrugged his shoulders as he spoke, sipping the soup that they had made. It was not strange for some of the people that were ranked on the two lists to have some quirks, hiding her face and name was a fairly harmless quirk.


    Li Yang nodded his head and continued going through the list, but he set a firm determination to find out more about this person titled Poison''s Kiss. The rest of the night passed by very uneventfully, with most conversation being about the other people ranked on the two lists.


    The group set off again the moment the sun rose, continuing their journey to Cloud''s End City. After one and a half day of traveling, when they were only one more day away from Cloud''s End City, Xun Zhi briefly left the wagon to have a chat with Ren Jie.


    "Are you going to join the Royal Dragon Pavilion?"


    The moment Xun Zhi left the wagon, the cultivating youth from the Shentu clan opened his eyes and looked at Li Yang. The youth''s eyes were a deep yellow, almost golden, in color, his gaze strong and steady. This was the first time Li Yang had heard his voice, and he could not help but be surprised at how powerful and majestic sounding it was.


    "Once I have started cultivating, I would like to join them."


    Li Yang was slightly surprised that the youth had suddenly started talking to him, but he still answered him. He would, of course, try to join the Royal Dragon Pavilion as quickly as he could, but there was no way he could tell this youth that.


    "Good, I look forward to that day. My name is Shentu He, I look forward to working with you."


    The youth slightly bowed his head and introduced himself, his words greatly surprising Li Yang. Why would this Shentu He look forward to working with him, the two of them had never interacted with each other.


    "I am Li Yang. Why would you look forward to working with me? Have we ever met before?"


    Li Yang cupped his hands across his chest and returned the introduction. At the same time, he also made sure to ask exactly why Shentu He was looking forward to working with him.


    "No, we have never met before. But I can tell that we are the same, you and I. You hide it deeply, but there are still instances where it can be seen glimmering in your eyes. That disdainful arrogance and pride, letting the whole world know that you are above it. Not just anyone can have such arrogance and pride."


    After speaking, Shentu He closed his eyes again, returning to cultivating in silence. But his words had slightly shocked Li Yang. There was no denying that Li Yang was a prideful, almost arrogant person. After all, he had once stood at the top of the world, only dying because the rest of the world had banded against him and Fang Ying.


    How could such a person not have his own pride and arrogance? But Li Yang had also thought that he had made sure to hide that pride and arrogance deep within himself, not letting others see it. After all, he was no longer the Li Yang of his previous life, he was no longer the Thunder Monarch.


    Li Yang shook his head slightly, reminding himself to make sure that he hid it better in the future. Since Shentu He no longer bothered talking, neither did Li Yang, closing his eyes and focusing on his cultivation. They would reach Cloud''s End City very soon, and that would be the time Li Yang got to truly start his journey.

 19 Clouds End city.

    After another day of traveling, their little caravan reached Cloud''s End city. Even though Cloud''s End city was considered a rather small city in this world, it was still incredibly large, easily covering enough space to house a million people.


    The city was located just outside the Cloud Wilderness, so it was surrounded by not just a large moat, but also by massive metal walls. The walls reached several tens of meters into the air, shielding the city from attacks. The walls were completely black in color and covered with winding marks that were a deep red in color.


    These marks were drawn using blood from Demonic beasts as well as blood from powerful cultivators. Using this blood as well as a few other materials, a person proficient in arrays could draw up an array that would increase the strength and toughness of the walls.


    The gate into Cloud''s End was guarded by ten guards, with each side of the gate having five guards. If one was not part of the Royal Dragon Pavilion or any of the merchant guilds, one would have to pay a small amount of money to enter. Shentu He and Li Yang were not part of the Royal Dragon Pavilion yet, so they had to pay a small fee before they could enter.


    Upon entering Cloud''s End city, it''s full splendor was laid bare for them. Every building in the city was constructed out of sturdy stone and inscribed with arrays that strengthened them. Like this, every house could become a fortress if the city was ever invaded.


    The houses were all two or three stories tall, with large triangular roofs. Some of the buildings had statues of various famous people standing around them, while others were engraved with old legends as well as pictures of mythical Demonic beasts.


    "See those three buildings? The left one belongs to the Royal Dragon Pavilion, the middle one to the Universe Merchants, and the right one to the lord of the city."


    After entering the city, Ren Jie pointed towards the center of the city. At the center of the city stood three tall buildings that completely dwarfed the other buildings in the city. Each building built in its own distinct way.


    While the city lord''s house was large, it was slightly smaller than the buildings belonging to the Royal Dragon Pavilion and the Universe Merchants. The Universe Merchants was just that, a merchants guild that bought and sold anything that people could think of. Just like the Royal Dragon Pavilion, they had a branch in almost every city on the continent.


    The house of the city lord was five stories tall and completely round in shape. It was a pristine white in color and its engravings told the history of the city. The roof of the building was completely flat, allowing the city lord to place several large statues of his predecessors on the roof.


    The building belonging to the Universe Merchants was six stories tall and shaped like a pyramid. It was made out of light blue stones that made the entire building give off a calming atmosphere. There were no engravings or statues on the building, making it look clean and pristine.


    The building belonging to the Royal Dragon Pavilion was also six stories tall, but it was in the normal square shape. The building itself was built using black rocks, a statue of a golden five-clawed dragon winding around the entire building gave it a ferocious air.


    "This is where we will split up. Should fate will it, I am sure that we will meet again."


    Ren Jie smiled at Shentu He and Li Yang, bidding them farewell. He had to deliver the wares he had brought with him, while Li Yang and Shentu He were going to do their own things, so it was time for them to separate.


    Shentu He did not say anything, nodding at Ren Jie and Li Yang, before heading towards the building belonging to the Royal Dragon Pavilion. Li Yang bade Ren Jie farewell and left to find an inn. Jinwu was perched on his shoulder, curiously looking at the city around him.


    Li Yang quickly found an inn that he felt was cheap enough. He spent nearly all of his money, leaving behind only a measly few coins for himself, to rent a room for an entire month. The money he had gotten from Liang Zhou was just a tiny amount, so one month was all he could afford. After that, he would have to earn more money.


    "Alright Jinwu, I will be cultivating for a little while, so you are on your own. They will deliver some food twice a day, so if you get hungry, you can eat that."


    Li Yang entered the room that he had rented and sat down with his legs crossed on the bed. The room was quite small, only containing a bed, a table, and two chairs, as well as a door that lead to a small bathroom. He had ordered them to deliver food twice a day, so he was not worried about Jinwu going hungry.


    He also didn''t own anything worth stealing, so he was not worried about anyone robbing him. Of course, the moment someone that held even the slightest ill intent entered the room, he would notice and wake up.


    After he reminded Jinwu, he closed his eyes and immersed himself in his cultivation. The reason he chose to cultivate now was because there was something that he wanted to ascertain.


    He closed his eyes and let his mind sink into his memories of his past life, especially his experiences with fire, ice, lightning, and true destruction. In his past life, he had focused on lightning and true destruction, but that did not mean that he had never deal with fire and ice before.


    After all, his wife had comprehended true creation, the act of creating everything. Through her, he had learned quite a bit about the fire and ice elements. Using these memories, he first started focusing on the ice element, allowing his understanding of it to flow through his mind.


    This continued for a few days, with his understanding of the ice element getting clearer and clearer as he delved deeper and deeper into the memories. When he had gone through a certain amount of his memories, a stream of icy cold energy suddenly coursed through his body, filling him with a prickling pain.


    The stream of icy energy made his body rapidly cool down until it resembled a statue made out of ice. The icy energy traveled into his dantian, winding around itself and solidifying, turning into a rune that looked like it was carved from a crystal.


    Li Yang did not stop after forming the ice rune, delving deeper into his memories and his past understanding of the elements. He continued delving into his memories for almost an entire month. Only when he realized that he could only stay in this room for another day or two did he stop his cultivation.


    Had it not been for the fact that his current body was too weak, he could easily close his eyes and cultivate for several months, even years, at a time, completely losing track of time. But his current body was still too weak, it needed frequent food and water to survive. Spending almost an entire month in cultivation was already straining it.


    The first thing Li Yang did after stopping his cultivation was to eat some food and drink some water. The inn had just brought some food and water into the room, so he was certain that it was fresh. While he was eating, Jinwu hopped onto his shoulder and looked at him with a questioning gaze, wondering why he bothered spending an entire month cultivating.


    "I needed to ascertain something. I wanted to know if I could use my past life''s understanding of the laws to increase my current cultivation."


    Li Yang opened his mouth after swallowing some bread, explaining what he had been doing to Jinwu. Jinwu was his companion Demonic beast, so he had already told Jinwu everything about himself.


    "While I can use my past life''s understanding about the laws to increase my cultivation, I cannot engrave new runes without first increasing the amount of space inside my dantian. Once I manage to increase the amount of space inside my dantian, I can engrave a new rune immediately."


    Li Yang had been pleasantly surprised by the results. As long as he absorbed enough Qi and increased the amount of space inside his dantian, he could engrave new runes immediately. Of course, the amount of energy it took him to increase the space inside his dantian was also quite ridiculous. He had four different runes after all.


    After he and Jinwu finished eating, Li Yang got up and left the inn. He could only stay inside the inn for another day or two, so it was about time that he earned some more money, as well as checked if he could find some information about Fang Ying. And there was one place that would let him do all that, Royal Dragon Pavilion.

 20 Entry Mission.

    The inn that Li Yang had chosen was not far from the Royal Dragon Pavilion, so he did not have to spend too much time walking before he reached it. Standing in front of the Royal Dragon Pavilion allowed Li Yang to feel the immense pressure that the building released, like it was a sleeping dragon.


    Of course, such pressure would not even cause Li Yang to bat an eye. With a calm and steady gait, he pushed open the golden door engraved with a soaring dragon and entered the building.


    Li Yang found that the inside was less grand and overbearing than the outside of the building. Sturdy chairs and tables made out of carved wood were placed around on the first floor, giving people a place to sit. Bookshelves lined the walls, a large number of varying books available.


    On the other side of the room was a set of stairs that lead up to the second floor. On the left side of the room stood a lone counter, a single person present behind the counter. There was also a door that led deeper into the building located behind the counter. On the right side of the room stood a counter where people could buy various alcoholic drinks.


    The atmosphere inside the building was slightly pressuring, with people of all types of shapes and forms sitting at the tables placed around. Some people were drinking, some were simply chatting silently, while others were enjoying the company of women or men.


    Upon Li Yang entering the room, many of the people sitting there turned to inspect the newcomer. Upon seeing how small and thin Li Yang was, some people''s mouths curled into slight sneers. But no one said anything, after all, it was hard to judge someone''s strength from just their looks.


    While the people were inspecting Li Yang, he and Jinwu were inspecting them. On the first floor, the highest cultivation that Li Yang saw was a person at the middle stage of the Mortal Rune realm, a person with two runes. It seemed like the people with higher cultivation had all moved to the higher floors.


    "I am here to sign up as a One-Clawed Dragon."


    Li Yang swept the inside of the room once more, before walking up to the counter at the left side of the room. He did not waste any words, directly stating what he was there for. Behind the counter stood a short and stout woman, with short orange hair and scarred skin.


    "You do know that it is incredibly easy to die while you are out on a mission? We will not be held accountable if anything were to happen to you. You also need a certain level of strength, otherwise, you will just die when you attempt the entry mission."


    The woman raised an eyebrow as she looked at Li Yang. Three scars on his face and clad in the skin of a wolf, he looked like quite a ferocious person. But it was still obvious that he was very young, much younger than most people that joined them.


    "I know, and I am prepared. I also want to send a message to someone."


    Li Yang nodded his head, his eyes completely calm. He also did not forget his second reason for coming here, seeing if he could find and contact Fang Ying.


    "Very well, don''t say that I did not warn you. Who do you want to send a message to?"


    Since she had already warned him once, the woman would obviously not say any more, his life was his own after all. She took out a small book and a pen, preparing to write down the message Li Yang wanted to send and who to send it to.


    "A person called Fang Ying, her age should not be too far from mine. She should have white hair and specialize in the laws of poison."


    Li Yang listed the most notable things about Fang Ying, at least the things that were most notable about her in their previous life. He did not know anything about her in this life, so he did not know if her looks and specializations had changed. But he chose to assume that they had not changed, as his own had not changed.


    "Alright, I will check in our archive''s later on if we know a person like that. If we find multiple people that fit your criteria, we will send the message to all of them. Is that fine?"


    The woman slightly raised her eyebrows, feeling a slight headache approach. With just this information, how was she supposed to find the specific person that he wanted to receive the message? In that case, it was simply better to send it to everyone who fit the criteria.


    "That is fine. The message is very simple, just send the words ''Huo clan competition, Li Yang''."


    Li Yang did not mind how they went about it, as long as they made sure that she got the message. The reason he said the Huo clan competition, rather than letting her know where he was, was to give himself some time to grow stronger.


    "Very well, I will let you know once the message has been delivered. As for your entry mission to prove that you have the strength required to become a One-Clawed Dragon."


    The woman wrote down what Li Yang had said, making sure that she would not forget it. After she finished writing it down, she bent down slightly and picked up an old book from behind the counter, looking through it as she spoke.


    "There is a small group of bandits that have been terrorizing the road to the west, about three day''s travel, their leader as well as his beast companion should be around the early stage of the Mortal Rune realm, the lowest threshold for a One-Clawed Dragon. Bring us their heads. Upon bringing their heads, you will be granted the rank of One-Clawed Dragon."


    After looking through the book for a bit, she stopped at a certain page, reading up the information that was written there. Such weak bandits could easily be handled by the city guards, but the Royal Dragon Pavilion sometimes kept such people around as they could be used to test the strength of new applicants.


    "What do I do about the Demon Crystal of his beast companion?"


    Li Yang nodded his head, mentally noting down the information, before asking a question. Since the beast companion had reached the early stage of the Mortal Rune realm, it would obviously have a Demon Crystal.


    A Demon Crystal was to a Demonic beast what a rune was to a human. While humans engraved several runes, a Demonic beast strengthened it''s Demon Crystal. The Demon Crystal contained all the energy of the Demonic beast, so the stronger the Demonic beast, the more energy this Demon Crystal contained.


    "Why would we want that? Since we have no way to extract its energy, you can just throw it away."


    In response to Li Yang''s words, the woman behind the counter looked at him like she had seen an idiot. She waved her hand and spoke nonchalantly, slightly stunning Li Yang.


    They had no way to extract the energy from the Demon Crystal, so he should just throw it away? Throw away one of the most valuable parts of a Demonic beast? Even the current him was able to refine the energy inside a Demon Crystal, so how was it that they had no idea how to extract its energy?


    "Very well."


    Despite his thoughts, Li Yang''s face did not change, still as calm and carefree as always. Since they had no use for Demon Crystals, it simply meant that he could take any that he found for himself. This would make it much easier for him to increase his strength, so he would not complain.


    Li Yang did not waste any more time inside the building, leaving it after he finished all his business. The faster he became a One-Clawed Dragon, the faster he could start earning money and other resources, so he wanted to finish this mission as fast as possible.

 21 Entering the bandit camp.

    Li Yang was not a person who liked wasting time, so the moment he left the Royal Dragon Pavilion, he also left the city. Instead of following the road to the west, he kept a good distance from the road as he walked towards the west.


    This allowed him to not only stay undiscovered by any scouts that the bandits might have set out to keep an eye on the road, it also allowed him to send out Jinwu to hunt some food for them.


    Jinwu was only the size of his palm, but his talons and beak were incredibly sharp. Jinwu alone could easily kill any Demonic beast or person that had not reached the early stage of the Mortal Rune realm. And since Jinwu was capable of flight, he could cover much more ground than Li Yang, making it easier for him to find prey.


    With Jinwu providing the meat for them, Li Yang only had to make sure that the meat was cooked and that they had enough water on them. After spending a bit over three days walking to the east, Jinwu warned Li Yang that they were approaching the bandit camp.


    After hearing Jinwu''s warning, Li Yang stopped walking forward and started moving to the side. He kept moving to the side until he managed to reach the edge of the Cloud Wilderness. The bandit camp was located a short distance away from the Cloud Wilderness, so entering the edge of the Cloud Wilderness would let Li Yang climb up a tree and get a better view of the camp.


    Li Yang found a tree that he considered close enough and tall enough and climbed until he reached a point where he could see the entire bandit camp. It was slightly hard to climb the tree with his small body, but he managed it after spending some time.


    The bandit camp that revealed itself to him consisted of six small one-room shacks, as well as one larger three-room shack located at the very center. The shacks were built with logs from the surrounding trees, but they were built very shoddily. A wooden fence surrounded the entire camp, preventing entrance from any other place than the gate.


    Seeing the way the camp looked, Li Yang was now certain that the only reason the bandit camp still existed was that the Royal Dragon Pavilion was saving them to test the strength of newcomers. Even the guards of the city would have no problem taking down this bandit camp, so it was clear that someone had stopped the guards from doing so.


    "So that''s the bandit camp. That shack at the center should be where the boss is living. That should be his beast companion, a Metal Eater. Should we just go in from the front?"


    Li Yang looked over the entire bandit camp from his vantage point. Resting next to the entrance of the largest shack was a large metallic lizard. It was about two meters in length, and its scales looked like solid steel, large metallic spikes grew out from it''s back.


    This type of Demonic beast was called a Metal Eater, as its diet consisted mostly of varying types of metal. Its scales did not simply look like solid steel, they were in fact solid steel, just like the spikes growing out from it''s back. The teeth in its maw could easily crush most types of metal that had not been strengthened or carved with an array.


    Li Yang''s question was directed at Jinwu, who was perching on his shoulder and overlooking the camp, looking at the Metal Eater with a hungry gaze. After hearing Li Yang''s words, it let out a few caws and jumped around on his shoulder in protest.


    "I know that it might cause the bandit leader to flee if we attack like that, but what better plans do we have? Ranged attacks will lose too much strength before reaching them to deal any proper damage."


    Li Yang furrowed his eyebrows as he spoke. Simply attacking from the front could easily lead to the bandit leader fleeing when he saw their strength. But their ranged attacks would lose too much power before they managed to reach the bandit camp. Jinwu seemed to have come up with what it thought to be a brilliant idea because its eyes lit up and it jumped around on his shoulder with an excited expression.


    "What?! You''re fucking with me, right? You can''t expect me to actually do that."


    Li Yang couldn''t help but curse out when he heard Jinwu''s suggestion. Jinwu ignored his cursing, hopping down from his shoulder and flying around his head as it let out a few excited caws.


    "You''re serious? I do agree that it is a better plan, but you really expect me to do something like that?"


    The corners of Li Yang''s mouth couldn''t help but twitch when he heard Jinwu talk about his plan. But no matter how much he disliked it, he had to agree that the plan was better than his, he just wished that it wasn''t so humiliating.


    "If this does not work, or Fang Ying ever learns about it, I am having Golden Crow soup for dinner."


    Li Yang sighed and shook his head, making up his mind. He gave Jinwu a quick glare before making his way down from the tree, a snickering Jinwu following after him.


    "Help! Help me! Please help me!"


    Not long after he climbed down from the tree, Li Yang ran at full speed into the bandit camp, shouting for help. His wolf skin was torn and shredded, his hair unruly and dirty. His body was covered in small wounds and dirt, making him look like an unfortunate child.


    "Halt! Who are you, what are you doing here?!"


    After Li Yang fled into the bandit camp, 7 people ran out from the shacks and stopped in front of Li Yang. One of the men was tall and burly, his chest completely bare. He had short brown hair and was blind in one eye.


    This man was the only person here at the early stage of the Mortal Rune realm and the Metal Eater followed this man, so he was clearly the bandit leader that Li Yang was looking for.


    "Oh thank the heavens, I found people! Please help me, I was attacked by a beast while wandering in the woods, it killed everyone! You need to help me, I''m begging you, I will give you everything I own!"


    Li Yang fell down to his knees upon seeing these men, tears streaming down from his face as he crawled forward, begging them on his knees. This was the plan Jinwu had come up with, taking advantage of Li Yang''s small body to get into the camp and have them pity him.


    This was the first time Li Yang had ever begged anyone, even when he included his past life, he had never begged anyone. This was just a play, a fake begging, but it was still begging.


    The Thunder Monarch kneeled and begged someone who was only at the early stage of the Mortal Rune realm if the people who knew him in his past life ever got to hear this, he did not know how much they would start laughing.


    "Calm down, little child. No beast will invade here and attack you, so just calm down. Bring him to a house and give him some food to let him calm down."


    One of the bandits walked forward and picked up Li Yang, handing him over to another one of the bandits as he talked. Li Yang was currently just twelve years old, and his body was small and thin, so when he roughed himself up a bit, he easily attracted sympathy from others.


    "Its gonna be okay kiddo, people die all the time, you need to learn to overcome it and become stronger. Everything will be fine eventually."


    The bandit took Li Yang and started leading him towards a building, all the while trying to comfort him. With them comforting him like this, Li Yang felt slightly bad about what he was going to do next. But he also knew that they were bandits, they had kidnapped several women and killed several travelers.


    They were not good people, so he would not spare them if it came to battle. Had it not been for the fact that he was a child, they would probably have chosen to kill and rob him once he entered their camp.


    Li Yang placed his hand on the leg of the bandit who was holding him, activating the power of his runes as he did so. Azure lightning shot out from Li Yang''s hand, shooting directly into and through the leg of the bandit. The moment the lightning entered his leg, it spread throughout the rest of his body, frying all of his internal organs.


    "What?! Who are you?!"


    The moment Li Yang activated the power of his runes, the skill he used to hide his cultivation stopped working, allowing the bandit leader to sense the energy lurking within Li Yang''s body. His expression quickly turned grim as he turned to look at Li Yang.


    "I need the head of those two, if you choose to attack me, I will not mind killing all of you."


    Li Yang did not respond to the bandit leader, looking at the remaining bandits as he spoke. They were bad people, they did not deserve his mercy. But that did not mean that he would simply engage in a slaughter. If they chose to leave now, he would not pursue them. But he needed the head of the bandit leader and his beast companion, so they could not leave.


    "Step back men. Leave this place and don''t look back."


    The bandit leader''s expression was solemn and grim as he stepped forward, standing between Li Yang and the other bandits. The Metal Eater also walked forward alongside him. Since he had started the attack, Jinwu flew down from the air and landed on Li Yang''s shoulder, preparing to join in at any time.


    The bandit leader could tell that Li Yang was powerful, probably terrifyingly so. If any of his men stayed back, they would just die a pointless death. The fact that Li Yang was willing to let them leave was already something he was thankful for.


    "No! We will stand with you, boss, no matter what."


    Despite the words of the bandit leader, the other bandits pulled out their weapons and stepped forwards. Their legs and arms were shaking in fear, but they refused to abandon him.


    "Admirable. While you are bad people, it seems like there are some honorable parts to you. I will make sure to spread your ashes with the wind."


    Li Yang couldn''t help but exclaim slightly. Despite knowing that they would die if they stayed here, they still chose to stay behind. Only extremely loyal or extremely foolish people would do that.


    "Me and Little Steel will take the front, everyone else just focus on supporting us."


    The bandit leader was both gratified and saddened when he saw how his men had chosen to step forward. He took a step forward, the Metal Eater following right next to him. All he could do now was stand at the front of the battle, doing his best to slay the enemy ahead of him.


    "Really, I have no idea how a monster like you can exist."


    The bandit leader looked at Li Yang as he spoke, his voice dark. Li Yang was clearly just a child, but he had already managed to engrave a rune, reaching the same level as him. He had spent over thirty years just to carve that single rune he had, yet he was now faced with a child who had reached at least the same level as him. If such a person could not be called a monster, no one could.


    "Thank you for the compliment."


    In response to the bandit leader''s words, Li Yang''s face lit up with a smile as he unsheathed his weapon. He and Fang Ying would probably have to face the entire world in this life, just as they had in their last life. Only a monster would be able to face the entire world and manage to survive. A monster was exactly what Li Yang needed to become to protect that which he held dear.

 22 First battle.

    "Little Jinwu, you can take out the people in the back, I will deal with these two."


    Li Yang scratched the underside of Jinwu''s beak as he spoke, pointing at the bandit leader and his beast companion. Jinwu let out a loud caw before flapping its wings and leaving Li Yang''s shoulder, flying towards the five remaining bandits.


    None of these people had managed to engrave even a single rune, most of them had not even managed to open their dantian yet. Jinwu was more than capable of dealing with such people. This was proven when Jinwu flew towards them like a black blur, his sharp claws tearing open their flesh.


    Of course, since he was so small, he would need to wound them several times and wait for them to bleed out. Li Yang casually looked at what was happening to the remaining bandits, but the bandit leader did not have this luxury. His eyes were fully focused on Li Yang, afraid of missing even a single one of his actions.


    "Alright. That is how we will do it."


    When Li Yang suddenly nodded his head and his eyes turned towards him, the heart of the bandit leader nearly leaped out from his chest. The bandit leader immediately unsheathed his weapon, a saber whose blade was over one meter in length.


    Li Yang also unsheathed his weapon, the sword he had chosen in the Liang clan. While looking at how Jinwu was dealing with the various bandits, he himself had been working on how to most efficiently deal with the bandit leader and his beast companion.


    The simple fact was that Li Yang''s sword would not be able to pierce through the armor of the Metal Eater. His sword was made from normal metal and did not have any arrays engraved into it, so even if it managed to withstand his Qi, it would simply shatter upon reaching the Metal Eater.


    Having made up his mind, Li Yang was just about to spring into action when the bandit leader chose to make the first move. Waiting around would not let him gain any advantage, so he felt that it would be better to take the initiative and hope that he would succeed.


    When the bandit leader charged at him, his saber raised high, the Metal Eater also charged at Li Yang, it''s maw wide open. Even the inside of its maw was metallic in color, it''s teeth thick and sturdy, easily capable of crushing all of Li Yang''s bones.


    The bandit leader put his everything into his attack, even activating all of the energy within his rune to aid him. With the power of his rune aiding him, the wind around him grew fierce as his speed was boosted. He struck down at Li Yang with all his might, his control over wind making his arms move faster than ever before.


    The Metal Eater attacked from the side, the spikes on its back falling off and shooting towards Li Yang, trying to force him to take the attack of the bandit leader head-on. It was certain that Li Yang would turn to paste if he was forced to take on the attack of the bandit leader.


    It was a good plan, and it might even have worked if it had been anyone else. But it was a shame that their opponent was Li Yang. The moment the bandit leader attacked, Li Yang narrowed his eyes, completely focusing on the bandit leader, not a shred of carefreeness left in him.


    A single mistake could lead to death, that was the simple truth of battle. Li Yang refused to die because he made a mistake when he underestimated his enemy. When he fully focused on the enemy, he once more regained the tyrannical and elegant aura that belonged to the Thunder Monarch.


    The bandit leader felt that this attack was the strongest attack he had ever delivered, but to Li Yang, it was clumsy and full of openings. It was clear that the bandit leader did not even have full control over his attack, as he would not be able to change the direction of his attack halfway through.


    He also didn''t properly work with the Metal Eater, as the spikes that were flying at Li Yang were only trying to force him to stand in the small area in front of the bandit leader, rather than actively trying to harm him and force him to face the attack.


    With their attack being this sloppy, how could Li Yang not take advantage of it? A slight twist of his body, that was all it took. He took half a step backward and slightly twisted his body to the left side. With that single twist, the attack of the bandit leader swept down in front of his face, the spikes of the Metal Eater flying past his sides.


    Since the bandit leader could not fully control his attack, he could not even change the direction of his swing, resulting in his saber hitting the ground with a loud sound, throwing up a cloud of dust.


    With the bandit leader''s saber hitting the ground, Li Yang got the single opening that he needed. With his sword in hand, Li Yang raised his right arm and sent out a single stab. Fire and lightning spun around the sword as Li Yang stabbed out, forcing away the wind that the bandit leader wanted to use to defend himself.


    The sword pierced cleanly through the throat of the bandit leader, it''s tip piercing out through the other side. The bandit leader looked at Li Yang''s emotionless eyes like he was looking at a monster. He opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but only a gurgling sound came out.


    Li Yang put some force into his right arm and moved the sword, cleanly beheading the bandit leader and robbing his life. Li Yang did not look at the falling head, nor did he look at the collapsing body of the bandit leader, his eyes landing on the Metal Eater.


    The mission required him to deliver both of their heads, so he would of course not forget about this Metal Eater. Seeing the body of the bandit leader collapse to the ground, the Metal Eater was already filled with fear, thoughts of escaping appearing in its mind.


    It had only accepted following the bandit leader after the bandit leader beat it into submission. But now that very same person had been killed by this child in front of it, unable to withstand even a single blow, how could it not feel fear. It immediately chose to act on its instinct, turning around to flee.


    But how could Li Yang possibly let it flee? Even if he were to let it run, it would not manage to get very far before he managed to catch up. Metal Eaters were known for being sturdy and tough, not for their speed.


    The moment the Metal Eater turned around, Li Yang waved his hand. With a wave of his hand, the ground beneath the Metal Eater became coated with a layer of clear ice, causing the Metal Eater to completely lose its footing and slip. That was the moment Li Yang sprung into action.


    "Sorry, but this might hurt."


    He dashed forward the moment it lost footing, placing both his hands on the back of the Metal Eater. His hands landed on the back of the Metal Eater and he activated all the energy his fire rune allowed him to. Intense heat quickly hit the Metal Eater, scorching it''s metallic scales and causing it to let out loud screeches.


    Li Yang did not give it a second to rest and recuperate, continuing to channel as much fire into its scales as he could. It''s scales quickly turned a glowing red in color, showing just how hot they had gotten after being exposed to such intense heat.


    With its scales becoming glowing hot, the Metal Eater was in unbearable pain. But its vitality was truly powerful, as it had yet to die. When the scales turned glowing hot, Li Yang stopped drawing upon the power of his fire rune.


    Just when the Metal Eater thought that Li Yang would stop, intense cold washed over its body. Li Yang had stopped drawing upon the power from his fire rune, instead drawing on the power of his ice rune.


    Li Yang had originally hoped that he would be able to rely on his fire rune to melt the metallic scales of the Metal Eater, but it quickly became apparent that he was not capable of creating high enough heat to melt its scales.


    Since it was like that, he could only change his approach. The power of his ice rune washed over the body of the Metal Eater, rapidly cooling its heated body. Under the rapid cooling, it''s red-hot scales quickly dimmed down and hardened, becoming even tougher than before.


    But the Metal Eater could not rejoice because of this, as the cold was only getting worse and worse as time passed. This continued until the Metal Eater suddenly heard a loud cracking sound coming from its back.


    Its metallic scales had turned extremely brittle under the extreme cold, brittle enough to let Li Yang shatter them with his fist. He punched a hole in the scales of the Metal Eater and raised his right arm, stabbing into the body of the Metal Eater with his sword.


    With his sword entering into its body, fire and lightning were let loose directly into its flesh, rampaging through its body. The Metal Eater could not even scream out as it died, the fire and lightning shredding and cooking its organs until all life vanished from its body.


    After the Metal Eater was dead, Li Yang took out a piece of cloth and cleaned his sword, before sheathing it once more. After he cleaned his sword, Jinwu landed on his shoulder, letting out a few self-satisfied caws.


    "Yes, yes. You did very well. Once we get back to the city, I will get some good meat for you."


    He had managed to kill all hiss enemies before Li Yang managed to kill his, so he was feeling very smug at the moment. It''s self satisfied caws only stopped when Li Yang scratched it beneath its beak and promised it some good food.


    He also could not help but look at the bodies of the bandits. The two kills he had performed could be considered clean, but Jinwu''s kills were much messier. The bandits had their eyes and throats torn open, their bodies caked in their own blood.


    Li Yang did not immediately remove the head of the Metal Eater. He first wanted to take a look and see if there was anything else in this bandit camp that might catch his attention.

 23 Completing the mission.

    Li Yang left Jinwu to keep an eye on the body of the Metal Eater and the bandit leader, while he himself started checking out the seven shacks that made up the entirety of the bandit camp. Since the shacks were built using normal wood, even if the shacks were locked, Li Yang could easily enter them.


    He started by checking out the six smaller shacks that consisted of only a single room. The inside of these shacks were all very similar in appearance, one bed, one dresser, and one table and a few chairs. Some of the shacks had a few small pieces of decorations, a small statue or a painting, clearly, things that the bandits had acquired during one of their raids.


    After thoroughly going through all of the smaller shacks, pocketing any money or valuables that he found, Li Yang turned towards the largest shack, the house of the bandit leader. This was the only shack that had more than one room, so it would obviously hold more items than the other shacks.


    The first room Li Yang entered seemed to be where the bandit leader slept. Several human-sized statues decorated the room, depicting various heroes and beauties. A large double bed was located at the center of the room, it was stuffed with soft feathers, much better than the beds in the other shacks.


    A large shelf was placed against the wall, various clothes and books were lined up on the shelf in a haphazard way. Various paintings that looked like they might be expensive were hung on the walls of the room. There was one door on the left of the room, as well as a door on the right of the room, leading to the two other rooms.


    Li Yang nonchalantly headed towards the door on the left, the door was locked, so Li Yang was forced to freeze and shatter the lock before he could enter. The room that he entered seemed to be where the bandit group stored most of their valuables.


    Even more, statues were placed in this room, though these ones looked much more valuable than the ones that bandit leader had in his room. Gold and various smaller gems decorated these ornate statues, showing off their obviously high value.


    Paintings were stored haphazardly against the wall, various chests and containers littering the room. Li Yang slowly took his time, going through every chest and carefully checking each item inside of them. After checking through every chest, he could not help but sigh his head in disappointment.


    The one item he wanted the most was sadly not stored in any of these chests, an interspatial ring. An interspatial ring was a ring or other decorative item, that contained a larger space within it. Using one of these, Li Yang could easily store a large number of items and always have them on him, but it seemed like luck was not on his side, as there were no such items amongst the other loot.


    Li Yang could not carry any of the statues or paintings, as they were too large, so he grabbed as much money as he could safely store away, before leaving the room. He was not too bothered about not being able to bring away the rest of the loot, after all, he could just earn more money by accepting more missions.


    After checking out the room on the left, the only place left to search was the room on the right. And since the room on the left had been where they stored their loot, the room on the right could only be used for one other thing.


    The room on the right was also locked, so Li Yang once more froze and shattered the lock, opening the door and entering the room. The room was dimly lit, only a single lantern used to light up the entire room, but Li Yang was still able to see the room clearly.


    Gathered within the room were five young women, the youngest barely looking older than 14. They were all huddled together in one corner of the room, looking at Li Yang with fear in their eyes. Their clothes were tattered and torn, and they had clear bruises on several parts of their bodies.


    Li Yang swept the room with his eyes for a short moment before turning around and leaving. He went to the shelf and picked up several pieces of clothing, before walking back to the room. Despite him leaving the door open, the women were still huddled in the corner, afraid to even move.


    "Don''t worry. I killed them all, they will never be able to hurt you again. You can go home, you are safe now."


    Li Yang spoke to the women in a soothing voice, throwing the clothes towards them as he spoke. After throwing the clothes to them, he walked over to the wall and froze it using his ice rune. He then delivered a kick to the wall, shattering it and allowing the sunlight to enter the room once more.


    Upon seeing the corpses of the bandits in the distance, and feeling the breeze and the heat from the sunlight, the women could not help but burst into tears. Their huddling together turned into them hugging each other, loudly crying.


    After they spent a few minutes crying, they hurriedly stripped out of their ragged clothing and put on the ones that Li Yang had thrown them. Li Yang, of course, turned around as they did so, otherwise, Fang Ying might kill him if she ever found out.


    "You can enter the storehouse and take anything you can carry, I have no need for any of it."


    After they had all gotten dressed, Li Yang pointed at the room where the bandit group stored all their loot. Since he had no need for it, they might as well take it. The women hesitated slightly, but upon seeing the warm smile on Li Yang''s face, they all entered the storehouse and grabbed as much wealth as they could carry.


    After that was done, he brought the women and returned to where the body of the bandit leader and the Metal Eater laid. Upon seeing the corpses of the bandits up close, while the women felt slightly nauseous, they were more happy than sickened.


    "Jinwu, how did you manage that?"


    Upon returning to the body of the bandit leader, Li Yang couldn''t help but look dumbfound at Jinwu. Where the body of the Metal Eater once laid, only a few bones remained, with Jinwu cleaning any meat and bones away from the bones. The only things that he hadn''t eaten were the head as well as the Demon Crystal.


    Jinwu turned around and happily hopped around on the bones, cawing loudly. After spotting the five women, he flapped his wings and flew into the bosom of the woman with the largest chest, happily resting on the soft peaks.


    Seeing this, the corner of Li Yang''s mouth couldn''t help but twitch slightly. This little crow was a lecher? But at the same time, he could not help but be slightly shocked.


    Despite its small size, Jinwu had quickly managed to eat the entire Metal Eater, barely leaving anything behind. Li Yang could also sense that Jinwu was slowly growing stronger after eating the Metal Eater, so it was clear that eating other Demonic beasts would greatly aid Jinwu in becoming stronger.


    Seeing Jinwu happily frolicking in the bosom of one of the women, Li Yang could only sigh and shake his head. He took out two large bags and stored away the head of the bandit leader and the head of the Metal Eater.


    "I plan on returning to Cloud''s End City, you should follow me back, it will be safer for you."


    Li Yang picked up the metallic Demon Crystal of the Metal Eater and stuffed it into his mouth as he spoke. It was only the size of a cherry, so it was no problem putting it into his mouth. The five women hurriedly nodded to him, happily following him as he left the bandit camp.


    The trip back to the city took much longer than the trip to the bandit camp. Since he was now escorting the five women, he took breaks much more frequently. Jinwu was also forced to hunt for food more often, but he happily assented, as it allowed him to play around in the bosom of the women after they ate.


    Li Yang also took this chance to digest the Demon Crystal from the Metal Eater. Using a special technique from his past life, he broke down the Demon Crystal and sent the energy within it to every corner of his body, allowing him to slowly strengthen himself.


    As he was working on increasing the size of his dantian, he noticed that it went much quicker than he expected. This only helped ascertain the thought that Li Yang had, that engraving the nine runes was only the first step of cultivation. If it was not just the first step, there was no way it would be this easy to increase the size of his dantian.


    Six days after leaving the bandit camp, the group arrived at the entrance of Cloud''s End City. Li Yang immediately brought the group of women to the guards, explaining their situation. The guards quickly thanked Li Yang for returning the kidnapped people, promising that they would return them to their families.


    "Thank you Big Brother Yang."


    After Li Yang spoke to the guards, a low voice rang out from behind him, a small hand grabbing onto his sleeve. The one who spoke was the youngest girl in the group, a girl who introduced herself as Su Cai Ah. Despite her being older than Li Yang, her body was smaller than his, she was also slightly malnourished and thin.


    "No need to mention it. You make sure that you take care of yourselves. If something were to happen, you can come to the Royal Dragon Pavilion and look for me, I''ll do what I can to help."


    Li Yang bent over slightly, patting the young girl''s head as he spoke with a smile. They had traveled together for six days, so Li Yang had some good impressions towards these women, he would not mind helping them if they needed help with something that he could do.


    The women were quickly taken away by the guards, brought to a place where they could clean themselves and get a good meal. After they were cleaned and fed, they would be reunited with their families, allowing this nightmare of theirs to end.


    Li Yang turned around and headed towards the Royal Dragon Pavilion, it was time for him to complete the mission. The inside of the Royal Dragon Pavilion was the same as last time, with a myriad of people sitting around and enjoying some alcohol, food, and company.


    "The mission is done."


    The same short and stout woman he had seen last time was standing behind the counter, reading through a book. Li Yang did not waste any words, immediately placing the two bags that contained the heads on the counter.


    The stout woman slightly raised an eyebrow upon seeing Li Yang again. She opened the two bags and took out the two heads. Six days had passed, so the heads were starting to slightly rot, but it was still easy to see who the heads belonged to.


    "Indeed, the mission is done. Insert a bit of your blood and Qi into this tablet. It will allow us to know whether you are dead or alive. It will also double as your identification."


    The stout woman put the heads back into the bags and closed them up, placing them behind the counter as she spoke with a nod. She swiped a ring on her finger, a green jade table appearing in her hands. She placed the jade in front of Li Yang and told him what to do.


    Li Yang had seen such a jade table in his previous life, so he did not hesitate to cut a small wound on his finger and dripping some blood onto the tablet. He also input some Qi into the tablet, causing it to light up with a green light.


    "Name?"


    After the green light vanished, the tablet split into two. The stout woman grabbed the two tablets and looked at Li Yang, waiting for his answer. Once he responded, she used her own Qi to engrave the name onto the two tablets. She also engraved a number on both tablets.


    "This one will serve as your identification. We will keep the other one, as it will allow us to know if you were to die."


    The stout woman handed one of the two jade tablets to Li Yang while keeping the other one, placing it into a box located next to her. With Li Yang''s Qi and blood stored inside the tablet, it was now connected to him. Once he died, the Qi and blood inside the jade tablet would vanish, causing the jade tablet to crack and shatter.


    "You are now a One-Clawed Dragon. To increase your rank to a Two-Clawed Dragon, you will need to show proof that you have the strength of someone at the late stage of the Mortal Rune realm, someone with three runes. You will also need to have completed a certain amount of missions before we will give you the mission to become a Two-Clawed Dragon."


    "We do not forbid any of our people from killing each other, just don''t do it inside one of our buildings or inside the city. When you want to take on a mission, you come up to the counter and tell me what type of mission you want, as well as if you want to take on a mission in a distant location. Rewards are only given upon showing proof that the mission is complete."


    The woman explained to Li Yang how the Royal Dragon Pavilion worked, at the same time, she also gave him the reward money from the mission he had just completed. It was an entry mission, but it still had a reward attached to it.


    After being explained at how the Royal Dragon Pavilion worked, Li Yang bade the woman farewell and returned to the inn. He had not quite decided what mission he would take on next, but first, he wanted to spend a bit of time quietly cultivating, allowing himself and Jinwu to fully absorb the energy from the Metal Eater.

 24 Four Monarchs.

    "Alright, let''s go."


    After spending another week fully digesting the energy inside the Metal Eater''s Demon Crystal, Li Yang opened his eyes and stood up. He took a quick shower and ate some food to refill his energy, before beckoning over Jinwu.


    Jinwu hopped onto Li Yang''s shoulder and the two of them left the inn. Li Yang was not heading out to accept a mission, he was instead heading over to the branch of the Universe Merchants.


    All he had to do to increase his cultivation was to increase the size of his dantian, so if he could get his hands on the flesh, blood, or Demon Crystals of strong Demonic beasts, he could quickly increase his cultivation. The Demon Crystal of the Metal Eater had slightly increased the size of his dantian, but that was only slightly, not even large enough to engrave a single new rune.


    Of course, Li Yang did not expect to be able to buy anything just yet. Demonic beast parts cost a large amount of money, especially if it was a strong Demonic beast. With the money he had now, hoping to buy parts from any Strong Demonic beasts was nothing but a foolish dream.


    "Greetings. Would you mind telling me how things work inside the Universe Merchants branch?"


    Li Yang stood outside the six stories tall blue pyramid that was the branch of the Universe Merchants. He spotted a guard standing at the entrance, so he walked over with a faint smile and asked politely. He did not know how the Universe Merchants worked, so it was best to ask before entering.


    "Newcomer eh? It''s very simple. Anyone can enter the first floor to buy or sell their wares, but you will have to show some wealth or at least a sell-able item that is worth a bit before you can enter the higher floors. On the first two floors, the currency is money, but on any floor above those two, you will need Spirit Stones."


    The guard looked Li Yang up and down, but he did not seem to pay attention to his short stature, quickly explaining how things worked inside. Spirit Stones were crystals that had absorbed a certain amount of Qi, the purer the Qi they contained, the rarer they were and the more they were worth. Most cultivators used them for cultivation, running arrays, as well as currency.


    "The higher the floor, the more expensive and rare the sold items become. While everyone can buy or sell items inside, only people that have become members of the guild can do so without a fee on every item. As for members of the guild, as long as they pay the annual fee, they don''t have to pay any fees."


    The Universe Merchants were a guild, after all, so they would, of course, give their members more favorable circumstances than nonmembers. Of course, the guild itself would also often buy items from people who were not members.


    "Of course, if anyone were to steal or sell bad items inside the branch of the Universe Merchants, then that person would be hunted down by both the Universe Merchants as well as the Royal Dragon Pavilion."


    If the Universe Merchants did not offer any type of protection, there was no way there would be people who were willing to sell their items inside the Universe Merchants Branch.


    "Thank you very much."


    Li Yang thanked the guard and headed into the pyramid. Entering was like moving into a new world, all the noise from the city just suddenly vanishing. There was an array that made sure that the temperature on the inside was constantly cool, a refreshing fragrance drifting through the air.


    The floor was made using a type of softwood that had been polished until it shone. A myriad of stands and blankets were located around the inside, with people peddling the wares they had placed on the stands or blankets.


    To the left of the entrance that Li Yang had just used was a set of stairs, two guards preventing people from heading up without first showing sufficient wealth. Despite there being a large number of people walking around, it was not as noisy as Li Yang expected it to be.


    Li Yang swept the various shops with his eyes, quickly spotting a shop that he was interested in. The shop featured a large variety of robes in all kinds of sizes and shapes. Li Yang only had the single wolf skin robe that he made the first time he entered the Cloud Wilderness, so it was about time to get some new clothes.


    "Do you make specialized clothing?"


    Li Yang walked up to the stand and looked at the various robes as he asked the seller, a slightly older man who had a long white beard that was braided with a few colorful beads. Behind the old man was a wall as well as a door, so it seemed like the Universe Merchants had given him a room where he could work.


    "Aye. As long as it''s not too extravagant, if you give me half an hour, I can make most types of clothing."


    The man looked Li Yang up and down, trying to see if he was an actual customer or just a child who was curious. He eventually nodded his head and responded. He raised his hand and circulated a bit of his Qi, a thread of fabric appearing in his palm. It was clear that he was proficient in using the laws of either threads or cloth.


    "Excellent. I would like to commission you to make some robes for me. It''s fine if they look like the ones I am wearing now, but I would like for them to be violet in color. If possible, I would like a small and soft pillow to be sown into the left shoulder."


    Li Yang nodded his head with a smile and started explaining what he wanted. He was fine with the robes being in the form of wolf skin robes, as he had grown slightly attached to the wolf skin robes he wore.


    After all, they were the first type of clothing he made for himself in his new life. But he also wanted them to be violet in color, as that was the color he wore in his past life, the color of the robes he wore when he first met Fang Ying.


    "Very well. I will make them out of flexible material, so they can grow a little to accommodate for your growing period. Each robe will take me about half an hour and cost five gold each."


    The man nodded his head and measured Li Yang''s size with his eyes. His job was just to make the clothing, so he did not bother about why Li Yang wanted it like he did. After calculating for a bit, he put out a price.


    "Then just give me three of them."


    Li Yang reached down to his pouch and pulled out 15 gold coins and handed them to the old man, who happily took the coins before turning around and heading into the room located behind him.


    The money system of this world was also very similar to the one in Li Yang''s previous life. It started with copper, which was worth the least. 100 copper became 1 silver, while 100 silver became 1 gold, 100 gold became 1 platinum. So for the robes to cost five gold each, it seemed like their quality would be excellent.


    Li Yang did not move away from the shop, simply sitting down and quietly cultivating while he waited. This was a cultivating world, seeing people sit down in all kinds of places to meditate was completely normal, so no one disturbed Li Yang while he waited.


    "Here you go, do come back with more business if you need it."


    After waiting for almost two hours, the old man walked out of the room, three robes in his hand. The robes were a deep violet in color and seemed to be made out of wolf skin. Li Yang grabbed the robes, swiftly taking off his normal robe and switching into the new ones.


    Few male cultivators were shy, so they often did not mind dressing and undressing in front of others. Most female cultivators preferred privacy however, they also did not let their men undress in front of others, much like how men would not let their women undress in front of others.


    Li Yang donned the new robe, and he was more than pleased with it. Despite the wolf skin being deep violet in color, it looked completely natural. The robe fit Li Yang perfectly, wrapping around his body.


    On his right shoulder hung the upper part of a wolf''s head, like a pauldron. The fabric around his left shoulder was much softer than the rest of the robe, but it was sown in a way that did not make it visible that there was a pillow there. Clad in the violet wolf skin robe, Li Yang regained some of the tyrannical elegance that he had in his past life when he still stood at the top.


    "It''s wonderful. Thank you."


    Li Yang smiled at the old man who had sown the robes and gave him a slight bow, before walking away from the shop and looking around the various other shops in the area. The moment he donned the robe, Jinwu immediately hopped onto his left shoulder and started happily snuggling against the pillow.


    "There. Now you can''t jump into peoples bosoms and embarrass me."


    Li Yang gently pat the head of Jinwu as he spoke. After seeing Jinwu jump into the bosom of the women that he saved in the bandit camp, Li Yang thought that maybe he was a lecher. He even talked with Jinwu about it after the two of them returned to the inn.


    But Jinwu had vehemently denied these allegations, stating that it simply hopped into their bosoms because it was softer than Li Yang''s shoulder. Jinwu happily assented, after all, now that it had such a soft pillow to rest on, what need was there to hop into other people''s bosom?


    Li Yang continued to walk around, checking out the various shops. He could not help but be slightly disappointed when he found that Demonic beast parts could only be bought on the third floor or higher. To get to the third floor, he needed to show that he had sufficient Spirit Stones to shop there.


    But Li Yang currently did not have any Spirit Stones. After all, most people who were at the Mortal Rune Realm would use the few Spirit Stones that they got their hands on to cultivate. So even when he went through the storehouse of the bandit group, he had not found a single Spirit Stone.


    After wandering around aimlessly for a little while, Li Yang reached the center of the first floor. The center did not hold a single shop, it only held a single obelisk with the same sentence carved onto each side. Even though it was the same sentence, each side was written in a different style, showing that four different people wrote the four sentences.


    For your revenge and our redemption, we will scour the universe.


    "What is this?"


    Standing next to the obelisk was a single sleepy looking guard. After reading the words, Li Yang couldn''t help but turn towards the guard and ask. Since this obelisk could take up the entire center of the room, it was obviously very special.


    "They are words left behind by the Four Monarchs, the founders of the Royal Dragon Pavilion and the Universe Merchants. As to who the words are talking about, no one knows any longer."


    The guard glanced at Li Yang as he responded. The Four Monarchs were the founders of Royal Dragon Pavilion and the Universe Merchants, their legends had spread far and wide on the continent.


    "If you want to know more about the Four Monarchs, I suggest that you head to Mourners Refuge. One of the Four Monarchs, Soul King Zhao Feng, has carved a statue of the Four Monarchs there."


    Seeing Li Yang look like he still had more questions, the guard quickly recommended him to head to the place that had the most information about the Four Monarchs.


    "Soul King Zhao Feng?!"


    Li Yang couldn''t help but exclaim loudly upon hearing the words of the guard. The guard was slightly caught off guard and jumped slightly, but he quickly regained his cool.


    "You have heard of him? Indeed, he is one of the Four Monarchs. The other three are Everlasting Queen Dai Shu, Spear Empress Bai Yawen, and Sword Emperor Ye Ning."


    The guard simply thought that Li Yang had heard about the name of the Soul King before, but did not know that he was one of the Four Monarchs. After all, each of the monarchs had their own legends floating around.


    "Where is this Mourners Refuge?"


    Li Yang''s eyes unintentionally narrowed his eyes as he asked the guard, slightly scaring the guard. He could not help but react like this. Had it been just the title of Soul King, or just the name Zhao Feng, he would not react.


    But when both of those came together, there was only one person he could think of. And when the guard went on to name the last three of the Four Monarchs, the waves in Li Yang''s heart only grew more ferocious.


    These were names and titles that were far too familiar to him. He did not have a lot of friends in his past life, nor did he have a family, but besides Fang Ying, he had four other people that he could call true friends.


    And now, after getting a second chance at life, he heard the names and titles of those four friends once more. How could he not be moved? But this also raised questions in his mind. Was this place not a new world? Had he simply been reborn many years into the future? Did that mean that people he considered enemies might still be alive?


    "About half a month away from this city. It is a popular tourist spot, so there are many caravans that head there, you can check with one of them."


    Right after the guard responded, Li Yang thanked the guard and turned to leave the building. He had to go to Mourners Refuge and see the statue, he had to know if the Four Monarchs were who he thought them to be.

 25 Toward Mourners refuge.

    "I forgot to ask from where the tourist caravans leave."


    Not long after leaving the Universe Merchants, Li Yang suddenly realized that he had completely forgotten to ask from where the caravans that travel to Mourners refuge leave from.


    "Guess I''ll just have to ask a passerby."


    Li Yang shook his head and quickly asked some of the people that were passing by him. After getting his answer, he didn''t directly head towards the northern gate, where the caravans would leave from. He first found a store that sold dried rations and water.


    It was going to be a trip that lasted about half a month, so it was best to stock up on some preservable food in case anything happened. After buying some food and water, Li Yang couldn''t help but let out a small sigh. He was almost broke again, so it seemed like it was about time to accept a new mission.


    "Are you Mo Jiang? I heard that your caravan is heading towards Mourners refuge, so I would like to tag along."


    After reaching the northern gate, Li Yang found a person who matched the descriptions he had been given. According to the people he had asked, Mo Jiang was leading a caravan filled with food and water to Mourners refuge, so he would be leaving the city in the evening.


    "Indeed, I am Mo Jiang. There is no problem if you want to tag along, but you will have to pay 1 silver for the food and protection. The bird is coming along as well?"


    Mo Jiang was a fit middle-aged man, a large scar going from the left side of his face to his right like it was splitting his face in two. His head was clean shaven and polished, a rugged beard adorning his face.


    He looked Li Yang up and down for a short moment before nodding his head. Each caravan that left the city would have its own set of guards, lest they are attacked by bandits and wiped out.


    Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head as an answer, before handing over 1 silver to Mo Jiang. After receiving the money, Mo Jiang led Li Yang over to his caravan. The caravan consisted of only three wagons, each one covered by a tarp to prevent people from seeing the inside.


    The front and back wagon each contained three guards, while the wagon in the middle was the one that actually contained the people who wanted to go to Mourners refuge. Li Yang counted six people in the wagon, so including him, there would be seven people joining the caravan.


    The people heading to Mourners refuge were mostly old people who came to offer a small prayer to the Four Monarchs, so Li Yang was the youngest person in the caravan. Li Yang politely greeted the people inside the wagon and found a place to sit.


    Mo Jiang waited for the sun to reach the horizon before deciding that no one else was coming and that it was fine to set out. He sat down in the front seat of the front-most wagon and grabbed the reins of the horses. With a slight whip of his hand, the horses started moving and the caravan set off.


    The caravan would stop twice each day, once to eat dinner, and once to allow the horses some additional rest. During these breaks, Li Yang slightly interacted with the people of the caravan, but he found the people traveling alongside him to be far too stiff and uptight. They seemed to believe that the younger generation should revere and obey the older generation.


    "So tell me, Little Yang, why did you choose to leave your tribe instead of simply marrying?"


    The caravan was currently taking a break in a hilly area and eating dinner, two campfires lighting up the night. One campfire was for the guards, while the other was for the passengers. Li Yang was seated at the campfire for the guards, gnawing on some meat while occasionally handing Jinwu some pieces.


    Li Yang found that it was much easier to get along with the guards than it was to get along with the other passengers. The guards were much more carefree and relaxed, not even caring about his slightly small stature and obvious young age.


    "I wanted to travel more before deciding to settle down. Who knows, I might even find a wife who is much better than the women in the tribe."


    Li Yang had a slight smile as he answered the guard. Li Yang was only 12 years old, but that was already old enough to be of marriageable age. These last few days of traveling, he had been chatting with the guards, each one sharing stories about their own lives. Of course, Li Yang had not told them anything important about himself, only talking about his life in the Liang tribe before he left them.


    "True, someone like you could easily find someone better than what a small tribe is capable of raising. How about I introduce you to my daughter when we get back? She is a few years older than you, but let me tell you, she is a real gem."


    The guards were quite fond of Li Yang, there was something about the atmosphere he released that made it easy for people to get close to him. They had also seen that he was a very relaxed person, not even showing the slightest hint of nervousness when he was with them.


    "We will have to wait and see in the future, right now I wish to continue traveling."


    Li Yang gave a noncommittal answer as he shrugged his shoulders. How could he possibly bother looking at other women when he had Fang Ying waiting for him? Even if the guard''s daughter ended up being a goddess, he would still not bother looking at her twice.


    The guards continued merrily chatting with Li Yang and scarfing down meat and ale. As guards, the risk of death was constantly following them around on their missions. Because of this, they were much more carefree and easy going than others. After all, with the risk of death hanging above them, how could they not simply focus on enjoying life for as long as they could?


    "Someone is coming."


    Li Yang suddenly raised his head and looked at the hills around them. His words instantly caused the guards to turn silent and unsheathe their weapons, the merry and easygoing atmosphere from earlier completely gone.


    Not long after the guards stood up, a group of people clad in dark leather clothing appeared at the top of a hill that was located behind the guards. There were around eight people, each one carrying a dagger and a short sword. The weapons were made out of normal metal and had no arrays carved into them, so they were completely normal.


    "Fuck, it''s them."


    Seeing these eight people, the guards could not help but curse out. The other passengers had also noticed the people, so they hurriedly moved to a spot behind the guards and huddled together.


    "Kong Tao, there is no need to resort to violence. How much will it take for us to be able to pass?"


    Mo Jiang stepped forward and called out to the eight men, bringing out a large leather pouch as he spoke. Li Yang took the opportunity to nonchalantly inspect the group of eight people.


    The strongest was the person who seemed to be called Kong Tao, but he only had around the same strength as the bandit leader and the Metal Eater that Li Yang had killed previously, so he was no threat. Of course, he was a massive threat to the caravan, as none of the guards had even reached the Mortal Rune realm.


    "Mo Jiang. It saddens me to do this, but the boss has ordered us to gather a large amount of money so that we can hire people from the Royal Dragon Pavilion to explore the Cursed Realm"


    The person who seemed to be called Kong Tao called out in a loud voice that was slightly tinged by sadness. His words instantly caused everyone in the caravan to turn tense and cautious.


    "You mean?"


    Mo Jiang''s voice and heart sunk. He had interacted with this particular group of bandits several times. Usually, it would be enough to give them a bit of their wealth and they would be allowed to pass.


    "I am sorry, but all of you must die, it is the only way we can make sure that we get all the wealth you have."


    Kong Tao spoke out with a sigh and shook his head, raising his weapons. The guards quickly raised their weapons and took a defensive stance, preparing to face the attack of the bandits.


    "What is this Cursed Realm?"


    Li Yang, who was still sitting calmly next to the fire, slightly cocked his head and asked the guards. He had never heard about this so-called Cursed Realm, so he was slightly curious.


    "It is a space opened by an ancient cultivator. It is located not too far from Mourners refuge, so some people think that it might be connected to the Four Monarchs. No one really knows what it contains, as everyone who has ever entered it has failed to leave, that is how it got the name Cursed Realm."


    Despite the group of bandits slowly approaching them, one of the guards, a youth in his twenties called Zhong Zhenya, still took the time to answer Li Yang. He was certain that he was going to die here, so what was the harm in answering Li Yang?


    After hearing the guards answer, Li Yang slightly fondled his chin. If the Four Monarchs turned out to be who he thought they were, he would have to go an check out this Cursed Realm.


    "Jinwu, you can go deal with them."


    Li Yang slightly pat Jinwu on the head, talking in a carefree manner. But his words did not escape from the guard''s ears. Deal with them? As in kill the bandits? That little crow was supposed to?


    Jinwu let out a happy cry and flapped its wings, leaving Li Yang''s shoulder like a blur. Despite its feathers being black, Jinwu''s flying form left behind a golden line that was clearly visible in the light. The air around that golden line started distorting from the sheer heat that the golden line was releasing.


    This was what Jinwu gained from eating the flesh and blood of the Metal Eater, the increase in his strength. It was only a slight amount, but he could now release a small amount of golden flames, the mark of a Golden Crow.


    Li Yang thought that would be it, but then Jinwu had shocked him and showed that it could also release a type of icy mist that would freeze everything it touched. After seeing this, Li Yang could not help but get more and more curious about what type of Demonic beast Jinwu really was.


    Li Yang also remembered that deep valley where the Golden Crow and the Torch Dragon had fought, as well as the icy wind that the valley released. Some of Jinwu''s secrets seemed to be buried in that valley, so Li Yang would have to find a chance to visit it.


    Under the astonished gazes of the people in the caravan, Jinwu reached the group of bandits. The first person to be attacked by Jinwu was the man called Kong Tao. Before he had the chance to react, Jinwu''s claws sank into his flesh, digging into his shoulder.


    Just as Kong Tao was about to let out a sneer, a terrible heat swept through his body. Smoke started rising out from his orifices, even his eyes slowly melting under the heat. The others would not know, but Li Yang knew that the inside of the man''s body had been completely evaporated by golden flames.


    Jinwu had targeted this man first so that he could find out just how strong he had gotten after eating the Metal Eater. Seeing the insides of the man evaporate, Jinwu could not help but let out a self-satisfied smile, sending a grin towards Li Yang.


    With Kong Tao dying so easily, how could the other bandits possibly stand a chance? Jinwu quickly flapped his wings and flew towards the rest of the bandits, not even giving them a chance to flee. After making quick work of the bandits, Jinwu pecked around their bodies slightly, looking for anything valuable.


    With a disappointed screech, he flew back to Li Yang''s shoulder and nuzzled up against the pillow Li Yang had gotten sown into his robe. It had failed to find anything valuable on the bandits, so it sulked slightly.


    "Good work Little Jinwu. There is no need to sulk, of course bandits who were working for someone else would not carry any valuables."


    Li Yang had a wry smile as he comforted Jinwu, completely ignoring the shocked and slightly terrified gazes of the people around them. He could not blame them for looking at him like that, he was after all just 12 years old. For the seemingly normal crow on his shoulder to suddenly show such strength, how could they not be shocked?


    "Everyone back into their wagons, we are continuing the journey."


    Mo Jiang showed his capacity as a professional, quickly speaking out when he noticed that Li Yang was not intending on saying anything. The others had some questions that they wanted to ask, but no one dared get close and ask Li Yang, so they simply returned to their wagons and the caravan quickly continued its journey.

 26 Mourners Refuge.

    After dealing with the bandits, the people in the caravan no longer treated Li Yang like they used to. They were now either trying to flatter him or feared him. Even the guards were acting much warier around him.


    Because of this, Li Yang could no longer stand sitting with them, as he found their actions annoying. So the last few days of the journey were spent sitting with Mo Jiang, who was professional enough to treat Li Yang as he always had.


    Mourners Refuge was located at the top of a large hill that allowed one to get a clear view of the surroundings. At the top of the hill stood a large building that served as a temple to protect the statue that was the foundation of Mourners Refuge.


    The building was made by using a type of golden stone that looked very expensive. Jewels of varying sizes and color were inlaid in the building, reflecting the sunlight in a myriad of colors.


    Upon seeing some of the colored windows, Li Yang could not help but exclaim slightly. The windows were not created using glass, but rather by using large Demon Crystals that had been processed and stretched out.


    The people of this world had used Demon Crystals as large as these to make windows? Was this not just a massive waste of a natural treasure? How much energy was stored inside those Demon Crystals?


    At the same time, the corners of his mouth also twitched slightly. Demon Crystals were simply crystallized Qi. If a strong enough attack hit them, they would shatter and rapidly release that Qi, resulting in an explosion. How large would the explosion be if these Demon Crystals shattered?


    "The Cursed Realm is located only five days march away from Mourners Refuge, further up north. It seems to have been created around the same time as Mourners Refuge, which is why people think that it might be related to the Four Monarchs. If you plan on checking it out, I highly advice against entering it, no one has ever managed to leave it."


    At the bottom of the hill, the caravan stopped and unloaded its passengers. There was no need for the caravan to bring all the people up the hill, so it usually just stopped at the bottom and then returned to the city. After unloading all the passengers, Mo Jiang explained a bit about the Cursed Realm to Li Yang, as he had asked for a description of its location.


    "I see, thank you for the warning, I will make sure to be careful."


    Li Yang gave Mo Jiang a smile and thanked him for the warning, before bidding him farewell and heading up the hill. Since spring had just recently arrived, the grass on the hill was lush and green, a myriad of colorful flowers spread around and released a calming fragrance.


    Despite how beautiful it was, the entire area was covered by a solemn feeling. Even Li Yang and Jinwu were affected by this solemn feeling, resulting in them making the walk up to the doors of the large temple in silence.


    The doors were just as extravagant as the rest of the temple. They were built using a type of light green jade that was warm to the touch. Touching the handle of the doors filled Li Yang with a calm sensation like everything would end up okay.


    He pushed open the doors and entered the temple, which turned out to be surprisingly simple on the inside. There was only a single room inside the temple, a large statue standing at the center of the room. Besides the statue, there were no other decorations or furniture, not even chairs or tables. A few people were sitting around the statue, silently cultivating or offering a silent prayer.


    The statue depicted four people, two men, and two women, each one looking incredibly lifelike. One of the men had a tanned and burly body, with features that looked like they had been chiseled. He had flowing silver hair and golden eyes that carried a strong sense of pride. His face held a wide smile that seemed like he was challenging someone.


    The woman at his side was delicate and beautiful, with long and silky black hair, clear blue eyes, and smooth white skin. She held a faint smile on her lips and her eyes were locked on the burly man next to her, a gentle light shining from them.


    Next to this woman stood another woman. This woman had short hair that was a deep crimson in color, and where the woman next to her was delicate and beautiful, this woman was powerful and imposing. Her body was slim, but it was clearly packed with muscles that could release terrifying power. She had deep black eyes and carried a fearless smile as she looked at the man who was standing next to her, the last person in the statue.


    The man standing next to the powerful woman looked incredibly carefree, his posture relaxed and nonchalant. He had long golden hair and a slim and elegant body. Brown eyes that seemed to look at the world with curiosity were looking at the powerful woman next to him with a loving expression.


    Li Yang completely ignored the people around the statue, his eyes firmly glued to the large statue at the center of the room. He slowly walked forward and crouched down at the front of the statue, reading the words that were engraved beneath it.


    Our failure to aid you can never be forgiven. No matter how long we must fight, we will acquire your revenge.


    "You bloody fools, If I am already dead, what is the point in throwing away your lives in revenge."


    Li Yang gently caressed the carved words as he whispered silently. He was now completely certain that the Four Monarchs were the people he thought they were, people he had considered family in his last life. This also meant that he had not been sent to a different world, but rather sent forward in time.


    Li Yang sat down in front of the statue, looking at the four people with a wistful expression. He reached for his bag and took out a small waterskin that was filled with some spicy fruit wine, something he had decided to buy to indulge himself.


    "In the past, I died while you lived. Now I live, but you are nowhere to be found. I don''t have any of Old Man Chao''s wine that we used to drink, so this will have to do for a farewell drink. I don''t know if any of you are still alive after all these years, but if you are, I hope we can meet again."


    Li Yang took a small sip of the wine, before pouring out the rest of the wine on the ground in front of the statue. His words were quiet and soft, so none of the other people sitting around the statue managed to hear him.


    "You want to hear about them?"


    Jinwu could sense Li Yang''s melancholy, so he nuzzled up against Li Yang''s neck and let out a few silent caws. Hearing Jinwu''s words, a faint smile appeared on Li Yang''s face. He organized his thoughts and started talking about things that had happened long ago.


    "Zhao Feng was the first one I met, I met him before I even met Fang Ying. He was a slave for a large clan, his job was to clean the various training grounds of that clan. As I was traveling around and challenging various people, I arrived at the clan where he was enslaved, the Fang clan."


    Li Yang had not had a clan of his own, he had increased his cultivation through repeated battles. He would wander around and challenge everyone he felt was strong, even challenging the prodigies of clans.


    "I spotted him while I was in the middle of a duel, and immediately noticed that it would be more fun to fight him than it would be to fight the person I was currently fighting. I quickly finished the battle and then challenged Zhao Feng. After a short battle, I completely thrashed him. He had excellent instincts, but he had never been taught how to utilize them."


    Countless battles had honed his reflexes and his judgment. The moment he spotted Zhao Feng, he knew just how terrifying the potential that Zhao Feng had was.


    "After that, I started to teach him a bit about cultivation and fighting. The speed at which he learned was truly frightening. After I taught him a bit, he decided to show me the woman who he had a crush on, the most popular girl in the clan. And so he introduced me to Fang Ying. I''m sure he never expected me to be the one to end up with her."


    He couldn''t help but chuckle. Zhao Feng had introduced him to the woman he had a crush on, which ended with Li Yang marrying her and eventually dying alongside her.


    "After a large commotion broke out because Fang Ying''s poison powers were discovered, I grabbed Fang Ying and Zhao Feng and carved a bloody path out of the clan. I slew anyone who tried to stop us. And so we began to travel together."


    "The next person we met was the one who would become Zhao Feng''s future wife, Dai Shu. Dai Shu was the same as me, just a wandering cultivator with no home. Well, calling her a robber would probably be better."


    "She tried to rob us in the middle of the night, but we managed to repel her before she even got to touch our bags. After this, she started stalking us, convinced that we carried a large number of riches. The number of times she tried to rob us easily surpassed tens of times."


    Dai Shu had truly been relentless back then. They had barely been able to notice her following them, but whenever she truly focused, merely finding her position would become hard. A truly troublesome person.


    "Of course, she wasn''t always trying to rob us. Sometimes we shared a meal and some drinks, telling stories about our past. After trying to rob us for some time, we had grown surprisingly close. She would sometimes appear and help us when we were in a tough spot, while sometimes it was us saving her."


    One time they had even barged into a massive city, rushing towards the center of the city to stop Dai Shu''s execution. It was an incredibly dangerous time, but Li Yang remembered it fondly.


    "After this went on for a while, she gave up on trying to rob us and decided to travel alongside us instead. Turns out she had fallen for Zhao Feng over the consecutive battles. And he too had ended up falling for her."


    "Bai Yawen and Ye Ning were already together when we met them. We were exploring an ancient ruin when we stumbled upon the two of them being chased by their clans. They were apparently supposed to marry other people in an attempt to forge an alliance."


    Back then, despite their group already being exhausted and slightly wounded, Fang Ying and Dai Shu insisted on saving Bai Yawen and Ye Ning. How could Li Yang and Zhao Feng dare disobey the orders of their wives, all they could do was release a sigh and jump into battle.


    "But the two of them loved each other, so how could they agree to marry someone else? Ye Ning fled from his clan, grabbed Bai Yawen away from her clan, and then they started running. People like that, how could we just leave them alone? We jumped into the fray and helped them escape from their clans. We continued to explore the ancient ruin as a group, and by the time we managed to leave, we had already become inseparable."


    Bai Yawen and Ye Ning wanted to thank them for saving them, so they offered their aid in exploring the ancient ruin. Li Yang and his group readily accepted, but little did they expect that they would end up trapped inside the ruin for several years.


    "They were excellent people, every last one of them. Zhao Feng specialized in the laws of the soul. As long as your soul was not destroyed, he could save you and give you another body, he could even extract other peoples souls and keep them safe."


    Li Yang had been dubbed the Thunder Monarch when he was alive, and he was a truly fearsome figure. But were his companions not the same? They had all been granted grand titles and each one possessed truly fearsome power. Had they been at his side during that final battle, there is no way he would have died like that.


    "Dai Shu specialized in the laws of time. Last time I saw her before I died, she could slow down and speed up the time of almost whatever she wished. She could age a person millions of years with just a snap of her finger. Another snap could also grant that person a longer lifespan. She could send things into the past and the future as well, but only inorganic thins, so it never really became too useful."


    The time laws were rare and incredibly difficult to master. At the height of her power, Dai Shu could send almost everything but organic material back or forth in time. She had tried to send organic material, like plants or people, but found that she had been completely unable to do so.


    "Bai Yawen specialized in the spear, and she was truly fearsome. Wherever her Qi and perception could reach, so too could her spears. With a single move of her mind, she could turn the world around her into a world of spears, piercing everything."


    The laws of the spear were far more common than the laws of space or the laws of the soul. But when trained to the peak, each law was absolutely terrifying. Nothing could stand between Bai Yawen''s spear and her target, all that stood in her path would be pierced and obliterated.


    "Ye Ning specialized in the sword. Don''t look at his carefree and relaxed attitude. He was just as fearsome as everyone else in the group. He could slice apart nearly everything in existence. A single slash of his sword would separate the earth from the sky, slicing apart the horizon."


    Li Yang felt that he could be considered an excellent swordsman, but when he compared himself to Ye Ning, he only felt despair. Ye Ning''s swordplay could already be considered to have transcended mortals. It was like watching a beautiful piece of art, only that this piece of art would end in your death.


    Li Yang finished his reminiscing, a faint smile on his face. It had been countless years since back then, so it was likely that these friends of his were already dead. But at least they were still in the same world. Whenever he missed them, he could come here and share a drink with their statue.

 27 Cursed Realm.

    "So this is the entrance to the Cursed Realm? Looks rather normal to me."


    A few days after leaving Mourners Refuge, Li Yang stood outside the entrance to the Cursed Realm. The entrance to the Cursed Realm was in the form of a small and cozy log hut. It even had a small chimney that continues released small amounts of fragrant smoke, almost like incense.


    There used to be a large forest around the log hut, but it had apparently been chopped down after people discovered that there was a hidden realm located inside the log hut.


    "What do you say, Jinwu?"


    Li Yang glanced at Jinwu, who was resting on his left shoulder. Since he found out that the Four Monarchs were indeed his old friend, he knew that he had to investigate anything that might be connected to them.


    But no one that had ever entered the Cursed Realm had ever managed to leave. Li Yang was confident that he would be able to survive thanks to his experience, but he could not decide everything on his own, he had a companion that he brought along after all.


    Jinwu barely even glanced at the log hut, disdain apparent in his eyes, before he answered with a few affirmative caws. What divine beast would be scared of a measly Cursed Realm.


    "If that is what you think, then let''s go."


    Li Yang''s lips curled into a grin as he stepped forward and put his hand on the door. With only a slight push, the door of the log hut opened. The moment the door opened, black smoke unfurled from within the hut, turning into tendrils that pulled Li Yang into a completely black world.


    Li Yang did not panic when the black tendrils coiled around him and pulled him into a world of darkness. This was just the way to enter the hidden realm, it was also one of the reasons it got its name, as the black smoke looked ominous.


    When vision returned to Li Yang''s eyes, he and Jinwu were surrounded by lush trees. Black mist crawled along the ground, while deep black smoke covered the sky above them. Yet despite black smoke covering the sky, light pierced through the smoke, shone down and lit up the world.


    "So this is the inside of the Cursed Realm?"


    Li Yang glanced at his surroundings as he spoke, slowly walking forward. The trees around him were lush and in full bloom. Despite the black mist crawling along the ground, flowers and grass still bloomed in vibrant colors.


    Of course, that did not mean that Li Yang lowered his guard. He had a tight grip on his sword and constantly surveyed his surroundings, Jinwu keeping an eye on the area behind him, both ready to act at a moments notice.


    After only walking for a few short minutes, Li Yang found out why no one had ever returned from the Cursed Realm. He came upon a large clearing in the forest, filled with a large variety of flowers and other plants.


    With the rays of light from above shining down on it, it would make for a rather peaceful sight and beautiful sight. But the clearing only filled Li Yang with a cold feeling in his chest.


    Bleached bones were sticking out from the ground all around the clearing, rotting corpses riddled with holes that had flowers growing out of them, rusted weapons and armors were strewn around. The clearing looked like a massive graveyard that had been hastily thrown together.


    As Li Yang got close to the clearing, the black mist that crawled along the ground suddenly rose up, turning into sharp tendrils that shot towards Li Yang. Looking at the sharp tendrils, it became obvious how the rotting corpses had become riddled with holes.


    Li Yang jumped up and grabbed onto a branch, drawing on the power of his fire rune as he did so. Arrows of fire bloomed into existence around him, shooting at the black mist. Jinwu also contributed, golden flames gushing forth from his beak and falling down upon the black mist.


    The black mist that was hit by their flames scattered, but then quickly gathered together into sharp tendrils again, it even seemed to have multiplied after reforming. Li Yang exerted strength in his arms and pulled himself up onto the branch, but the black mist continued to chase him.


    He kicked the branch and propelled himself forward, grabbing onto a branch of the nearest tree and using the momentum from his jump to continuously jump from branch to branch.


    "How fucking stubborn can you be?"


    Yet no matter how quickly he fled, the black mist continued chasing him. As he moved around, more and more black mist rose up from the ground, turning into sharp tendrils that chased after him, even trying to block off his escape paths.


    "You have to be fucking kidding me!"


    Li Yang had just grabbed onto a new branch when he couldn''t help but curse out loudly. The moment he grabbed onto the branch, a black mist came out from the tree he had just grabbed onto, shooting towards him faster than he could dodge.


    But just as Li Yang was expecting the black mist to pierce through him, it hit his chest and dispersed, turning back into normal black mist. Under Li Yang''s dumbfounded stare, all the black tendrils that had been chasing him, trying to take his life, turned back to black mist and fell to the ground.


    "What?"


    Li Yang could not help but be confused. The black tendrils had touched his chest, and then immediately dispersed into black mist. He had seen the rotting corpses riddled with holes, so it was clear that the black tendrils were capable of killing people. So why hadn''t they killed him?


    Li Yang did not let go of the branch immediately, instead sending fire, ice, and lightning at the black mist that was now peacefully crawling along the ground. Only after seeing that nothing happened did he carefully let go of the branch and drop to the ground.


    When he landed on the ground, the black mist slightly coiled around his feet as if it was trying to embrace him. Li Yang raised his foot and took a step forward, and the black mist immediately created an open path for him to walk on.


    Li Yang was slightly wary, matching eyes with Jinwu, who nodded at him. Li Yang continued following the path that the black mist had created for him, walking around the clearing as well as several other areas that were filled with bones and rotting corpses.


    After following the path for a few hours, Li Yang reached the edge of the forest. The black mist also stopped at the edge of the forest, seemingly unable, or unwilling, to move past the boundary of the forest.


    After stepping out of the forest, Li Yang managed to get a better look at his surroundings, and he could not help but be surprised. The forest was located at the top of a steep hill, allowing Li Yang to see far into the distance.


    At the bottom of the hill stood a small town, even from where Li Yang stood, he could see a lot of people walking around inside the town. Further away, almost at the very edge of the horizon, stood another small town, but this one was covered in snow.


    To his left, Li Yang could see a small plain, followed by a large beach. The sand on the beach was as white as snow, the water shimmering like beautiful sapphires. Li Yang could not see any Demonic beasts or animals in the water, but he did not doubt that the water hid many ferocious Demonic beasts.


    To his right, Li Yang saw a volcanic area. But it was not red-hot lava that poured out of the volcanoes, but a deep green liquid that looked like molten emeralds. The emerald green liquid released a faint light that caused the entire area around the volcanoes to look illusory.


    "How nostalgic, me and Ying''er once toured a very similar place."


    Looking at the green volcanoes in the distance, a gentle smile appeared on Li Yang''s lips. In his past life, he had traveled all around the world with Fang Ying, and they had stumbled upon such volcanoes once, spending a few years just touring the area.


    He could not help but wonder, were these volcanoes connected to the volcanoes he and Fang Ying had once explored? Li Yang did not linger on the thought for too long. He decided to head to the town at the bottom of the hill now and see if he could get some information there.

 28 Souls Rest.

    The town located at the bottom of the hill was very simple, with all the houses built out of wooden logs, none taller than one story. Each house was covered in silver paint, golden lanterns and carvings decorating a few of the houses that seemed like they belonged to the leaders of this town.


    The moment Li Yang entered the town, he noticed something strange about the town. Despite being located in a place called the Cursed Realm, none of the people in the town were cultivators. Even the guards were only people who had slightly trained their bodies.


    With no one in the town being a cultivator, how did they manage to survive for so long? Were there no Demonic beasts inside this Cursed Realm? And how had they arrived here, had they been here since the creation of the hidden realm, or were they people who managed to get past the black mist in the forest?


    "Excuse me. I have only recently arrived in this town, and I would like to learn more about the history of this town. Do you have a library where I can read up on that?"


    Li Yang looked around until he found an old man who was supporting himself with a wooden cane. He did not know if there was anyone in the town who actually knew about the history of the town, so he figured it would be better to check for a library first.


    "A library? We do indeed have one, but if it is information about this town you want, I suggest talking to the Rune Keeper. He guards the library and has been doing so for countless years. If you can get him in a good mood, he should be able to tell you more than most of the books we have."


    The old man looked at Li Yang with a curious gaze, but he still politely answered his question. The old man pointed at one of the buildings decorated with golden lanterns as he spoke, indicating that it was the library.


    "I see. Thank you for the advice."


    Li Yang thanked the old man and made his way towards the building the old man had pointed. The inside of the building was very simple, shelves filled with books filling almost every inch of the building. Right inside the entrance sat a bald man with gray skin and closed eyes.


    "Excuse me, but are you the Rune-Keeper? I would like more information about this town."


    Li Yang walked up to the bald man and asked politely. This bald man was the only person he could see inside the library, so he assumed that he was the so-called Rune Keeper.


    "...Someone who has survived through the black mist? Very well, to you, I will talk."


    The bald man slowly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of completely white eyes that did not hold a shred of life. Seeing these eyes, Li Yang instantly knew exactly what this bald man was. He was a golem, a puppet that had a soul implanted into it.


    "How did you know that I survived the black mist?"


    Li Yang had seen many golems before, so he was not shocked by the bald man being a golem. He was more interested in finding out how he immediately knew that Li Yang had survived the black mist.


    "I have been here since the creation of this world, watching it, guarding it. I know everyone who has ever been born in any of the four towns. You are not one of them."


    The voice of the bald golem was completely devoid of emotions. This was simply how golems were. Even though a soul had been implanted in them, they were incapable of showing emotions.


    "This world was created many many years ago by four people, the Soul King, the Everlasting Queen, the Spear Empress, and the Sword Emperor. Why they created this world, I was never told."


    The bald golem started talking before Li Yang got a chance to ask more questions. His words confirmed that it had indeed been Li Yang''s old friends that created this place. Sadly, he did not get to learn why they had created this place.


    "In the creation of this world, the four of them gathered their power together to ensure that it would be stable despite the passage of the years. They tore out pieces of their own world and stored them in here, each piece placed here seemingly of great importance to them."


    Hearing the bald golems words, Li Yang felt more certain that the emerald volcanoes he had seen were connected to the ones he and Fang Ying had toured in their previous life. Maybe they were even the same volcanoes.


    "To keep the world safe, they placed many guardians and protective measures around the world. The black mist is one of these protective measures. The creators told me that if someone managed to bypass their protective measures, it was fine to tell them the story of this world."


    "What if that someone was trying to steal some of the resources from this world?"


    Li Yang did not know if there were others who could get past the black mist as easily as he had, but if there were, did that not mean that those people could freely rob all the resources of this Cursed Realm.


    "Then they would die. Just managing to get past some of the protective measures does not mean that they will be able to acquire anything. The only thing they will be able to acquire anything from is the things of the four populated towns, and there is nothing of value in any of those four towns."


    The bald golem let out a low snort as it responded, seemingly fully confident that no one would be able to acquire anything.


    "What sort of guardians and protective measures are there?"


    Li Yang had learned from his meeting with the black mist. He had been overconfident when he first entered, believing that he could be able to survive thanks to the experience from his past life. If he wanted to explore this Cursed Realm, he would need more information about some of its dangers.


    "Besides the black mist in the forest, there are powerful Demonic beasts guarding all the important locations of this world, each beast being one that followed the four creators during their lives. After so many years, they have already spawned countless descendants that now roam this world."


    "As to exactly what Demonic beasts guard the various places, I do not know Besides them, there are various arrays placed in places to prevent others from entering them, each array constantly changing and producing new effects. The four populated towns are the only safe place in this world."


    The bald golem spoke about everything he knew, but it did not seem like he knew much about the guardians and arrays. And if he did know, it seemed that he would not talk about it.


    "How did these people manage to arrive here without cultivation?"


    Li Yang was slightly curious about how so many people without cultivation had managed to arrive here.


    "They have lived and died in this world since it was created. Their ancestors were brought in here by the four creators when this world was first created. Over the countless years, they have lost contact with their cultivation roots and become what you see now."


    After spending countless years here, the ways of cultivation were slowly lost, each new generation weaker than the other. In the end, it had become a world with no cultivators.


    "There are four towns?"


    Li Yang got his answer, so he changed the topic. The bald golem mentioned that there were four populated towns, so Li Yang was slightly curious about the other three towns.


    "There are five towns. Four populated by people, as well as golems connected to me. And there is one dead town, located at the center of this world. Covered in perpetual snow that will kill anyone who is forbidden from entering the town. Only the four creators and their friends were able to enter that town as they wished."


    "What is inside the dead town?"


    Li Yang guessed that this dead town was the town covered in snow that he saw when he first left the forest. Since the town was located at the center of the Cursed Realm and covered in snow that killed almost everyone, it was clear that it served a purpose.


    "I do not know, that information was never told to me."


    "I see. Do the towns have names?"


    Slightly disappointed by the response of the bald golem, Li Yang decided to ask a little more about the four populated towns.


    "They do. This town is the town created by the Soul King, so it is called Soul''s Rest. The one to the north is called Time''s March. The one to the east is called Soaring Sword. The one to the west is called Spear''s Advance. The dead town at the center of the world is called Thunder Flower Memorial."


    "Thunder Flower Memorial?"


    The names of the four populated towns were clearly based on the person who created them, so each town was named after one of Li Yang''s old friends. The last town was not named after any of his friends, but its name gave Li Yang a good idea of what the Cursed Realm might really be.


    "Is this a tomb for me and Ying''er?"


    Li Yang could not help but mutter silently. Thunder Flower Memorial, the thunder from his old title, as well as the flower from Fang Ying''s name. Could this entire hidden realm be a tomb created for him and Fang Ying by their old friends?

 29 Mention of an old foe.

    "How does one get to Thunder Flower Memorial? I imagine it isn''t as easy as just walking there."


    If Li Yang''s idea was correct and this place was really a tomb for him and Fang Ying, did that mean that some of the items the two of them used in their past life were located inside the Thunder Flower Memorial? If it really was so, then he truly had to reach that place and pick up those items.


    "Indeed. It is normally completely impossible to reach and enter Thunder Flower Memorial, but the four creators once told me that it would be a shame if the thing at the center of Thunder Flower Memorial was lost, so they created four emblems. The one who holds the emblems will be given a chance to enter the Thunder Flower Memorial."


    The bald golem nodded its head and responded. It did not know what was located in the Thunder Flower Memorial, but if even the four creators felt that it would be a shame if it was lost, the value could be imagined.


    "How does one acquire these emblems?"


    Li Yang felt that he might know what was located inside the Thunder Flower Memorial. Since his old friends had created a way for others to enter the Thunder Flower Memorial, it might not be just items from his previous life that were located there. Some of his old techniques, his inheritance, might also be placed there, waiting for a suitable heir.


    Of course, this all depended on whether or not he was correct about this place being a tomb for him and Fang Ying. If this place was not a tomb for them, all his ideas might be completely wrong.


    "The four creators set up four guardians, the leaders of all the other guardians. Each guardian holds one of the emblems and will give you a test. Complete the test and you can acquire the emblem."


    Each of the four creators had set up one guardian each, with that guardian holding the emblem created by that creator. These guardians were also put in charge of the tests, which were designed by the four creators. Only like this did the four creators feel confident that the emblems were safe. At least that was what the bald golem had been told.


    "What are the tests? And where can you find the guardians?"


    Depending on what the tests were, Li Yang was considering whether or not he should attempt them. If they turned out to be too difficult for him, he would focus on finding a way to leave this hidden realm and come back when he was stronger.


    "I do not know the actual contents of the tests, only that they are based on the strength of the person taking the test. The four creators said ''He would get mad at us if we didn''t give everyone a fair chance''."


    The bald golem knew a lot, but there were also things he had not been told. The contents of the test were one of them. As for the quote by the four creators, that was something they had told him in case anyone was wondering why the tests were based on the strength of the person taking the test.


    "Nice and simple. Seems like they truly understood me."


    Li Yang chuckled slightly when he heard the bald golem. Who else could they be talking about but him? If he were to leave behind his inheritance before he died, he would use the same system that Zhao Feng and the others used, basing the tests on the strength of the person taking them.


    "As for the location of the four guardians, there is one located not far from each town. The one for this town is located in the emerald volcanoes, the one for Soaring Sword is located in a valley blanketed by eternal wind, the one for Spear''s Advance is located in a mountain made of metal, while the one for Time''s March is located at the center of the vast plain located not far from the city."


    Since each of the four creators had placed one guardian, they had, of course, placed the guardians not far from the towns they had created. As to whether or not the locations of the guardians had anything to do with what type of test they would give, the bald golem did not know.


    "I see. Tell me, has anyone other than me managed to get past the any of the protective measures and arrive in this world? And if so, were there any noteworthy ones?"


    With the tests being based on the strength of the person taking them, Li Yang felt that it was worth at least attempting them. If he arrived at the emerald volcanoes and found that it was too difficult, he could just leave then.


    But before he embarked on that journey, he was rather interested in whether or not there had been any other people who managed to arrive safely inside this world. After all, these people might end up becoming his enemies at that point.


    "There have been several who managed to get past the protective measures and enter this world, but most chose to leave after attempting the tests to acquire the emblems. As for those that could be called noteworthy, there are only three."


    Getting past the protective measures and arriving at one of the four towns required either great strength, great luck, or great destiny. Because of this, the golem made sure to record the names of everyone who arrived at any of the four towns.


    "Xia Yong was someone who managed to enter and leave this place, despite her cultivation only being at the same level as yours. Another one was called Fang Ying. She had slightly higher cultivation than you, but she managed to visit two of the towns before she decided to leave. The last one is the strongest of the people to ever enter this world, he should still be located somewhere in this world, but I do not know quite where. I believe his name was Jing Yimu."


    The bald golem listed the three people it felt were noteworthy, not noticing Li Yang''s expression change upon hearing the last two names. Li Yang did not know who Xia Yong was, but he was very familiar with the two last names.


    The Fang Ying mentioned by the bald golem might very well be the same Fang Ying that he was looking for. If this really was a tomb for the two of them, it would also explain why the black mist did not harm Li Yang, after all, why would the protective measures in this world harm the person this world was created for?


    "Jing Yimu."


    The last name mentioned by the bald golem also caused a strong reaction in Li Yang. Jing Yimu had been one of the people who surrounded and killed Li Yang and Fang Ying. He did not know if it was the same Jing Yimu, but if it was, he would have to be careful that his real identity was not found out.


    "I see. Thank you for all the information."


    Li Yang thanked the bald golem one more time. He had gotten a great deal of information about this hidden realm from it, so it was only right that he at least thanked it.


    "That is my duty. What is your name? I must save it for the archives."


    The bald golem was still completely emotionless, only focused on completing its duty. Since Li Yang had managed to get past one of the protective measures, no matter how he did it, it was the golem''s duty to record his name.


    "My name is Li Yang."


    Li Yang answered the golem and then turned around and left the library. He was no longer in the mood to look through the books in the library, he wanted to reach the emerald volcanoes and find out how difficult the tests created by Zhao Feng and the others were.

 30 poisonous Demonic beasts.

    "Alright then, Jinwu, let us go an do some investigation before we head to the emerald volcanoes."


    Li Yang did not bother staying inside the town any longer after getting as much information as possible from the bald golem. He did not own an interspatial ring, so he would not be able to carry a lot of things anyway, it was better to simply hunt for food. As for water, he could use his ice rune to call forth blocks of ice and then melt them using his fire rune, giving him an almost endless amount of water.


    "How long has it been since I had to use this technique I wonder?"


    Li Yang left the town and could not help but mutter as he activated a technique from his previous life. The technique he was using right now was a special way of constantly circulating his Qi through his body.


    By using this technique, he was able to hide all traces of himself, even his heartbeat and breathing. It was a technique he often used to hide or flee when he had just started cultivating. Of course, once he became known as the Thunder Monarch, he had never had to use it again.


    Jinwu could not use the technique, but as a divine beast, he had his own ways of hiding himself, so Li Yang was not worried about Jinwu causing the two of them to be found.


    "Let''s start by finding out what type of Demonic beasts live around the emerald volcanoes."


    The road towards the emerald volcanoes was dotted with forests both large and small, hills of various sizes, as well as boulders that seemed to have been flung there from far away. The road was ripe with places for Li Yang and other Demonic beasts to hide.


    Li Yang did not unsheathe his sword as he started slowly making his way towards the emerald volcanoes, taking advantage of all the cover he could find. There was a fake sun in this hidden realm, so there was a chance that the light would reflect off the blade and be spotted by wandering Demonic beasts.


    "Let''s tail that one for a bit."


    After a few hours of carefully and slowly moving from cover to cover, Li Yang managed to spot a Demonic beast. He was currently hiding within a small forest where all the trees bent in unnatural shapes. From his position within the forest, he had a clear view of a hill located in the distance, a lone Demonic beast slowly walking over the hill.


    The Demonic beast was in the shape of a large toad, almost three meters tall. Its dull grey body was covered in large pustules, some which seemed like they were slowly growing into new limbs. It had two deep purple eyes, and its maw seemed like it could open almost 90 degrees.


    The reason Li Yang chose to tail this Demonic beast was that he could tell that it was around the same strength as he was. If he followed it and managed to see it fight another Demonic beast, or just how it lived, he might be able to learn a little about the Demonic beast that was guarding the emerald volcanoes.


    After all, the bald golem said that all the Demonic beasts in this hidden realm were the children of the guardians placed here by Zhao Feng and the others. It would only make sense that the children of the guardian of the emerald volcanoes lived in the area around the emerald volcanoes.


    Thanks to his technique, Li Yang managed to follow the toad-like Demonic beast without getting spotted. Jinwu was perching on his shoulder, using his own method of hiding himself. Jinwu did not dare fly freely in the sky, as there was no telling what type of Demonic beasts might lurk there. Their techniques made it much harder for them to get detected, but it did not make them invisible, they could still be seen.


    Following after the toad-like Demonic beast was dull and slow, but Li Yang did not let his guard down for a single second, nor did he let the toad-like Demonic beast out of his sight. The toad-like Demonic beast seemed to move in a circular fashion, moving around the emerald volcanoes, seemingly too afraid to move closer.


    "It seems like the area around the emerald volcanoes is divided into several territories, with the weaker Demonic beasts forced to stay in the outskirts. Is this decided by the Demonic beasts themselves, or by the guardian of the emerald volcanoes?"


    Li Yang mused over the possibilities as he continued stalking the Demonic beast. If it was decided by the Demonic beasts themselves, did it mean that the various Demonic beasts agreed to it, or was there a single leader, other than the guardian of the area?


    Before Li Yang came up with an answer that seemed plausible, he heard a loud neighing sound. From behind a large boulder not far away from the toad-like Demonic beast, a large horse-like Demonic beast came running, its eyes gazing hungrily at the toad-like Demonic beast.


    The horse-like Demonic beast was slightly smaller than the toad-like Demonic beast, its entire body covered in silky fur that was brown in color and had a slight green tint. But unlike a normal horse, this Demonic beast had seven sturdy legs, as well as two thin and long appendages, almost like whips that ended in small nubs, growing out from its back.


    With the horse-like Demonic beast attacking, the toad-like Demonic beast also got into a battle position. Before the horse-like Demonic beast managed to completely close the distance, the toad-like Demonic beast opened its maw. Just like Li Yang thought, the toad-like Demonic beast could open its mouth 90 degrees, its lower jaw hitting the ground as it fully opened its mouth.


    A purple orb of thick jelly-like liquid gathered in the mouth of the toad-like Demonic beast, who spat the orb towards the approaching horse-like Demonic beast.


    The horse-like Demonic beast lowered its entire body, its knees scraping against the ground as it continued sliding towards the toad-like Demonic beast. The purple orb flew over the horse-like Demonic beast, hitting the ground a short distance behind it. When the orb hit the ground, a faint sizzling sound could be heard as the ground beneath the orb started vaporizing, the grass around the orb slowly dying.


    As the horse-like Demonic beast straightened its legs and reached the toad-like Demonic beast, the two appendages on its back struck out, producing faint whistling sounds as they moved. The small nubs at the tip of the appendages started emitting small drops of deep green liquid that released a strong fishy smell, the liquid was clearly highly poisonous.


    The appendages struck down on the toad-like Demonic beast, one of the nubs hitting an eye, while the other hit and punctured one of the pustules on the back of the toad-like Demonic beast.


    Both Demonic beasts let out loud screams of agony. The toad-like Demonic beast screamed because its eye was completely crushed, streams of deep green poison slowly invading its body. But the horse-like Demonic beast was not much better off. The pustule that it had punctured released a large amount of purple liquid that quickly started corroding the appendage and other parts of its body that had been sprayed by the liquid when it punctured the pustule.


    Both Demonic beasts were just about to move away from each other when the ground suddenly started trembling. As the ground started trembling, fear and terror flashed past the eyes of both Demonic beasts. But before they got the chance to escape, the ground not far away from the two of them opened up.


    A large tunnel into the ground was revealed, a spider that was smaller than either of the two Demonic beasts, only around one meter in length, ran out from the tunnel. Its entire body was covered in a black carapace, light purple dots decorating the carapace.


    The spider ran even faster than the horse-like Demonic beast, reaching both the Demonic beasts almost immediately. All eight of its legs exerted strength, and the spider jumped up from the ground, landing on the back of the horse-like Demonic beast. The spider sank its fangs into the back of the horse-like Demonic beast, the flesh around the area where it bit quickly melting and revealing the spine of the horse-like Demonic beast.


    After it bit down on the horse-like Demonic beast, the spider jumped onto the toad-like Demonic beast, who was currently trying to flee. The spider did not avoid the pustules, puncturing several as it landed on the toad. But it seemed completely immune to the poison within the pustules.


    The spider sank its fangs into the toad, which quickly started melting as the spider''s poison started coursing through its body. After both the horse-like and toad-like Demonic beast had completely melted, the spider started slurping up the soggy mess that the two demonic beasts had become.


    "So it''s poison, huh? I can''t remember any of them having any Demonic beasts specialized in poison though?"


    Li Yang had spectated the entire battle from his location, noting down the strengths of all three Demonic beasts. Had it been just one of them that used poison, it could be a coincidence, but with all three of them using strong poison, it was likely that the guardian of the emerald volcanoes was a poison type Demonic beast.

 31 Corrupted by poison.

    "That poison, why did it seem so familiar?"


    Even after Li Yang snuck away from the spider and continued moving towards the emerald volcanoes, he would still occasionally replay the battle between the three Demonic beasts inside his head. He did not remember Zhao Feng or the others having any poisonous Demonic beasts as pets, but he still could not shake the feeling that the poison he saw them use was familiar.


    "Yeah yeah, I know that there is no point in mulling over it. But what else am I supposed to do while we are walking?"


    Jinwu released a few low chirps from Li Yang''s shoulder, breaking his chain of thought. Li Yang pat Jinwu on the head with a faint smile, discarding the thoughts. Since he could not find an answer, there really was no need to needlessly ponder over it.


    "Alright, if my guess is correct, we should be entering the areas where the stronger Demonic beasts reside, so lets put all our focus on staying hidden. Getting found would really not end up being fun."


    Li Yang''s eyes grew sharp and cautious, the faint smile on his lips vanishing. With the memories of his past life, he clearly knew that the first nine runes were only the start of cultivation. Even after one finished carving all nine runes, there would still be countless paths one could take to advance their cultivation, whether it was carving more runes, different runes, or by fusing all the runes one had.


    Because he knew this, Li Yang had the guess that within this hidden realm, the Demonic beasts that had similar strength to him only occupied a tiny area. Maybe even Demonic beasts that had strength similar to a cultivator with nine runes only occupied a small area.


    He could not afford to be careless. He had already underestimated this hidden realm before entering it, he would not make the same mistake while he was wandering through it. Jinwu nodded his small head in understanding, not even daring to let out any sounds in case he made too much noise.


    Despite slowly walking past several large boulders and hills that would make for a good cover, Li Yang chose to walk a more roundabout path, using the various forests as cover. The forests were more suited to hindering the eyesight of Demonic beasts and gave Li Yang more options when it came to hiding.


    Just like Li Yang thought, only a day after he witnessed the battle between the three Demonic beasts, he had already reached a place where he could not afford to fight any of the Demonic beasts he spotted. His speed dropped drastically once he reached that point, requiring several days to match the distance he used to cross in one day.


    Of course, the forests were not devoid of Demonic beasts, so there were times where Li Yang had to hurriedly climb a tree, or quickly dig a hole in the ground beneath him. As he got closer and closer to the emerald volcanoes, he also became more and more certain that the guardian of the emerald volcanoes was a poisonous Demonic beast.


    Every Demonic beast he had spotted while walking used poison in one way or another. He had even spotted one that used poison to create lifelike clones of itself. A hostile Demonic beast would eat the clone, and then the poison that the clone consisted of would corrode its body. Strangely enough, Li Yang found that despite the Demonic beasts using poison, they did not seem to be very resistant towards it.


    "So they even come in shapes like that?"


    The corners of Li Yang''s mouth twitched slightly as he observed the spectacle from his hiding place. He had dug himself into the ground and covered the hole with a thin layer of ice, which he then covered with earth, leaving only a tiny hole that he could use to observe the surrounding area.


    This was how Li Yang slept whenever he became too tired to continue moving, by digging a deep hole and using ice to secure the walls around him as well as the ceiling above him. Sleeping still carried a large risk, however, so he only allowed himself to sleep once every three days.


    The scene that Li Yang was looking at was a very strange one. A Demonic beast in the shape of a large porcupine almost eight meters in length, with each needle on its back dripping with green poison, was laying on the ground and twitching.


    Its eyes were glazed over, purple foam running out from its mouth. Even its long fangs, each one longer than Li Yang''s arms, were falling out one by one. It occasionally let out some low screams of agony, but it seemed like its throat was slowly closing up because of the poison, so the screams got lower and lower.


    The reason the corners of Li Yang''s mouth twitched was because he could clearly see what had killed this Demonic beast. On the left front leg of the large Demonic beast was a small bug, only around the size of Li Yang''s ring finger. It was a light green and looked just like a straw of grass. But it was this tiny Demonic beast that was slowly killing a Demonic beast that was almost eight meters in length, it truly made for a strange sight.


    It was not like Li Yang did not have any memories about small Demonic beasts that possessed terrifying strength, but that was only when compared to the size of other strong Demonic beasts.


    The White Tiger divine beast and Azure Dragon divine beast were such examples. A full-grown Azure Dragon could be so large that its body could coil around mountains or cover the sky when it flew. Yet a full-grown White Tiger, a being that was just as strong as an Azure Dragon, was only slightly larger than a normal tiger.


    For something so small to carry poison potent enough to kill such a large Demonic beast, not even giving it a chance at resisting the poison. Li Yang shuddered at the thought of how strong its poison must be. If it managed to increase its strength even further, would it one day be able to use its poison to kill fully grown divine beasts?


    While Li Yang was musing over such a terrifying possibility, the sky grew dark, faint rumbling sounds ringing out. Li Yang glanced at the sky, towards the direction of the rumbling sound. Black clouds were starting to cover the sky, even swallowing up the black smoke that was already present in the sky. The faint rumbling sound came from these clouds.


    "This hidden realm even has rain? Seems like Zhao Feng and the others really wanted this place to be like a completely separate world."


    Li Yang only glanced at the clouds before he returned to keeping an eye on the tiny Demonic beast. He was slightly interested in why the clouds were coming from the direction of the Thunder Flower Memorial, but it was more important to keep an eye on the tiny Demonic beast for the moment.


    As Li Yang''s eyes landed on the tiny Demonic beast, he could not help but furrow his eyebrows. The tiny Demonic beast, upon noticing the gathering clouds, started panicking. It separated from the dying Demonic beast and hurriedly fled into the distance vanishing from sight. As for the dying Demonic beast, as it looked at the gathering clouds, its eyes filled with despair.


    As Li Yang was about to voice out his confusion, the ground around him lit up with intricate runes and lines, an array that covered the entire forest activating. As the array activated, a deafening rumbling sound rang out, a massive bolt of golden lightning shooting out from the black clouds and splitting apart the air.


    "Golden lightning!?"


    Li Yang could not help but call out in shock. Golden lightning was the lightning he used in his last life, the strongest lightning he was capable of using back then. It was what gave him the title of Thunder Monarch. Golden lightning would only occur during a heavenly tribulation, or in people, Demonic beasts, or places that had managed to harness the power of the golden lightning.


    None of Li Yang''s old comrades were capable of harnessing the power of golden lightning, so how could it be present in the hidden realm that they had created. Despite the bolt of golden lightning striking down on the forest where Li Yang was residing, the array that covered the forest lit up and protected it from harm.


    What followed after the golden bolt of lightning was rain. But it was not normal rain that fell down from the clouds. Faint purple drops fell from the clouds and covered the land, golden bolts of lightning occasionally lighting up the sky and reflecting in the purple drops.


    It would have made for a breathtaking sight had it not been for the carnage it brought. Anything that was not protected by an array, when touched by the purple drops of rain, started melting and corroding. The golden bolts of lightning tore apart the earth, while the purple rain melted everything it touched.


    "Ah, so that is why it was so familiar."


    Li Yang let out a low mutter as he looked at the spectacle. The dying Demonic beast had already completely vanished, not even leaving behind bones. What spread out as the purple rain melted everything it touched, was the faint smell of flowers and wood. To Li Yang, it was a very dear and memorable scent.


    It was a scent that Li Yang was far too familiar with, a scent that only one person in the entire world could produce. It was the scent of the poison that Fang Ying could create. Her poison did not have the normal fishy or rotten stench, but the faint aroma of flowers and wood, it was her trademark.


    Li Yang now realized why the poison that the Demonic beasts in this area used looked familiar because they used the various types of poison that Fang Ying had once used. Li Yang had seen every poison that Fang Ying could use, so he could only call himself stupid for not realizing earlier.


    After the rain and lightning continued for a while, it slowly died down, retreating into the distance, towards the Thunder Flower Memorial. Seeing it retreat in that direction, he could not help but wonder, not only his golden lightning but even Fang Ying''s poison, was it all located inside the Thunder Flower Memorial?


    "I wonder, did the Demonic beasts in this area always use poison? Or were they forced to adapt because of that rain?"


    Li Yang could not help but wonder aloud. Since he could not remember Zhao Feng and the others having a poisonous Demonic beast companion, could it be that the Demonic beasts in this area had been corrupted by Fang Ying''s poison?


    "I guess I''ll find out once I reach those volcanoes."


    Li Yang turned his gaze towards the emerald volcanoes in the distance as he muttered. Upon meeting the guardian of the emerald volcanoes, he would probably get an answer to his question. If not, he could always try asking the bald golem once he returned to the town.

 32 A meeting to melt the cold.

    "Ah. It''s raining again. Are there periods where it rains a lot? Or is it just a coincidence?"


    Li Yang was crawling along the ground when he suddenly heard the rumbling of thunder above him again. These last few days, it had started raining much more, often raining once or twice every day. The reason he was crawling along the ground was that he was getting much closer to the emerald volcanoes, so the strength of the Demonic beasts in this area was terrifying.


    Just like he originally assumed, the Demonic beasts that inhabited this area all had strength that was above a person with nine runes. Because of this, Li Yang had completely abandoned the idea of hunting for meat to eat. He now sustained himself by eating herbs and grass that he found as he crawled, but since he was a cultivator, the amount of food he needed to eat was less than a normal person.


    "It doesn''t matter, the more it rains, the better it is for me. Jinwu, hide within my robe."


    When the sound of rain hitting earth rang out from outside the forest, Li Yang stopped crawling and stood up, placing Jinwu within his jacket. After making sure that Jinwu was safely packed away, Li Yang stepped out of the forest and into the rain.


    The forests were protected by arrays, so it was impossible for the rain or the lightning to enter them. But outside of the forests, the rain and lightning were free to cause as much havoc as they wished. Not even the Demonic beasts that lived in this area dared to get hit by the purple rain, lest they quickly dissolve.


    But Li Yang was not scared of the rain, in fact, he welcomed it with open arms. The purple rain that would normally dissolve anything it touched felt like a pleasant shower to him, rolling down his skin without causing any damage.


    Since the Demonic beasts in the area all went into hiding whenever the rain appeared, Li Yang would take these chances to increase his speed and quickly move towards the emerald volcanoes. Of course, he would quickly enter the forest and hide again if he ever suspected that the rain might stop.


    "You know, Jinwu, walking in the rain like this really makes me nostalgic. This poison resistance of mine is one of the reasons I managed to get close to Ying''er."


    This poison resistance was something Li Yang gained in his last life. It was not a poison resistance gained from a bloodline or anything like that. Even in his last life, his talent had only been average, and he also didn''t have a bloodline. It wasn''t as bad as his talent in this life, but it could only be considered average.


    His poison resistance was something he gained when he first acquired insight into the laws of destruction and carved his first destruction rune. His town had just been attacked and destroyed. His acquaintances, his friends, his family, all had been slain. It was then that he first touched upon the laws of destruction and automatically carved his first rune.


    When the rune appeared, the same phenomenon that appeared when he carved it in this life appeared. A small black hole appeared in the middle of the city, the laws of destruction running rampant. An entire city vanished without a trace, even countless years after, people still did not know how the town vanished.


    To call what he gained poison resistance was not completely right. With the laws of destruction now coursing through his body at all times, any harmful or unknown substances that entered his body would be automatically destroyed.


    While Li Yang ran through the rain, his mind slowly moved back in time, to the first time he actually talked with Fang Ying. Zhao Feng had introduced Fang Ying to Li Yang, but that was only Zhao Feng pointing at her from the distance, it could not be called a proper meeting.


    When Zhao Feng pointed out Fang Ying, Li Yang felt that she looked lonely. Her face carried a smile and she chatted with a lot of people, but no one got close to her, giving her plenty of space.


    A few days after that, in the middle of the night, Li Yang wandered around the grounds of the clan. He was technically a guest, so there were many places he was not allowed to go. But thanks to his technique that let him completely erase all traces of himself, he could wander around freely.


    It was then that he heard the sound of a zither, a lonely yet hopeful tune resounding in his ears. He followed the sound, sneaking past several patrolling guards and around a few hidden arrays. Following the sound took him to a small and secluded garden.


    At the center of the garden was a small pond, a few colorful fish swimming inside it. Next to the pond was a white pavilion, just large enough to fit two people. And sitting inside that pavilion was Fang Ying, wearing a light blue dress that revealed her nape and shoulders, her white hair hanging loosely down her back. Across her lap was a small zither, much smaller than Li Yang was used to seeing. Her fingers were gently moving across the strings, weaving a lonely melody.


    Li Yang was still a bit immature at that time, so he decided to give Fang Ying a small fright. With his hiding technique active, he quietly snuck up behind her, grabbed her shoulders and whispered into her ear. Of course, he only whispered a short hello as well as his name.


    He only meant to give her a slight fright, but he did not expect her entire body to jump up from the seat the moment he touched her, a squeaking sound escaping from her lips. He kept it a secret for his entire life, but he found it quite cute how she jumped up and let out a slight squeaking sound.


    After she realized that someone was touching her shoulders, she hurriedly turned around a panicked expression on her face. But when she saw Li Yang stand behind her, a victorious smile on his face and his arms completely fine, her expression turned into one of disbelief.


    That was when Li Yang learned that Fang Ying was still not able to properly control her poison laws, so her poison would transfer to others if she touched them. No one in the clan knew this, they only believed that she preferred keeping her distance from others, not liking to be touched.


    When she explained this to him, it was Li Yang''s turn to be dumbfounded. Was it possible for a person''s laws to be that uncontrollable? Before she had the chance to react, he reached down and grabbed her hand, holding it tight.


    When he concentrated, he could indeed sense that there was a powerful type of poison entering his body through the place where he touched her. Of course, his laws of destruction quickly destroyed the poison that entered his body. He also noticed that Fang Ying''s hand was cold as if it hadn''t been warmed for quite some time.


    When he looked up, he was slightly embarrassed when he saw that tears were quickly welling up in Fang Ying''s eyes. Thinking that he had done something bad, he quickly let go of her hand and apologized. But she told him not to mind it and wiped her tears, quickly giving an explanation.


    For the last four years, she had been unable to control her poison laws. Fearing that she would harm those around her, she no longer allowed anyone to touch her, not even letting people get too close to her. Not even her parents or friends were allowed to touch her. Four years without human contact, four years without warmth. And then she met Li Yang, and the cold she had started feeling was completely shattered.


    "Oops, I''m getting a bit too distracted."


    Li Yang''s mind quickly snapped back to reality when he realized that he was going a bit too absorbed by his memories. Now was not the time to get caught up in the things that happened in the past, he had to focus on the present more than anything.


    "Alright, time to cross the finish line."


    Li Yang looked ahead, the emerald volcanoes were very close now, only a short distance. He glanced at the sky and saw that the clouds were still very thick, it looked like it would continue raining for a little while. Li Yang tapped into the power of his lightning rune, arcs of azure lightning dancing around his legs.


    His speed explosively increased, his body shooting forwards and closing the distance between him and the emerald volcanoes. When he reached the outskirts of the emerald volcanoes, his body felt like it passed through a thin membrane. As he passed through the membrane, the rain stopped and a faint heat struck his body. Emerald light shone from all around him, letting him know that he had reached the emerald volcanoes.

 33 A lone grave.

    Despite streams of emerald lava slowly meandering around Li Yang, there was no intense heat in the air. Instead, the air was pleasant and temperate, with only a faint heat noticeably. Li Yang took a deep breath of the air that held a faint taste of sulfur, muttering slightly to himself with a bitter smile.


    "Seems like they really are natural emerald volcanoes. It''s shameful that I can''t say whether or not I want them to be the same volcanoes that I and Ying''er once toured."


    Li Yang swept the surroundings with his eyes. It was easy to know that these emerald volcanoes were created naturally, as artificially created ones would have a much stronger taste of sulfur. The emerald streams of lava only released a faint and gentle light so it was easy to see the surroundings.


    A slight distance away, possibly only around one day''s march, stood the three volcanoes that released all the emerald lava. They were cone shaped and tall, their peaks almost touching the clouds. Instead of the normal earthen color, the surface of these volcanoes was tinged with a faint red hue.


    The emerald lava that slowly poured out of the various openings in the volcanoes contrasted nicely with the red hue. After flowing down the volcanoes, the emerald lava slowly made its way through the surroundings. It looked like it used to be a place that was filled with large and small hills, with barely any even ground to be seen.


    But thanks to the emerald lava that meandered through the area like small rivers, all the grass had died, grooves decorating the area and showing that there used to be lava there. The emerald lava did not release much heat, even when Li Yang stood right next to it, but that did not mean that it wasn''t hot. The emerald lava was much worse than normal lava because it also contained corrosive properties.


    Jinwu, after sensing that there was no more poisonous rain around them, climbed out off Li Yang''s robe and perched himself on Li Yang''s left shoulder again, looking at the area around them in excitement. Li Yang could guess why Jinwu was so excited, so he quickly warned him.


    "You can''t bathe in the lava here. I know that you can use fire to strengthen yourself, but this lava is mixed with strong acid. If you were to bathe in it, you would dissolve."


    Jinwu looked a little sad upon hearing Li Yang''s words. It was after all a type of Golden Crow, bathing in fire and lava were things they loved to do by instincts. It cast one last longing glance at the streams of emerald lava around them, but then it no longer bothered looking at them.


    Li Yang once more swept the area with his eyes, making sure to take in every little detail. He could not see any Demonic beasts, nor signs after Demonic beasts, but that did not mean that there were none here, so he could not let down his guard. Li Yang''s eyes turned towards the three volcanoes in the distance, his thoughts leaking out of his mouth.


    "I guess the guardian should reside within one of those volcanoes? Or maybe it is hiding within the area?"


    Li Yang maintained his stealth technique and started slowly making his way towards the emerald volcanoes. As he walked, he made sure to keep a good distance from the streams of lava, as powerful Demonic beasts that had adapted to it could be hiding within.


    Despite walking for nearly half a day, they still did not spot a single Demonic beast. They could see the golden lightning and the purple rain in the sky above them, but there seemed to be an array surrounding the volcanoes that kept both of them out. Li Yang could not help but wonder if the same array was also keeping out other Demonic beasts.


    After walking for half a day and getting much closer to the three volcanoes, Li Yang and Jinwu came upon a small cottage. The cottage was made using wooden logs, had no decorations, and was only large enough for two rooms. There were two small windows on each side of the cottage that allowed the outside light to flow in.


    The door to the cottage was painted a lovely sky blue and was firmly shut, preventing others from entering. Upon seeing this cottage, while Jinwu looked slightly confused, Li Yang''s face twisted slightly, a complicated mutter escaping from his lips.


    "So it really was the same volcanoes."


    Li Yang stood still for a few moments, taking deep breaths with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes again, there was a gentle yet sad light within them. With slow steps, he made his way towards the cottage. He did not enter the cottage, it was just an empty home after all.


    He walked past the cottage, to the area behind the cottage. The area behind the cottage was completely different from the other places around these emerald volcanoes. There was a small garden located behind the cottage, hidden perfectly by the front of the cottage.


    The garden was completely untouched by the emerald lava and its corrosive properties. The lava could not even get close to the garden, an array set up to keep it out. Other than the green grass, there were only two other things in the small garden. A single apple tree, and a small grave.


    The grave was marked with a beautiful blue jade rod, the tip carved in the shape of a soaring bird. If anyone else were to see this jade rod, they would be completely shocked. The jade rod was made entirely out of Ocean Jade, a type of jade that could only be found at the very depths of the ocean.


    If one were to sell a strip that was the size of a person''s finger, the most powerful cultivators of the world would gladly battle for it. To create a grave marker that was over one meter long using such jade, one could only imagine who was buried there.


    Li Yang took another deep breath before he slowly walked over and sat down in front of the grave marker. Jinwu could tell that Li Yang''s mood was fluctuating heavily, so it looked at the grave marker in silence. The grave marker was only engraved with two words, Fang Xue''er. Li Yang gently brushed the name as he spoke out.


    "Sorry, Xue''er. Papa hasn''t been able to visit you for a while. Once I find Mama, I will make sure that we come and visit you a lot."


    The girl buried here was the only child born between Li Yang and Fang Ying, their only daughter, Fang Xue''er. She had been conceived and born in the cottage right behind Li Yang, and the three of them spent almost ten years living in that cottage, enjoying every day.


    But their happiness was not meant to last. Not long after Fang Xue''er turned ten, their enemies managed to find them and launched an attack. Li Yang and Fang Ying managed to kill all the attackers, sustaining grievous injuries while doing so. But they did not manage to protect Fang Xue''er, she had died shortly after the first barrage of attacks.


    It was at that moment that the difference between Fang Ying and Li Yang became apparent. The first time Li Yang lost people he held dear was when his town was destroyed. That was also when he first came into contact with the laws of destruction, his rage towering towards and against the heavens.


    He learned that as long as something has to follow the laws of heaven, it exists only to eventually vanish. So he wanted to destroy it, to smash those laws that dictated that everything existed only to vanish eventually. The death of Fang Xue''er only further solidified those thoughts.


    But Fang Ying was different from Li Yang. Despite her sadness at the death of Fang Xue''er, she did not let sadness overtake her. Rather than feel sad that it had passed, she found happiness in the time they had gotten to spend together, solace in the memories of those ten peaceful years. Her thought process was that since they had made it possible once, they could create it again as many times as they wanted. That was when Fang Ying first came in contact with the laws of creation.


    While Li Yang was lost in his memories, the entire area suddenly started shaking. The middle one of the three volcanoes burst open, sending rocks and lava flying throughout the entire area. A furious voice rang out from the broken volcano.


    "Who dares touch the sanctuary?!"

 34 The first test.

    Large boulders and massive amounts of molten green magma rained down from the sky, shattering and melting the earth in the area around the small cottage. Yet no matter how much stone and magma rained down, none of it managed to touch the cottage or the garden behind it.


    Li Yang did not move from his spot, his calmness calming down the slightly nervous Jinwu. Li Yang looked towards the middle volcano as a massive shadow flew out of the volcano, its body so large that it covered the sky and caused the land beneath it to descend into darkness.


    The figure swooped down from the sky, landing on the ground in front of the garden. The earth trembled and shook, large cracks spreading in the area as the figure of the beast was revealed. A massive body covered in deep green scales, two leathery wings that could cover the skies, four thick limbs that ended in claws that could tear through everything, a long and thick tail that ended in a two-pronged spike, and a draconic head with three large horns, two pointing backward and one pointing forward. A titanic dragon had landed in front of the garden and was looking at Li Yang with a furious gaze.


    Before the green dragon could say anything, Li Yang opened his mouth and spoke, a pleasant and calming smile on his lips. Li Yang knew the dragon in front of him, it was one of Zhao Feng''s closest companions back in the days. Back then, however, it had not been as strong and imposing as it was now.


    "Chen Huo, you have grown much bigger since the last time I saw you. I wonder, do you have any information about where brother Feng is buried?"


    The dragon was slightly confused at first, especially when it heard its own name spoken. It narrowed its eyes for a short moment, inspecting every inch of Li Yang, even going as far as using its Qi to inspect his insides. When it came to its conclusion, it could not help but let out a shocked exclamation.


    "... Thunder Monarch Li Yang?! You survived?!"


    Seeing the green dragon so shocked, Li Yang shook his head as he responded. He had indeed truly died back then, it was only through a stroke of luck that he had been given the chance to be reborn. Li Yang did not bother mentioning who gave them the chance to be reborn, as he did not see a reason to.


    "No, I truly died back then, so did Fang Ying. But we were both given a second chance and got reborn. Of course, I was only reborn 12 years ago, so I don''t know about what has happened in the meanwhile."


    After hearing the words of Li Yang, Chen Huo lowered his head to Li Yang, its nose touching the ground as it spoke out. The Li Yang in front of him was far weaker than him, but he would never be able to forget the radiance of the Thunder Monarch and the Poison Empress.


    "Lord Feng would surely be ecstatic if he knew that you were still alive. As for information about where he is buried, I do not know. The last time I saw him was shortly after they created this hidden realm to serve as a burial place for you and Poison Empress Fang Ying. Their lifespans were coming to an end, so they said that they would try to send themselves into reincarnation. That was the last time I saw them."


    Li Yang could not help but tilt his head slightly after hearing the words of Chen Huo, a faint smile appearing on his face as he spoke out. If it was Zhao Feng, he might truly be able to send a few souls into reincarnation. As to whether or not they would be able to regain their memories, that was harder to know.


    "Send themselves into reincarnation? Then maybe I will be lucky enough to meet them once more, I do have excellent luck after all. I heard that I need to obtain four emblems to enter the Thunder Flower Memorial?"


    Hearing Li Yang talk about the four emblems, a slightly awkward expression appeared on Chen Huo''s face as he responded. Even if he wanted to simply give out the emblem, he could not do so.


    "Indeed. Even if I wanted to simply give it to you, as it was the last order of Lord Feng that I test everyone who wants to acquire the emblem, I have to test you. I hope you can forgive me."


    Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders to Chen Huo. He had never expected to simply be given the four emblems. He glanced slightly at the three volcanoes as he tilted his head and asked about the details of the test he had to undergo.


    "Don''t worry about it, since it was brother Feng''s last order, there is nothing you can do about it. So what is the test?"


    Chen Huo quickly responded. With the pain of having ones body destroyed and then restored constantly assaulting one''s mind, most people would lose consciousness or be driven mad. But those that managed to withstand the pain would find themselves with a body stronger than ever before.


    "It is a test to determine the strength of your will and soul. You will be baptized by fire and forced to be destroyed and reborn. Losing consciousness means death, but staying conscious and surviving means that your body will become stronger."


    Li Yang nodded his head and glanced at the grave-marker not far from him as he asked. If possible, he would have preferred for the test to be done in this location, but that was not necessarily possible.


    "That does sound like brother Feng alright. Does it need to be done in a special location? Or can we do it here?"


    Chen Huo shook his head with an apologetic expression. The test had to be done at the center of the main volcano, otherwise, there was a chance that the test would not be done properly. The main volcano had burst open when Chen Huo charged out, but the center of it was still fine.


    "It needs to be done at the center of the main volcano."


    Li Yang nodded his head and then let his eyes rest on the grave-marker for a few more minutes in silence. Once a few minutes had passed, he stood up and started walking towards the middle of the three volcanoes, Chen Huo following closely.


    "Alright. Let''s go then."


    They walked in silence towards the middle volcano, with Chen Huo turning from a dragon into a middle-aged man with deep green hair, a slight stubble, and piercing amber eyes. They entered a small tunnel at the bottom of the volcano and headed directly to the center of the volcano.


    The center of the volcano was surrounded by a special array that prevented the heat within from spilling out. While one would expect the center of the volcano to be filled with magma, the center of this emerald volcano was in fact filled with a fine green mist. It looked like mist, but it was so hot that simply getting close to it would cause one to turn to ash.


    There was another array located within the green mist that would regulate the heat of the mist, drawing out the time it required to destroy the body of those who wanted to challenge the test. Before Li Yang entered the array, Chen Huo glanced at Jinwu on Li Yang''s shoulder and spoke up.


    "Would you like me to aid this crow at the same time?"


    Chen Huo did not know exactly what type of Demonic beast Jinwu was, but he could sense a terrifying flame Qi gathered within him, so it was clearly not a normal Demonic beast. Li Yang glanced at Jinwu, who nodded his head, and then handed him to Chen Huo as he spoke.


    "If you could let him bathe in some fire while I undergo the test, I would appreciate it."


    Chen Huo placed Jinwu on his own shoulder and then gave Li Yang a bow. Chen Huo always referred to Li Yang and Fang Ying by their full title, it was how he showed his respect for the two of them.


    "Very well. Good luck, Thunder Monarch Li Yang."


    Li Yang returned a smile to the bowing Chen Huo and then stepped forward, into the array that would destroy and restore his body a countless number of times.

 35 Reborn in fire.

    Li Yang slowly stepped into the array, his expression calm and determined. Once he stepped into the array, it felt like he had stepped into a completely different world. The fine green mist grew denser, dyeing Li Yang''s vision a light green. The heat that had been present outside the array also vanished, the inside of the array feeling like a pleasant spring day.


    But Li Yang knew that this was only temporary, the terrifying heat that the green mist contained would sooner or later tear him apart, all he had to do was wait for it. After only a short moment of waiting, he felt a prickling pain in his arms, as if a small needle had been inserted into his hand.


    Li Yang glanced down at his arms and paid close attention. A tiny green dot had appeared on his hands, right above one of his veins. The prickling pain slowly grew stronger, more and more green dots appearing on his hands. When the green dots on his hand grew to cover a little less than half of his hands, they started spreading up his arms.


    The prickling pain turned into a searing pain as if Li Yang''s arms were held in boiling water. The green dots continued to slowly spread up his arms, only reaching his elbows after half an hour. After they reached his elbows, Li Yang also felt a searing pain slowly spread up his legs.


    By the time the green dots had reached his elbows and started on his legs, two of Li Yang''s fingers were completely covered in green dots, slowly dissolving under the heat and turning into a green mist that joined the rest of the mist around Li Yang. Despite the pain in his arms, and the spectacle of his fingers slowly dissolving, Li Yang continued to watch on with a calm gaze, his teeth slightly grit as he muttered to himself.


    "I once rebuilt my body using the lightning of the heavens themselves, this fire is nothing in comparison."


    The lightning Li Yang spoke of was the lightning that cultivators would have to face when they experienced a heavenly tribulation. Compared to the pain he was feeling now, the pain of rebuilding his body using that lightning was far greater, nearly breaking his mind and driving him into madness.


    The pain continued to spread, slowly reaching the rest of Li Yang''s body. Whenever a part of his body became completely covered with green dots, it would start to dissolve under the heat. The first body parts to completely dissolve were Li Yang''s arms, then his legs followed an hour later, his lower body was dissolved after three more hours, his torso after another six hours, and his head was completely dissolved after another 12 hours.


    Yet despite his entire body dissolving, Li Yang''s consciousness was still present, kept alive by the array that forced his soul to stay in place. With his soul still alive, Li Yang was still able to feel the scorching pain that had dissolved his entire body. The pain even started to invade his soul, turning into a pain that was on a completely different scale, pain that would drive people into sniveling children.


    Focusing on keeping his mind intact and resisting the pain, Li Yang completely lost track of how much time passed. He only faintly realized that his body was slowly being rebuilt by the green mist, slightly stronger than it had been before it first was dissolved. Once his body was rebuilt, as naked as the day he had been born, it was once more invaded by the green mist.


    But the pain that came this time was different. Now it felt like there were worms of molten fire crawling beneath his skin, eating his flesh and tearing at his organs. His body vanished in chunks as if it was truly being eaten by a myriad of tiny creatures slithering beneath his skin. Once more his body was dissolved, the green mist invading his soul once again, forcing him to focus on preserving his mind.


    His body continued to be dissolved and then reborn out of the flame, his soul invaded by flames time and time again. Li Yang had to admit that Zhao Feng had truly outdone himself with this test. The number of times Li Yang had been forced to endure pain like this could be counted on one hand, and he also truly believed that there was no one other than Zhao Feng who could make someone''s soul experience such pain.


    It was not only his body that grew stronger each time it was dissolved, his soul and runes also received a similar baptism. His soul was scorched and scarred every time his body was dissolved, and then slowly healed after his body was rebuilt, growing slightly stronger after healing.


    His runes only grew slightly stronger, his fire rune growing hotter and more resplendent. His lightning rune also grew slightly hotter thanks to the heat of the flames, the lightning rune he had now was only a normal lightning rune after all. The fire that was dissolving his body was colder than the lightning of the heavens, but it was far hotter than normal lightning. The last rune that grew slightly stronger thanks to the heat was his ice rune, growing denser and colder to deal with the encroaching heat.


    Because Li Yang was mostly focusing on keeping his mind intact and resisting the pain, he had no way of telling how much time passed, how many days he endured through the soul-scorching heat, or how many times his body had been dissolved and then reborn. But when his body was reborn once more, the scorching heat stopping, a very familiar voice ringing in his mind.


    "You have completed my trial, earning the right to hold one of the four emblems needed to enter the Thunder Flower Memorial. Only by gathering all four emblems will you earn the right to learn the skills of the greatest cultivator I have ever known."


    The voice ringing out in his mind was very dear to Li Yang, it was the voice of Zhao Feng. But Li Yang knew that the words he was hearing right now were only a recording set to sound out whenever someone completed the trial, even if he tried to say anything, there would be no response.


    The green mist gathered in front of Li Yang''s face, gathering together and forming a palm-sized emblem that was square in shape and engraved with a silver moon floating above a tranquil lake, the reflection of the moon in the lake dyed a deep golden color, the mark of Zhao Feng.


    The emblem floated towards Li Yang''s chest and sank into it, turning into a part of him. After the emblem sank into his chest, the green mist gathered around his body, turning into a loose green robe that he could wear. Li Yang looked at the robe and let out a slight breath of relief, he had stupidly brought all his other items with him into the array, so they had completely dissolved under the heat. Had it not been for the green mist forming clothing, he would have to walk around naked until he could acquire something else to wear.


    Li Yang let his gaze roam around the green mist one last time, before turning around and walking out of the array through the same path that he had used to enter. He had completed one of the trials, but he still had to complete three more if he wanted access to his own tomb.

 36 A familiar face.

    The first thing that greeted Li Yang after he left the array was a happy screeching sound. A black blur flew through the air for a short second before landing on his shoulder. Jinwu perched on his shoulder, happily rubbing his face against Li Yang''s neck, letting out a few happy caws as it did so, prompting Li Yang to pat it on the head.


    "You''ve grown a bit bigger haven''t you, did you get to bathe in some good fire?"


    Li Yang looked Jinwu up and down. He had grown to the size of a normal crow, his eyes turning a deep blue in color. Thanks to his connection with him, Li Yang could tell that Jinwu''s strength had grown to a point where he would be considered to have two runes. After Li Yang pat Jinwu on the head, the voice of Chen Huo rang out.


    "Congratulations on completing the first trial and reaching the peak of the early Mortal Rune realm, I am certain that it is only a matter of time until you complete the last three trials."


    Chen Huo walked over to Li Yang, giving him a short bow in greeting. Li Yang turned his head away from Jinwu and faced Chen Huo, nodding his head and pointing at the array behind him as he started talking.


    "Thanks, how long was I in there?"


    Li Yang had been unable to keep track of time while he was undergoing the trial, so he had no idea how much time had actually passed. Chen Huo straightened his back and then gave a short nod as he responded.


    "As this was only the first trial, it has only been a little over a month."


    Li Yang slightly tilted his head after hearing Chen Huo''s words. Since it was only the first trial? Were the other trials longer, or did each trial grow longer after completing the other ones?


    "What do you mean? Do the trials get longer the more of them I complete?"


    Chen Huo realized that he had said it a bit strange, so he slightly shook his head and started to explain how it worked. To make sure that only someone truly worthy acquired Li Yang''s legacy, Zhao Feng and the others had made several preparations.


    "They do not get longer, they get harder. The more emblems you acquire, the harder the trials will become."


    After hearing the explanation of Chen Huo, Li Yang slightly fondled his chin as he responded. He had felt that this trial was a bit easy, but if they grew more difficult the more trials he completed, he could understand it. Of course, what he forgot to factor in was the fact of his identity and current cultivation. Of course, a trial aimed at someone who was only at the early stage of the Mortal Rune realm would be easy for him.


    "I see, that is good to know."


    While Li Yang was fondling his chin, Chen Huo looked like he was slightly hesitant about something. After hesitating for a short moment, he gave a slight nod of his head as he pointed towards the distance and opened his mouth, informing Li Yang about something he had learned not long ago.


    "Thunder Monarch, there is something I must inform you about. Jing Yimu noticed the commotion taking place here when I shattered the volcano and is hurrying over. He should reach this place in a few days."


    Chen Huo was already connected to this hidden realm, so the range of his sense was far larger than normal Demonic beasts or cultivators, noticing someone approaching the area was easy for him. After his words rang out, Li Yang''s expression froze and he stopped fondling his chin, a low voice leaking out from his voice.


    "...Jing Yimu? Are you able to kill him?"


    Jing Yimu was one of the names Li Yang would never forget, one of the prime instigators behind his and Fang Ying''s death. When Li Yang talked about Jing Yimu, the temperature in the area dropped slightly from the sheer killing intent that he was releasing. Chen Huo shook his head slightly as he responded, an unwilling expression on his face.


    "He is currently at the late stage of the Celestial Immortal realm so if he were to face me in a proper battle, I would indeed be able to kill him. But he knows how much we wish to kill him, so he rarely enters any place where I or the other three guardians live. He usually only enters for a few short seconds, to enter the trial locations. Once he enters those, we cannot touch him."


    Having regained his memories and knowing that this world was the same world he had lived in earlier, Li Yang obviously knew the different cultivation realms. The first realm was the one he was in now and was known as the Human Rune realm, but more commonly referred to by the three parts it was divided into, the Mortal Rune, the Houtian Rune, and the Xiantian Rune realm.


    After that came the Ascending Heaven realm, then the Immortal Rebirth realm, then the Primordial Rune realm, then the Celestial Immortal realm, then the True Deity realm, and finally the Empyrean realm. These were the realms that Li Yang had known about in his past life. When he and Fang Ying were killed, they were both at the late stage of the Celestial Immortal realm, while Jing Yimu had just reached the early stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm.


    "I see..."


    Li Yang''s face was frightfully calm as he responded and started moving towards the direction that Chen Huo had pointed at. Looking at him walking towards Jing Yimu like that, Chen Huo could not help but ask curiously.


    "Where are you going?"


    Chen Huo was not too worried about Li Yang. Even if his cultivation was currently far lower than Jing Yimu''s, he had the advantage of knowing who Jing Yimu was, while Jing Yimu had no idea that Li Yang was even alive. Li Yang gave Chen Huo a slight wave as he continued walking and spoke up.


    "To greet him. Since I am currently unable to kill him, I will milk him for every last ounce of worth. See you some other time, Chen Huo."


    While walking towards the edge of the area that was the emerald volcanoes, Li Yang was going over the details of the plan he had come up with, perfecting it before Jing Yimu arrived. While walking, Jinwu rubbed his head against Li Yang''s neck, cawing happily as he bragged.


    "You have learned a new ability? What is it?"


    Li Yang looked at Jinwu with a surprised and expectant expression. What Jinwu had just said was that he had learned a powerful new ability that they could use while battling, but that it required both of them to work. In response, Jinwu raised its head with an arrogant expression, cawing pompously.


    "You won''t show me until we get into a fight? Come on, what''s wrong with just telling me?"


    Li Yang could not help but let out a wry smile. The only reason Jinwu had told him about the new ability was that he wanted to brag, but he refused to tell Li Yang what the actual ability was, saying that it would lose its flair if he said it too early.


    Li Yang reached the edge of the emerald volcanoes and sat down on the ground with crossed legs, waiting for Jing Yimu to arrive. While waiting, he also inflicted a few cuts and burn wounds on himself, tattering the robe that he was wearing and making sure that he looked as pitiful as possible.


    Li Yang did not simply wait silently for the few days he spent waiting for Jing Yimu, he took the chance to push himself into the middle stage of the Mortal Rune realm, carving one more rune for each of the four rune types he had. After he finished carving all four runes and spent some time consolidating them, a voice that was all too familiar to Li Yang rang out.


    "Who are you?!"


    Li Yang rapidly opened his eyes, putting on a panicked and terrified expression as he sprung up and dashed backward. He turned his eyes towards Jing Yimu, who looked only a little bit older than the last time Li Yang had seen him. He was clad in a somewhat tattered, gray robe, his bald head was polished and shiny, and his green eyes were crystal clear. Li Yang hurriedly kneeled down on the ground, acting like he was begging for forgiveness.


    "I''m sorry Senior, I didn''t know that you lived here, please don''t kill me!"


    While his mind was that of the Thunder Monarch, he still only had the body of a 12-year-old child. With his body covered in self-inflicted wounds and his robe tattered, he truly made for a pitiful sight. Jing Yimu''s tone quickly softened as he spoke up again.


    "Don''t worry, I won''t kill you. Who are you, why are you here?"


    Li Yang raised his head, looking at Jing Yimu with teary eyes. He made up a fake name for himself, and then put on a grieved expression as he introduced himself, making sure that tears were dropping from his eyes as he spoke.


    "I am Luosho Yang, I was forced into this blasted Cursed Realm."


    Jing Yimu looked Li Yang up and down, even checking his cultivation while he was at it. Seeing that Li Yang was only at the middle stage of the Mortal Rune realm, his expression softened even further as he continued asking.


    "Forced in here, why?"


    Li Yang had already prepared a story in advance, even using the name of a sect that he had spotted while traveling towards this Cursed Realm. The story had been prepared with Jing Yimu in mind, with Li Yang mentioning things that he knew Jing Yimu had either experienced or hated in the past. The reason he could do this, was because they had once been as close as brothers, so Li Yang knew plenty about Jing Yimu.


    "In the sect that I was part of, Eagle''s Roost, I managed to make a great contribution and earn a lot of resources. There was a girl I was sweet on, but she had a rather high status, so I took this chance to also get closer to her. For a while, it seemed like things were going to go well, but in the end, it turned out that she was only after my resources. When I figured out what her plans were, I cut all contact with her and tried to put distance between us."


    Li Yang made sure his face was stained with tears as he spoke, a self-deprecating expression on his face. He then turned towards the emerald volcanoes behind him, a wistful expression on his face as he continued to spin a tale to Jing Yimu.


    "But how could I know what a scum she truly was? She falsely accused me of attempting ****, causing me to be chased by the others in the sect. To escape from their attacks, I was forced to flee into this Cursed Realm. My father once told me about volcanoes like these, so I figured that if I was going to die anyway, I might as well get a good look at the volcanoes before I died."


    Jing Yimu''s expression softened even further after hearing Li Yang''s tale. He had paid close attention to Li Yang while he spoke and had not detected the slightest hint of a lie, Li Yang''s pulse did not even speed up slightly. Jing Yimu did not for a single second believe that there was such a young child that would be able to lie in front of him and deceive him. He stepped forward and pat Li Yang on the head, turning towards the emerald volcanoes, using one hand to point at the shattered volcano as he asked.


    "I see, you must have had it hard. Can you tell me about the explosion that happened here?"


    Li Yang tilted his head slightly, Jinwu mimicking his actions while perched on his shoulder. He put on a confused expression for a split second, before quickly putting on an understanding expression. He then shook his head and pointed towards the distance as he spoke.


    "An explosion? Ah, do you mean the loud noise that rang out many days ago? I was hiding in a small forest over there when it happened, I had dug a small underground cave where I could hide from the Demonic beasts, so I didn''t get to see it."


    Jing Yimu looked into the distance, channeling Qi into his eyes and checking the small forests that he could see. He noticed several small forests that had signs of a small cave being dug, so he nodded his head and believed Li Yang''s words. He put on a comforting smile, using some of his Qi to set up a protective barrier around Li Yang as he spoke.


    "I see. I am Jing Yimu, wait here for me, I will go in for a few seconds and check what has happened. Once I come out, you can follow me around, I will make sure that no one can harm you again."


    Li Yang gave Jing Yimu a deep bow, thanking him with a choked up voice. But on the inside, he was sneering at Jing Yimu. Now he had gotten close to Jing Yimu and could rely on him for protection, all he had to do now was see if he could find a chance to kill him. If he could not, he would simply continue to use Jing Yimu for protection.


    "Thank you, Senior Yimu."

 37 Towards Times March.

    Jing Yimu entered the deeper parts of the emerald volcanoes, while Li Yang quietly waited at the very edge of the area. After he had only waited a few seconds, a loud roar rang out, green flames rising towards the sky from the volcano where Chen Huo lived. Shortly after, Jing Yimu came flying from the distance, his robe slightly singed at the bottom. He landed in front of Li Yang, nonchalantly talking.


    "Seems like that overgrown lizard is starting to lose his mind after staying here for so long, not even worrying about destroying the surrounding area when he attacks."


    Li Yang put on a pale and shocked expression as he looked towards the place where Jing Yimu had just come from, pointing towards it with a shivering finger as he spoke in a trembling voice.


    "Senior Yimu, there is something living at the depths of this area?"


    Jing Yimu let out a slight chuckle and pat Li Yang on the head as he nodded his head and assured him that nothing would happen. He did not think that Li Yang had any way of even comprehending how powerful Chen Huo was, so he did not say anything specific.


    "There is a very old and powerful Demonic beast. But you don''t need to worry, he can''t come out here, doing so would break the last order he was given by his previous master."


    Jing Yimu removed his hand from Li Yang''s head and took three steps backward, putting some distance between them. Once there was some distance, he stretched out his right arm and pointed his palm towards Li Yang, pointing at his right palm with his left hand as he spoke.


    "Now then, since you are going to be following me around I will help you train. Hit me with your strongest attack. You don''t need to worry about hurting me, it is impossible for you."


    Li Yang had expected Jing Yimu to say something like this, as Jing Yimu was simply such a person. He put on a serious face and put his body into a charging stance, nodding his head at Jing Yimu.


    "As you wish, Senior Yimu."


    Li Yang created a simple spear out of ice, pretending like he was not a swordsman. He dashed forward and struck towards Jing Yimu''s palm, coating the tip of his spear in crimson flames. The tip of the spear hit Jing Yimu''s outstretched palm and shattered into tiny fragments that shot towards his face, while the flames moved to surround and burn his hand. Jing Yimu simply blinked, causing the fire and ice to vanish. He then fondled his chin with a slightly pleased expression as he looked at Li Yang.


    "Fire and ice, huh? You have a very low affinity with both of them, but you have already managed to reach the middle stage of the Mortal Rune realm, despite coming from such a humble sect, so it seems that you have made sure to practice diligently. Good. I cannot use ice, but I know a little bit about it. As for fire, I specialize in that element, so it is good that you can use it."


    Li Yang did not intend to reveal that he could use the lightning element, so he only showcased his control over fire and ice. Jing Yimu himself was a cultivator who mostly used fire and wind, so Li Yang being able to use fire was something that fit him perfectly. Li Yang put on a disbelieving face as he looked at Jing Yimu, talking in an almost worshiping voice.


    "Such powerful defense... Could you have already engraved your ninth rune, Senior Yimu?"


    Li Yang, of course, knew Jing Yimu''s true cultivation, but he had to act the role of a child that had no idea about the greater world. In response to Li Yang''s question, Jing Yimu let out a loud laugh and pat him on the shoulder as he started to explain.


    "Ninth rune? Little Yang, the world is far larger than you could possibly imagine. I have long since moved past the first nine runes, the first nine runes are only the start of cultivation. Follow me, and you too might have the chance to reach the same level as me."


    Li Yang put on an incomparably excited face as he rapidly nodded his head to Jing Yimu. But how could Jing Yimu know that Li Yang was aiming far past Jing Yimu''s level? Only the peak would be good enough for Li Yang, only by standing at the peak could he truly feel certain that he could protect Fang Ying.


    "Yes, Senior Yimu!"


    After checking out what he was certain was Li Yang''s strongest attack, Jing Yimu slowed down his travel speed and started training Li Yang while they were traveling. Most of the training was Jing Yimu explaining to Li Yang about how to use his Qi and control it to unleash attacks, but he would occasionally have small mock battles with Li Yang to test his progress.


    After seven days of traveling together, Jing Yimu was having a mock battle with Li Yang, holding back enough to where he felt it would be a challenging fight for Li Yang. The more mock battles he had with Li Yang, the more he was surprised at how quickly he grew, causing him to comment on it after they finished the mock battle.


    "You are quite adept at controlling your strength, your battle sense is also excellent. Have you battle a lot?"


    Li Yang nodded his head and put on a somewhat wistful expression as he spoke. The story he made up this time was not one he had made up for Jing Yimu, it was a story that Jing Yimu could barely relate to. The reason Li Yang did this was because Jing Yimu would quickly grow suspicious if every story told by Li Yang was one he could relate with.


    "Yes! My father was a wandering hunter, so he taught me how to battle from a young age. When we settled down in the sect, I and father were often targets of ridicule for our humble birth, so I often ended up fighting them after they insulted father."


    After listening to Li Yang''s story, Jing Yimu once more pat him on the head, an occurrence which had grown rather frequent over the last seven days. While patting him on the head, Jing Yimu also took the chance to praise Li Yang somewhat.


    "Good, it is important to stand up for oneself and those close to you. Your affinity is low, but with your strong determination and battle sense, it is not impossible for you to become someone truly great."


    The two continued to travel together, slowly heading towards the location of the second trial, the vast plain located not far from Time''s March. Their plan was to stop at Time''s March to stock up on more food, before heading to the site of the trial. While traveling and training, Li Yang also took the chance to ask about Jing Yimu''s experience with the trials.


    "I have tried all the trials several times, but I keep lacking just a little bit to complete them. While I take the trials, you should just wait in a safe place, while the odds of dying during a trial are small for someone with such a low cultivation, it is best not to risk it."


    While traveling, Jing Yimu would also occasionally capture some weak Demonic beasts and have Li Yang fight them, trying to give him more battle experience and allow him to fight a life and death battle. During the battles, he would also shout out some instructions to Li Yang. After traveling together for a little over a month, Jing Yimu once more found a weak Demonic beast and had Li Yang fight it.


    "Don''t let it hit you, they all contain terrifying poison. I am fast enough to save you, but it will not be pleasant for you to be poisoned."


    After the battle was over, he gave Li Yang a short explanation about what he felt Li Yang had done wrong and could improve, while also patting him on the head and praising him for doing a good job.


    "Good work, Little Yang. You made a few small mistakes, but it was an excellent battle."


    Li Yang pretended to be completely exhausted, breathing and sweating heavily. Upon receiving the praise from Jing Yimu, he put on an ecstatic expression and a bright smile, speaking happily.


    "Thank you, Master Yimu!"


    Li Yang felt uncomfortable calling Jing Yimu ''Master Yimu'' but it was Jing Yimu who had requested it, feeling that Li Yang was worth taking in as a disciple, so he had no choice but to pretend like he was ecstatic and keep calling him that.


    Not long after Li Yang finished the fight against the Demonic beast, the sky above them started to grow darker, black clouds rapidly gathering together. Looking at the gathering clouds, an ugly expression appeared on Jing Yimu''s face as he grabbed Li Yang''s wrist and dragged him away.


    "Fuck, the clouds are gathering again. We have to find shelter."


    Jing Yimu dragged Li Yang away, flying until he found a forest surrounded by an array. He dodged into the forest, finding a spot where he and Li Yang could wait for the oncoming rain to stop. Once the poisonous rain and golden lightning started to rain down on the world, Li Yang turned towards Jing Yimu and asked in a curious voice.


    "Master Yimu, what is that golden lightning?"


    Whenever the poisonous rain would start, Jing Yimu would find a safe place and then sit and stare at the golden lightning with wistful eyes, sighing loudly. Since Li Yang was playing the part of a naive and curious disciple, he, of course, had to ask about it. Jing Yimu looked away from the lightning, tilting his head towards Li Yang.


    "What do you mean?"


    Li Yang pointed at the golden lightning that was tearing open the sky, explaining what he had noticed in Jing Yimu over the time they had traveled together, acting the part of the concerned disciple.


    "When you look at the lightning, you always have such a conflicted expression."


    Jing Yimu nodded his head with an understanding expression, turning to look at the bolts of lightning once more. He sat in silence for a short moment, before he started to talk in a reminiscing voice.


    "Ah, that. The lightning reminds me of an old friend, a person I could call a brother. For that matter, the rain also reminds me of things that happened long ago. But that is a story for a different day, for now, I just want to revel in the memories."


    Li Yang nodded his head to Jing Yimu''s words, mentally sneering at him. At the same time, he also wondered how Jing Yimu would react if he found out that the person he was reminiscing about was sitting right next to him. But Li Yang would not reveal himself. He would become the child Jing Yimu had always dreamed about, giving him everything he dreamed about, and then he would kill him. No matter what Jing Yimu felt about what he did in the past, Li Yang would never forgive him.

 38 Entering the second trial.

    After spending a bit more time traveling, increasing their pace slightly, Jing Yimu and Li Yang reached Time''s March. Time''s March was slightly different from Soul''s Rest, in that the buildings in Time''s March were made out of a strange type of stone that was a murky gray in color. The craftsmanship on the houses was rather crude, with each building being carved into a rough square shape. While walking through Time''s March, Jing Yimu was chatting with Li Yang.


    "That building over there is the library, each of the four towns in this Cursed Realm has one. Not only does it contain a lot of information that is hard to find for normal people, but there is also a golem, a type of puppet, that knows almost everything about this Cursed Realm."


    The library Jing Yimu was pointing at was the only building not made in the same way as the rest of the buildings in the town. It was made out of a type of silver wood that shimmered under the sun, it was round in shape, resembling a cylinder with a square roof decorated with blue lanterns. The outside of the library was carved with a crane flying towards a bright moon.


    Jing Yimu did not bring Li Yang to the library, instead bringing him around as he bought food, checking with Li Yang what he liked better. They had traveled together for over a month, and Jing Yimu found himself getting fonder and fonder of the child he had picked up. Looking away from his poor affinity, his determination and talent for combat made him a perfect disciple.


    Jing Yimu finished buying a large amount of food, storing it in a new interspatial ring, a ring that contained a separate space that only the owner could access. He himself barely needed to eat, he could even go years without eating if he so chose to. But Li Yang was different, as his cultivation was too low to manage such a feat, forcing Jing Yimu to stock up on food for Li Yang. After stocking up on food, he gave the interspatial ring to Li Yang and helped him set up a mental imprint on the ring, making him the owner.


    "You simply need to put in a strand of your consciousness into the ring, and then you will be able to take out what you have put inside. Time inside it moves slower, but it still moves, so make sure you check the contents from time to time."


    Jing Yimu slid the copper ring onto Li Yang''s right middle finger and explained how it worked and how to use it. He made Li Yang test out the ring a few times, secretly enjoying the excited expression Li Yang wore as he tested out the ring, taking the food in and out.


    "Thank you, Master Yimu!"


    Li Yang stopped playing with the ring and gave Jing Yimu a deep bow, speaking with a voice that was trembling with excitement. On the inside, he found it rather convenient, as he had been lacking an interspatial ring ever since he had been reborn. Now he did not need to worry about being unable to carry things around. Jinwu was also very interested in the ring, copying Li Yang when he bowed to Jing Yimu.


    Jing Yimu had already asked about Jinwu, but Li Yang gave a simple excuse, saying that it was a weak Demonic beast that his father had captured for him. When Li Yang bowed, Jing Yimu let out a slight chuckle and pat Li Yang on the head a few times, speaking in a cheerful voice.


    "No need to thank me, it is my duty as the master after all. I will head to the site of the trial, I don''t know how long I will be gone, so wait patiently."


    After he finished his words, Jing Yimu pointed at the library one last time, before turning around and heading towards the exit of the town. But before he could make it very far, Li Yang dashed forward and grabbed onto the sleeves of Jing Yimu''s robe, speaking in an almost pleading voice.


    "Wait, Master Yimu! I wish to go with you, I want to at least try to help you gain the emblem!"


    There was no way Li Yang would let Jing Yimu go and take the trials without him. If he did that, it would look very suspicious if Jing Yimu came out and Li Yang had snuck away to take the trial while he was gone. Because of that, Li Yang had already prepared his words ahead of time. Jing Yimu furrowed his brows slightly after hearing Li Yang''s words, reprimanding him slightly.


    "These trials are not playgrounds, they can easily become dangerous."


    Li Yang had already expected words like that, so he stood his ground and looked at Jing Yimu with a determined expression, acting as if Jing Yimu was his future goal. The eyes he used to look at Jing Yimu contained a subtle mixture of pleading, loneliness, and determination, digging straight into Jing Yimu''s heart.


    "If I shy away from a bit of danger here, I will never manage to become like you."


    Jing Yimu continued to furrow his brows for a short moment, but he eventually let out a sigh and shook his head. When he saw the eyes that Li Yang used to look at him, he realized that he was unable to reject him. He swiped his own interspatial ring and took out a few white jade wings that were the size of a child''s pinky finger.


    "...Hah... Fine, consider it you getting some good experience. Take these, once you find yourself in danger, crush one and it will transport you a few hundred kilometers in the direction of your choice. They should be able to bring you from the trial grounds to this town. This trial might not carry too much risk of dying, but the other three are all very dangerous, especially the trial in Spear''s Advance. Never underestimate the trials! If you sense even the slightest danger, crush one of these talismans! Understood!?"


    Jing Yimu had a serious expression on his face as he handed the jade wings to Li Yang. The jade wings were made out of a special type of jade and then infused with the Qi of someone who was good at controlling the laws of space. But since they could only move a person a few hundred kilometers, they were not worth much to Jing Yimu. Li Yang grabbed the jade wings with a happy and excited expression, repeatedly bowing to Jing Yimu as he spoke.


    "Yes, Master Yimu! I will make sure to make you proud!"


    Jing Yimu let out a slight chuckle and then proceeded to continue heading towards the exit of the town, Li Yang following right next to him. After they left the town, they turned towards the direction of the trial, towards a vast plain that seemed to go on for as far as the eye could see, with only a few sparse tufts of grass. While looking at the plain, Li Yang asked a question he had genuinely been wondering about for a while.


    "Master Yimu, what exactly are the contents of the trials?"


    Li Yang had gotten information about where the trials were from the golem inside Soul''s Rest, but he did not know what the actual contents of the trials were. If he knew what the contents of the trials were, it would be easier for him to prepare for them ahead of time. Jing Yimu also realized this, so he started explaining what he had learned about the trials over his numerous attempts.


    "There are four trials, one for each town. One is located inside the emerald volcanoes where I found you, the trial is to endure your body being destroyed and reborn countless times over, even your soul will get tortured. The trial here is that you must not only break out of an illusion, you must not break because of the endless march of time. Another trial is located not far from Soaring Sword, the contents of the trial are that you must break free of your own demons, allowing your heart to become truly free and unshackled. The last and most difficult one is the trial in Spear''s Advance. It is a brutal battleground where your cultivation will be sealed and you are forced to endure continuous battle. Only after killing a certain amount of enemies will you have completed the trial."


    After hearing Jing Yimu explain the contents of the four trials, Li Yang''s mind rapidly started moving. But on the outside, he only showed complete bewilderment as he looked at Jing Yimu, speaking with an utterly shocked and worshiping voice.


    "And you have attempted all these trials several times already?!"


    Jing Yimu let out another slight chuckle, patting Li Yang on the head and telling him to work hard. At his level of cultivation, there would be countless people willing to line up and praise him, but he found that it was extremely pleasant when it was Li Yang who praised him.


    "Heh, one day I am certain that you will manage to do the same with ease, as long as you stay persistent and survive. Now then, Little Yang, let us commence the trial."


    Jing Yimu grasped Li Yang''s wrist and started moving towards the vast plain at high speed. The guardian of the trial would try to murder him, and he guessed that the guardian would also try to murder Li Yang, as he was following Jing Yimu into the trial. Because of that, he had to enter the trial with Li Yang as fast as possible.


    "Yes!"


    Li Yang gave a strong nod to the words of Jing Yimu as if he was incomparably excited at becoming like Jing Yimu. But on the inside, he had already come to a decision. The trial in Spear''s Advance was where he would take the chance and kill Jing Yimu.

 39 A sweet melody.

    Jing Yimu flew above the ground, using his Qi to propel himself and Li Yang forward at high speed. At the same time, he used his Qi to protect Li Yang and Jinwu from the strong wind that came from their high speed, otherwise, they would be torn apart and die a gruesome death.


    After flying for about 15 seconds, a gray mist rose up from the vast plain, surrounding them and making it nearly impossible to see. Jing Yimu knew that this meant that the guardian of this trial had spotted him, so he increased his speed even further, a loud booming sound ringing out as he passed the speed of sound.


    The gray mist quickly started coiling around them, but just as it was about to grab hold of Li Yang, Jing Yimu managed to enter the second trial. The gray mist and Li Yang vanished, taken away by the array that controlled the trial. All Jing Yimu could do now was hope that Li Yang would make sure to remember the jade wings, and proceed carefully.


    When Jing Yimu vanished, Li Yang found himself surrounded by a gray mist that made it impossible for him to see what was around him. He made sure that Jinwu was still perched on his shoulders, and then swept his eyes over the surroundings, checking if he could spot anything. Noticing that he truly could not see anything around him, nor hear anything, a slight smile appeared on his face as he spoke out.


    "It is good to see you again, Mengxiang."


    After his voice sounded out, the gray mist in front of him started squirming, gathering together as it turned into a Demonic beast. The gray mist turned into a two-meter tall fox that was a mixture of gray and blue in color. Swaying rhythmically behind the fox were nine fluffy tails, letting everyone who saw it that this was a mythical beast on the same level as a Dragon, a Nine-Tailed Fox. The fox, Mengxiang looked at Li Yang with an incredulous look in its eyes as it spoke, its voice soft and alluring as if it was trying to lull you to sleep.


    "Thunder Monarch? Is it really you? Did you not die so long ago?"


    Mengxiang could not help but blink her eyes several times as she inspected Li Yang, uncertain if it was she who was seeing an illusion. Li Yang let out a chuckle and shook his head, briefly explaining the circumstances behind his rebirth. He also glanced at the nine tails behind Mengxiang, a smile appearing on his face.


    "No, I did truly die that day, but I and Fang Ying were allowed to be reborn. Despite so many years passing, you have barely changed Mengxiang. Well, you grew three new tails, so I guess that is something, congratulations."


    If at first Mengxiang was a bit suspicious about whether or not it really was Li Yang, once she heard his last sentence she completely believed it was the real him. There were only six people who knew how many tails she had at the time Li Yang died, and that was the six people of Li Yang''s group. A bright smile appeared on Mengxiang''s face as she spoke out in an excited voice.


    "It truly is you! Have you met Mistress? She said that they would try to send themselves into reincarnation, but I have yet to hear anything from them."


    Li Yang could only shake his head sadly in response to Mengxiang''s question. Chen Huo had also mentioned that Zhao Feng and the others tried sending themselves into reincarnation, but he had to learn whether or not they had succeeded in their attempt.


    "No, I haven''t met her yet. But I truly hope that they managed to succeed. I truly wish to journey alongside those fools once more. But let''s put that aside, for now, Mengxiang, what must I do to complete this trial?"


    Mengxiang''s head and her nine tails drooped slightly after hearing that Li Yang had no news, but she had already somewhat expected this outcome. She quickly raised her head and started explaining to Li Yang what he had to do to pass the trial she was in charge of.


    "First you must break past the illusion that you will be shown, the illusion is based on your deepest desires. After that, you must keep your mind intact while you experience the endless march of time. Succeeding in that will mean that you have completed the trial."


    Li Yang nodded his head, the information was basically the same as the information Jing Yimu had given him. Li Yang stretched out his hand and pat Mengxiang on her head, enjoying the smooth sensation of her fur for a bit before walking past her and speaking out.


    "I see, thank you for the information. I will be going now Mengxiang, we can take our time and chat after I have killed Jing Yimu during Bai Yawen''s trial."


    Hearing that Li Yang was planning on killing Jing Yimu during the trial set up by Bai Yawen, Mengxiang felt incomparably excited. She lowered her head slightly as she saw off Li Yang, her voice drifting after him as he vanished into the gray mist.


    "I wish you luck, Thunder Monarch."


    When Li Yang stepped into the gray mist, he felt his surroundings spin and twist, his vision turning blurry for a short moment before it turned completely black. After he regained his vision, he found himself standing in a garden covered in snow, a small cottage located not far to his left The sky was bright, with soft snow slowly falling down on the world and turning it a pure white.


    Li Yang raised his head to observe the falling snow when he suddenly heard the sound of music from nearby, a familiar melody reaching his ears. Despite hearing the familiar melody, he did not turn towards the music. He instead closed his eyes, silently enjoying the melody until a soft and familiar voice called out to him.


    "Why are you just standing there? Trying to catch a cold?"


    Li Yang opened his eyes and slowly lowered his head, turning it to the side. Standing not far from his right was a white pavilion large enough for three people to sit in it. Sitting inside the pavilion was a graceful and delicate woman clad in an azure robe, her silvery white hair hung down her back and spread out over the bench she was sitting on. Her emerald green eyes looked at Li Yang with a loving expression, a small zither resting on her lap, her beautiful fingers plucking at the strings. A bright smile spread on Li Yang''s face as he spoke out.


    "Nope, just enjoying the pleasant music."


    After hearing Li Yang''s reply, the woman, Fang Ying, stopped plucking at the strings of the zither, using her hand to beckon him over and point at the spot next to her, a sweet smile on her face.


    "You can enjoy the music from inside here as well, no need to stand over there."


    Li Yang let out a laughter, nodding his head a few times as he spoke, slowly walking over and taking a seat next to Fang Ying, deeply breathing in the familiar fragrance that she released.


    "True, true. That fact completely slipped my mind."


    Fang Ying resumed plucking at the strings of the zither, a soft and comforting melody spreading through the surroundings. Li Yang sat next to her, looking at the falling snow as he enjoyed the melody she played. After listening to the song for a short while, he turned his head to look at Fang Ying, a smile spreading on his face as he spoke out.


    "Ying''er, I want to comb your hair."


    Fang Ying tilted her head slightly as she looked at Li Yang. Seeing the smile on his face, a smile involuntarily spread on her own as she shook her head. She was close to finishing the song, so he would just have to wait.


    "Now? At least let me finish my song first."


    But little did she expect that Li Yang would just let out a chuckle and shake his head. He stood up from the seat and took up position behind Fang Ying, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out a familiar wooden comb, a comb he should not have right now.


    "No need, you can keep playing while I comb."


    He used his left hand to softly hold onto her silky hair, while the right hand held the comb and started slowly combing Fang Ying''s hair. Fang Ying felt that Li Yang was slightly different from how he usually was, so she asked out in a slightly curious voice as she started to pluck the zither again.


    "What''s the matter?"


    Li Yang let out a smile, assuring Fang Ying that nothing was wrong. Right now, he simply wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as he could.


    "Nothing, I just felt like it has been a while since I last combed your hair or heard your music, so I didn''t want to choose one over the other."


    Li Yang continued to silently comb Fang Ying''s hair, while Fang Ying continued to pluck the zither, the two of them entering a tranquil world that belonged to just the two of them. But this tranquil world was quickly broken when the loud shout of a young girl sounded out.


    "Ah, I found Papa and Mama! You were hiding over here!"


    The loud shout was followed by the sound of someone running through the snow, heading towards them. Li Yang heard the sound of someone jumping coming from behind him, followed by the sensation of something crashing into his back and grabbing onto his neck. A bright smile spread on Li Yang''s face as he calmly stored away the comb and then gave his body a slight twist, causing the person who had grabbed onto his neck to spin around to his front as he spoke.


    "We weren''t hiding, Xue''er, you are just terrible at finding us."


    Li Yang used his arms to support the young girl in his arms. She looked like she was only around eight years old, had smooth azure hair that reached down to a little above her buttocks, bright green eyes, and two small dimples at the sides of her mouth from her constant smiling. The eyes of the girl, Fang Xue''er, landed on Jinwu, who had been forced to take off from Li Yang''s shoulders when she jumped at him.


    "Who is that, Papa?"


    Jinwu landed on Li Yang''s head, looking at Fang Xue''er with a curious expression as if he was trying to completely memorize her features. Li Yang glanced at Jinwu for a short moment before speaking to Fang Xue''er with a bright smile.


    "This? This is Jinwu, one of Papa''s good friends. Do you want to play with him a little?"


    Fang Xue''er''s eyes lit up when she head Li Yang''s words, but she did not immediately let go of him. She moved her eyes between Jinwu and Li Yang, before asking in an excited but somewhat uncertain voice.


    "Can I?"


    Li Yang let out a laugh and hugged Fang Xue''er tightly, before using one hand to pat Jinwu on the head as he spoke.


    "Of course! Jinwu, would you mind playing with her for a little?"


    Jinwu let out a happy cawing sound and flapped its wings, flying around Fang Xue''er''s head. Fang Xue''er let go of Li Yang''s neck and started happily chasing Jinwu, the sound of her crystal clear laughter spreading through the garden. Fang Ying looked at Jinwu, before turning towards Li Yang and slightly tilting her head, an inquisitive expression on her face.


    "He doesn''t look normal, where did you find him?"


    Li Yang took his eyes off Fang Xue''er, turning back towards Fang Ying. He took out the comb from his interspatial ring once more, continuing to comb her hair as he spoke with a somewhat mysterious tone.


    "That is a long story, one day when we have plenty of time I will tell you. For now, just let me enjoy this for a little longer."


    After he finished speaking, he continued to softly comb her hair. After continuing to comb her hair for a short moment, he put away the comb and leaned in, hugging Fang Ying from behind, breathing in the fragrance of her hair and causing her to let out a slight chuckle.


    "Really, how did you end up getting this spoiled."


    A cheeky smile spread on Li Yang''s face after he heard her words. He turned her head slightly and leaned in, planting a soft kiss on her lips. The kiss only lasted for a short moment, before he separated from her and spoke with a cheeky smile.


    "Isn''t that because you have been showering me with too much love?"


    Fang Ying suffused a slight blush after the sudden kiss, but her face quickly broke out into a wide smile as she raised her head and planted a kiss on Li Yang''s lips. After she kissed him, she placed her mouth next to his ear and whispered in a soft voice.


    "Yang''er. I want another child, a little brother or sister for Xue''er."


    Li Yang''s face cracked into a wide grin after he heard her whisper, forcibly raising her up from the chair and giving her a tight hug as he spoke. His eyes turned slightly red, but since they were currently hugging, Fang Ying was unable to see it.


    "That sounds wonderful! How about we start working on that tomorrow, in a bit more private place?"


    With Li Yang not rejecting her idea, Fang Ying''s own face cracked into a wide grin as she placed her arms around Li Yang''s abdomen, pulling him closer as she spoke in a cheerful voice.


    "Now you''ve promised, so you have to follow through!"


    Li Yang let out a loud laugh, ending the hug and opening some distance between him and Fang Ying as he winked at her and beat his own chest, speaking in a confident voice.


    "Of course! When have I ever broken a promise to you or Xue''er?"


    After the two finished talking, Fang Ying sat down again and started plucking the strings of the zither, while Li Yang took up position behind her and continued to comb her hair in silence. The two continued to enjoy this peaceful time for several hours until the sky had darkened and Li Yang decided to call an end to the day.


    "Alright! You have played long enough, it is time to go to bed."


    Jinwu flew back to Li Yang, perching on his shoulder and letting out a few caws in a complaint, saying that it was too exhausting to play with Fang Xue''er. Fang Xue''er ran over with an aggrieved expression as she pleaded Li Yang.


    "But, Papa! It is still so early!"


    Li Yang pointed at the darkened sky as he shook his head. He had to be firm with Fang Xue''er, otherwise, she would never learn.


    "No, it''s not, the sun has set long ago. I will not hear any more arguments, off to bed you go."


    Li Yang picked up Fang Xue''er and carried her with his left arm, while his right hand grasped hold of Fang Ying''s hand. The three entered the cottage, heading towards a room to the left that contained a bed large enough for three people. He quickly dressed Fang Xue''er in her azure swan pajamas and tucked her in.


    She complained that it had been too early, but still fell asleep right after she was tucked in. After Li Yang tucked in Fang Xue''er, Fang Ying had also entered the bed, patting the part next to her as she spoke in a loving voice.


    "Come now dear, join us."


    Li Yang looked at Fang Ying with a loving expression before turning his head towards the door. He placed a finger over his mouth and spoke in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake up Fang Xue''er.


    "Soon, I will just take a short walk to enjoy the night air, then I will join you."


    Fang Ying''s face bloomed with a bright smile as she spoke, the sight of her almost taking Li Yang''s breath away. She too spoke in a somewhat hushed tone, trying not to wake the sleeping Fang Xue''er.


    "It''s a promise, now you have to follow through."


    Li Yang leaned in and placed a kiss on Fang Ying''s lips, before stepping towards the door and sending another smile at Fang Ying and the sleeping Fang Xue''er.


    "Of course. Good night Ying''er, sweet dreams."


    After leaving the cottage, Li Yang slowly walked away from it, heading back to the pavilion. He placed his hand on the pavilion and let it slide along the cold wood, muttering to himself in a low voice as he continued to walk.


    "Although its scent still lingers on, the form of the flower has long scattered away. For whom does the world remain unchanged? Isn''t that what you used to say, Sister Shu?"


    Li Yang reached the place where he had first appeared after entering the gray mist, looking at the cottage and the pavilion with a wistful expression. Jinwu sat perched on his shoulder, leaning against his neck to comfort him. Li Yang let out a deep breath and shook his head, speaking in a somewhat bitter voice.


    "Let''s go, Jinwu. This Ying''er will never be mine. In the end, a dream will forever stay a dream."


    Li Yang took one last look at the cottage and then turned around and started walking, his surroundings quickly turning into gray mist that obscured his vision, that lone cottage vanishing behind him.

 40 Walking through time.

    Li Yang walked blindly through the gray mist for a few minutes before the scenery around him finally changed. The gray mist dissipated, the world around Li Yang turning into a vast and empty plain. The ground was yellow and dry, with barely any vegetation growing. The biggest rock Li Yang could see was only the size of his fist, not large enough to provide shade against the sweltering sun that hung high in the sky above him. Li Yang swept the empty plain with his eyes, patting Jinwu on the head slightly as he spoke.


    "This should be the time trial, where we have to keep our mind intact."


    Li Yang looked at the plain around him once more, checking if there was anything worth noting. Upon not finding anything, he sat down on the ground, causing a bit of dust to be thrown up. After sitting down, Li Yang picked up some of the earth with his hands, muttering to himself when he saw the earth turn to dust in his hands.


    "If the earth here is this dry, I don''t think we can expect any rain in this illusion. Let''s wait here for a bit and see if anything happens, if nothing happens, we can start walking and see if the scenery changes."


    Li Yang sat on the ground and slowed down his breathing, cultivating in silence as he waited for time to pass. Even though he was silently cultivating, he knew that the Qi he was absorbing was not real, it was only an illusion created by Mengxiang and the array that was the core of this trial.


    While Li Yang was cultivating silently, Jinwu flew around his head for a while, before he eventually got bored and landed on Li Yang''s thigh. Jinwu laid down on Li Yang''s thigh and closed his eyes, but Li Yang was unable to tell if he was sleeping or cultivating.


    Li Yang continued to silently cultivate, counting the days while doing so. After cultivating for three days without food, he realized that he would not feel hunger inside this illusion, and after a further five days of cultivation, he realized that he would also not feel tired while inside the illusion. After the eleventh day of silently cultivating, Li Yang opened his eyes and stood up, stretching his body as he spoke to Jinwu, who had jumped down from his thigh and was flying around his head.


    "No need to eat, sleep, nor use the restroom. Seems like the amount of time needed to complete this test is ridiculously long, even if it is set to such an easy difficulty because of my cultivation. I wonder what Jing Yimu has to go through."


    Li Yang finished stretching his body, so Jinwu landed on his shoulder and let out a few caws. Li Yang no longer had the robes with the specially prepared shoulder pillow for Jinwu, but it was still better to sit on Li Yang''s shoulder than fly next to him. Li Yang pat Jinwu on the head with a wry smile, shaking his head as he looked towards the distance.


    "Yeah, yeah, I will buy some new robes once we get out of here. But for now, let''s start walking and seeing how much time we will have to spend here."


    Li Yang started walking, simply walking in a straight line and seeing how far they could go. Because of how dry the earth beneath them was, every step he took would cause the earth to turn to dust that would be thrown up into the air.


    While walking, Li Yang emptied his mind as much as he could, simply walking mindlessly. One of the first things he noticed after spending some time walking was that he did not feel exhausted, not even after walking for almost two days. Two days of walking was not enough to make him exhausted, but it should have at least made him feel a little tired. Because of this, he guessed that he would not need to rest while inside the illusion, allowing him to spend more time walking.


    Li Yang continued to walk in a straight line, the days rapidly passing as he walked mindlessly. After spending an entire year walking in a straight line and not seeing a single change in the environment around them, Li Yang came to the conclusion that the empty plain around them would not change, no matter how much he walked.


    After three years of continuous walking, Li Yang noticed the first signs of aging appear on his body as he grew taller, his hair growing longer. As a cultivator, Li Yang''s aging was already slowed down, his lifespan increased, but he would still age with enough passing of time.


    After another seven years of walking, his body had already turned into that of a youth in his early twenties. He looked like a youth in his early twenties, but because of the dry atmosphere and the sun constantly shining on him, his skin was strongly tanned and dry, wrinkles already appearing on his face.


    Yet despite this, Li Yang continued to walk, his speed never dropping. After hearing about how this trial would be done, Li Yang had not worried in the slightest, knowing full well that he could complete the trial with ease. He had two reasons to be this confident, one was that he already had experience from his past life with spending many years in complete isolation and without moving, and the other reason was that he had Jinwu with him. With Jinwu to keep him company and talk with him, he would not be like most others who had his cultivation level and undertook this trial, slowly turning insane from loneliness.


    Li Yang continued to walk, no longer bothering to count the days that passed, instead starting to count the years that passed. After he had spent a total of 30 years walking, Li Yang noticed that Jinwu had not changed in the slightest, seemingly not aging despite the passage of several years.


    He thought it was strange for a short moment, but then quickly realized why Jinwu didn''t age. Jinwu was a Divine beast, so of course, he would have a lifespan that far surpassed most people, that was one of the gifts given to Divine beasts. Li Yang would have to cultivate to a higher cultivation realm if he wanted to have such a long lifespan, but Jinwu already had such a lifespan the moment he was born. He also didn''t have to cultivate like Li Yang to grow stronger, Jinwu merely had to grow older to become stronger. Of course, cultivation would help him cut down the time needed to grow stronger.


    After he had spent a total of 80 years walking, Li Yang''s walking speed had slowed down because of his aging. His bones had gotten fragile, his joints hurting with every step he took. He didn''t feel tired or hungry, but it seemed that pain was something that the array did not take from him.


    After a further 20 years of walking, Li Yang''s aging body could not last any further, his heart stopping while he was walking. His body died and fell over, but Li Yang''s consciousness was still there, floating above his body, unable to move. Jinwu seemed to be able to see Li Yang''s consciousness, so he did not fly away from Li Yang''s slowly rotting body.


    Another three years later, Li Yang''s body turned to dust and was blown away by a sudden breeze. When the dust that was his body vanished, a new body appeared in the spot where he had died. The new body looked exactly like Li Yang''s actual body, and he quickly found his consciousness pulled into the body. With his consciousness entering the body, Li Yang opened his eyes and stretched the body, checking how it worked.


    "Is this my real body?"


    Checking out how the body felt, Li Yang noticed that it worked and felt exactly like his own body had felt before he entered the trial ground with Jing Yimu, causing Li Yang to wonder whether it had only been his consciousness that had been drawn into the illusion. Another reason why he believed this was because he noticed that Jinwu was already perched on his shoulder, instead of flying in the air like he had done while Li Yang''s consciousness had been dragged into the body. Li Yang swept the surroundings with his eyes, noticing that the environment had changed slightly.


    "A lake? Looking at how much Qi is gathered in it, it should be the center of the array. Does that mean I have completed the trial?"


    Li Yang could see a small lake in the distance, and guess that it was most likely the center of the array that produced the trial. He checked the surroundings a few more times but did not see anything else that was worth noting, so he decided to head towards the lake.


    Li Yang kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings as he walked, making sure that this was not another part of the trial, and that he was actually getting closer to the lake. He breathed a slight sigh of relief when he noticed that he was indeed getting closer to the lake, even he was somewhat tired after spending 103 years inside an illusion.


    When Li Yang reached the small lake, which looked more like a pond when he saw it from up close, the Qi that was gathering inside the lake rose up and surrounded his body. The Qi sank into his body, coursing through his veins, flesh, and dantian as it slowly strengthened him.


    With the Qi nourishing his body and increasing the size of his dantian, Li Yang decided to take the chance to increase his cultivation. He had been forced to slow down his cultivation speed while traveling with Jing Yimu, so this was a good chance to increase his cultivation. Li Yang took control over the Qi that was coursing through his body, sending all of it into his dantian and using it to engrave a new rune for each of his element. Just when Li Yang wanted to take the chance to engrave more runes, the Qi was pulled out of his body and back into the lake, the familiar voice of Dai Shu ringing out in his head.


    " You have completed my trial, earning the right to hold one of the four emblems needed to enter the Thunder Flower Memorial. Only by gathering the last three emblems will you be given the chance to become the next Thunder Monarch or Poison Empress."


    After the voice rang out in his head, gray mist rose up from the lake, gathering into an emblem in front of Li Yang. The emblem was made out of gray jade and was about the size of his palm, the surface of it was engraved with the image of a white crane flying towards a bright moon. The emblem flew towards his chest and sank into it, settling down next to the emblem he had gotten from clearing Zhao Feng''s trial. Li Yang pat the place where the emblem had entered, muttering to himself.


    "You couldn''t have waited for a few more seconds and let me carve my fourth rune as well?"


    After letting out the mutter, he shook his head and discarded the thought. Just the fact that he had been able to carve a third rune and push himself up to the late stage of the Mortal Rune realm was already good enough, he shouldn''t be greedy and ask for more.


    While he was shaking his head, Li Yang could feel that space around him was distorting slightly, so he guessed that he was about to be sent back towards the entrance of the trial. Before he was sent back, he hurriedly used a special technique to hide his cultivation, making it seem like he was still at the middle stage of the Mortal Rune realm. If his cultivation had suddenly increased after a trial, Jing Yimu would probably find it rather suspicious, maybe even going as far as thinking that Li Yang had completed the trial.


    While he was waiting to be sent away, Li Yang could not help but be slightly excited as well. He had completed two trials and increased his cultivation twice, would he be able to continue increasing his cultivation like this as he completed the last two trials? And what about when he reached the Thunder Flower Memorial?

 41 The betrayal of the Thunder Monarch.

    Space continued to distort around Li Yang, a myriad of colors flashing before his eyes and blinding him, a loud grinding and tearing noise resounding in his ears as his body was transported through space. When the sound quieted down and the colors vanished, Li Yang once again found himself on an empty plain.


    He could just barely see Time''s March in the distance, so he guessed that they had been sent to a place a bit away from the entrance. He made sure that Jinwu was still with him, and then swept his surroundings with his gaze, a somewhat worried voice escaping from his lips.


    "Where is Master Yimu?"


    Just in case Jing Yimu was nearby, Li Yang had immediately switched over to the persona he used when he was around Jing Yimu. He continued to sweep the surroundings with his eyes, finally spotting someone laying on the ground a short distance away.


    Li Yang made his way towards the person on the ground and saw that it was indeed Jing Yimu, but he was tossing and turning, his face covered in cold sweat. Li Yang''s eyes narrowed for a short second when he noticed that Jing Yimu had not yet woken up, the thought of trying to kill him popping into his head.


    "Stupid idea, I am more likely to die than I am to kill him."


    Li Yang shook his head and discarded the thought quickly. The fact that Jing Yimu wasn''t conscious did not mean that Li Yang could kill him. His cultivation was still there, and there was a good chance that his body would act on instinct and try to defend itself if Li Yang were to attack. Facing an attack like that, the odds of Li Yang dying were simply far too high. It was safer to wait for the test in Spear''s Advance, where Jing Yimu''s cultivation would be sealed. Li Yang slowly made his way towards Jing Yimu, not making any threatening movements. Once he reached the side of Jing Yimu, he kneeled down and gently shook him.


    "Master Yimu, Master Yimu, you must wake up!"


    There was no response from Jing Yimu at first, but after Li Yang continued to shake him for a short moment, Jing Yimu''s eyes suddenly shot open. His eyes were bloodshot and red, moisture gathering at the corners. When he saw Li Yang above him, his expression turned into one of disbelief, and then into one of relief. He quickly sat up and pulled Li Yang close, embracing him in a hug so tight that it squeezed all the air out of his lungs.


    "I''m sorry! Little Yang, please forgive this old man! I had to do it... I had to do it..."


    When he heard Jing Yimu''s hoarse voice, Li Yang''s eyes narrowed and his pupils shrank until they were the size of pinholes. From what Jing Yimu was saying, it sounded like he had figured out Li Yang''s true identity and was apologizing for what he had done in the past.


    Li Yang closed his eyes and calmed his mind, quickly gathering his thoughts. The way he saw it, it was unlikely that Jing Yimu had learned about his true identity. Had he learned about his true identity, he would not be calling him Little Yang. It was more likely that the illusion Jing Yimu had seen had featured the Li Yang he knew as Luosho Yang. After gathering his thoughts, Li Yang spoke out.


    "Master Yimu, you are squeezing me too hard, I can barely breathe."


    Li Yang pat Jing Yimu on the back as he spoke in a pained voice. Jing Yimu hurriedly opened his arms and pulled back slightly. But he did not take his arms off Li Yang, placing his hands on Li Yang''s shoulders and holding them tightly, as if he was afraid that Li Yang was going to disappear.


    "Forgive this old man, Little Yang. Forgive this old man, Little Yang. Forgive this old man, Little Yang."


    Jing Yimu looked at Li Yang with his bloodshot and moist eyes, almost rhythmically muttering the same words over and over again. Li Yang did not know what Mengxiang had shown Jing Yimu as part of the trial, but it was clear that it had affected him heavily. Li Yang put on a comforting smile, placing his own hands on top of Jing Yimu''s.


    "Don''t worry, Master Yimu. No matter what you might do, I will always forgive you."


    Li Yang''s voice was so calm and comforting that Jing Yimu temporarily stopped his muttering, his eyes growing even redder as tears started to run down his cheeks. Li Yang removed Jing Yimu''s hands from his shoulders, standing up and speaking with a bright smile.


    "You seem to be somewhat confused right now, something to eat will surely clear up your mind."


    Li Yang hurriedly took out some wood from his interspatial ring and quickly created a small fire. Once the fire was lit, he filled a pot with water and threw in dried meat and vegetables, creating a quick and easy soup. While Li Yang was making the soup and waiting for it to boil, Jing Yimu simply sat there, looking at him with moist eyes that seemed like they wanted to memorize every single part of Li Yang.


    "Take this, Master Yimu. Something warm always helps me clear my mind, I am sure it will help you too."


    Li Yang poured some soup into a wooden bowl and handed it to Jing Yimu with a bright smile, he then poured a soup for himself and one for Jinwu. Jing Yimu drank the soup quietly, never taking his eyes off of Li Yang as they ate in silence. Once he finished three bowls of soup, Jing Yimu gazed towards the distance, in the direction of the Thunder Flower Memorial, and spoke out in a reminiscing voice.


    "I once had a friend. A good friend that I could call a brother, someone who I was willing to put my life on the line for. More than once we fought back to back, each saving the other in times of danger. I fondly remember those days."


    After Jing Yimu started talking, while Li Yang put on a curious and warm expression, his mind was completely cold. Even after all that Jing Yimu had done to Li Yang, he still dared call himself a brother of Li Yang? Jing Yimu took his eyes away from the distance, turning them towards Li Yang as he continued talking.


    "The reason I am in this separate space is actually because of him, his legacy is located inside the city known as the Thunder Flower Memorial. Inside that city lies the legacy of the strongest cultivator I have ever known, as well as the greatest traitor to this world that I have ever known, Thunder Monarch Li Yang."


    Li Yang thought he knew what Jing Yimu was going to say, but he was quickly caught off-guard. Greatest traitor? When had Li Yang ever betrayed someone, much less the entire world? Jing Yimu saw Li Yang''s expression and thought that he was confused because he had never heard about the Thunder Monarch before, so he quickly explained in a wistful voice.


    "I am not surprised that you don''t know his name, there is not much information about him left in this world. After his death, I slowly and methodically removed any information about him. If he was to go down in history as the greatest traitor, I would rather he not be remembered at all."


    Jing Yimu moved his eyes away from Li Yang, turning his head towards the sky as if he was uncertain where he wanted to keep his eyes as he was talking.


    "Do you remember when I said that the golden lightning reminded me of an old friend? Li Yang''s trademark was golden lightning. When he wielded his sword, the heavens split apart and spewed out golden lightning, decimating everything in his path and raining destruction upon his enemies."


    Jing Yimu''s eyes glowed with a bright light as he talked as if he was still able to see the scene of Li Yang wielding his sword and lightning to tear open a path in front of him.


    "He was a steadfast person who stubbornly followed his ideals, often leading him into more troubles and battles. I truly admired that part of him, that part which was able to mindlessly move forward in an attempt to reach the top, to always better himself, able to weather any storm and danger, just to follow those ideals of his. I vowed to become like him, but then he ended up betraying his ideals."


    Jing Yimu''s voice sank, his expression growing dim and his eyes filling with sorrow. He once more turned his head towards Li Yang, continuing the story while looking at him.


    "He had a woman that he loved, Poison Empress Fang Ying. The poison rain you see in this world is caused by the remnants of her power, sealed away inside the Thunder Flower Memorial. Someone with such strong poison that I still fear for my life just by seeing it, can you imagine something like that? And she could spread the poison so easily, just mixing it into a lake or spreading it with the wind. That woman was nothing more than an unstable weapon of mass destruction. Every day she lived was a day where the world was in danger of being poisoned."


    When Jing Yimu talked about Fang Ying, someone who Li Yang would always talk about with a warm and loving expression, his expression was twisted by clear fear and terror.


    "I knew that I could not let a woman like that live, and I truly believed that Li Yang felt the same as me. After all, he was someone who mindlessly moved to reach the top and better himself. Yet do you know what he did when I came to him with the proposition to kill Fang Ying? He threw me aside, cutting all ties with me and saying that he would only forgive me once for spouting words like that."


    "That was when I realized, that the Li Yang I knew had changed, no longer mindlessly moving towards the top. He didn''t care about that in the slightest anymore. Even when I said that Fang Ying might accidentally kill everyone on this planet, he did not even raise an eyebrow. The lives of everyone on this planet meant nothing to him."


    Jing Yimu clutched his chest weakly as he spoke, tears once more running down his chin. To him, the fact that he had not been able to prevent his good brother from being corrupted would always be his greatest regret.


    Li Yang put on a sympathizing expression, but on the inside, he could not help but feel like shaking his head. Hearing Jing Yimu''s story, it was clear that he had never known Li Yang for who he really was, only who he believed Li Yang to be. Li Yang had never bothered with trying to better himself or reach the top. All he had ever done was only for the sake of protecting those around him, to protect Fang Ying and the rest of his friends. To achieve that goal, he would not bat an eye even if he had to torch a hundred planets.


    "That thing had poisoned his mind and corrupted him, tearing him down and stomping him and his ideals into the dirt. I gathered up other people that shared my views, that Fang Ying was not something that could be kept alive, and we tried to talk to Li Yang again. But this time he simply attacked us, wielding his sword and golden lightning he cut down person after person, his eyes cold and hard."


    Li Yang remembered that day when Jing Yimu had brought a large group of people to his house and told him that they had to kill Fang Ying. Hearing something like that again, how could Li Yang not draw his sword and start attacking?


    "The man I knew back then had already died, tainted and distorted. It was with a heavy heart that I gathered up more allies and besieged them. Even if he was once my brother, if I wanted to cut down that dangerous thing, I would have to cut down him as well."


    "Even if his mind was tainted, his strength had grown tremendously, surpassing all my expectations. I quickly lost count of how many people died in his hands during the attack and ensuing chase, and the number of people who died at the hands of that thing was also countless, blood washing the world and dyeing the earth and heavens red. We finally cornered them on a nameless hill, killing them and destroying their bodies and souls, making sure that they would never manage to reach reincarnation. Only like that would this world be truly safe."


    Jing Yimu''s eyes seemed to glow with a red light as he spoke, that fateful day replaying inside his mind with every word he spoke. He still felt fear, even to this day, whenever he remembered the might that Li Yang and Fang Ying had released together on that day. After he finished the story, he stood up and stepped towards Li Yang, placing his hands on Li Yang''s shoulders, talking to him with a slightly shivering voice and red eyes.


    "I wanted you to know this. To know that no matter what I do, it will always be for the best of this world, for the greater good. Can you understand that? Can you forgive me for doing so if it were to ever hurt someone close to you?"


    Li Yang raised his head so that his eyes met with Jing Yimu''s, a bright smile appearing on his lips as he placed his own hands on Jing Yimu''s. His voice was completely calm and confident as he spoke, perfectly hiding his true emotions.


    "What are you saying, Master Yimu? You saved my life, no matter what you do, I will always support you."


    Jing Yimu seemed truly relieved and even joyous upon hearing Li Yang''s confident proclamation. He once more pulled Li Yang close and hugged him tightly, repeatedly thanking him with a relieved voice.


    "Thank you, Little Yang. Thank you."

 42 Killing someone with their own blade.

    After Jing Yimu told Li Yang the story, he seemed to have set his own mind at ease, returning to a mostly normal state. The two spent another two days in their small camp, resting until they were both in peak condition again, before setting out and heading towards Soaring Sword, the location of the third of the four trials.


    After attempting the trial in Soaring Sword, they would cut across the Cursed Realm, attempting the trial in Soul''s Rest once again and then attempting the trial in Spear''s Advance. Of course, Jing Yimu had no idea that Li Yang had already completed the trial in Soul''s Rest and here in Time''s March.


    Jing Yimu had mostly returned to normal, but he seemed to be extremely worried about Li Yang, even refusing to capture Demonic beasts and letting Li Yang battle against them as training. Seeing Jing Yimu like this, Li Yang once again found himself wondering exactly what kind of illusion Mengxiang had shown him.


    After a few days of traveling, the two found a small valley surrounded by an array, protecting it from the poison rain and golden lightning. Jing Yimu brought Li Yang down into the valley, which was filled with vibrant yellow flowers and a fresh scent. Once the two reached the bottom of the valley and Jing Yimu made sure that there were no Demonic beasts in the valley, he stepped in front of Li Yang and spoke up in a regal voice.


    "Little Yang. Your cultivation speed is rather slow, not yet having broken through to the late stage of the Mortal Rune realm, but I am still fully confident that you can one day reach the same height as me. But for the moment, you are still far too weak. And because of that, I have decided to teach you my special technique. This technique was created by mixing my own specialty as well as taking inspiration from a technique once used by the Thunder Monarch. In this whole world, you will be the second person besides me to ever learn it. You must swear an oath that you will never spread this technique without my permission. If I were to perish because of the passing of time, I allow you to teach it to people you find worthy of inheriting it."


    To swear an oath was to make a promise to the heavens. As long as one had not transcended the heavens, if one were to break the oath, they would have to face the wrath of the heavens and be destroyed. Upon hearing that the special technique he was about to teach him was based on the one Li Yang had created in the past, Li Yang''s interest was piqued. In his previous life, he had never seen Jing Yimu use a special technique, so Li Yang was wondering if it had been created after his death. Since he had no intention of teaching anyone the technique, Li Yang quickly swore the oath with a solemn expression.


    "I swear on my own soul that unless I am given permission or find someone worthy after your passing, I will never spread your special technique."


    A small smile appeared on Jing Yimu''s face when he saw that Li Yang did not even hesitate to swear an oath. He started talking about the technique he was going to teach Li Yang, patting him lightly on the head as he did so.


    "Good. The Thunder Monarch once had a technique where he let lightning dwell in his own body, drastically increasing his speed. My special technique is very similar, it let''s flame dwell in your body, drastically increasing your strength for a short moment. But letting fire dwell in your body is very painful, and if you keep the technique going for too long, you might burn yourself to ash, so be careful."


    After he explained what the technique would do and what the drawbacks were, Jing Yimu took a few steps backward and then sat down on the grass with crossed legs. After he sat down, he pointed at the grass in front of him and spoke up.


    "Sit down in front of me, I will help you train in the technique."


    To learn a special technique would often be difficult, as it required very specific movements of a person''s Qi, having someone show you how you should move your Qi was a great help. Li Yang stepped forward and sat down on the grass in front of Jing Yimu, facing him with an earnest and excited gaze. Jing Yimu stretched out his arms and placed his hands on Li Yang''s chest. His face grew serious as he looked into Li Yang''s eyes and spoke out.


    "I have given this technique the name Burning Hope, remember this feeling well."


    Jing Yimu activated his Qi, inserting a tiny sliver of it into Li Yang''s body. The moment Jing Yimu''s Qi entered his body, Li Yang entered a fully alert state, only calming down when he noticed that Jing Yimu did not do anything dangerous with his Qi.


    Jing Yimu''s Qi turned into a tiny blue flame that quickly started spreading through Li Yang''s body, scorching his veins and flesh as it settled in the various pressure points in his body. The pain was worse than when he took the trial in Soul''s Rest, but Li Yang still pretended like he was in great pain, gritting his teeth until his face turned pale and he was covered in sweat. Upon seeing him like this, Jing Yimu spoke out in a slightly pained but determined voice.


    "Endure it! You must endure the pain and memorize where and how the flame is moving! If you have this technique, you can use it to quickly turn the tide of battle, so you must endure the pain for now!"


    Li Yang continued to grit his teeth, counting the minutes and hours that passed as he memorized the location and movement of the flame. Even though he had a special technique of his own from his past life, he had never specialized in the flame element. Now that Jing Yimu was willing to give him a powerful flame based special technique, he was not going to simply reject it. Depending on how much it increased his strength, he might even be able to use it against Jing Yimu when he moved to kill him.


    Only after a little over half a day had passed did Jing Yimu remove his hands from Li Yang''s chest, pulling the blue flame out of his body. Once the flame left his body, Li Yang allowed all strength to leave his body, causing him to collapse forward and into Jing Yimu''s arms. Jing Yimu caught Li Yang''s sweaty body and spoke comforting words with a bright smile.


    "You did good, Little Yang. You did well. I am sorry that you had to suffer such pain."


    Li Yang put a weak smile on his face, slowly raising his head to look at Jing Yimu as he let out an almost inaudible laugh and spoke with a quivering voice.


    "Hehe, there is no need to worry about that, Master Yimu. I am no stranger to pain."


    After he spoke out, Li Yang pretended to lose consciousness. He continued to pretend that he was unconscious for a few hours, with Jing Yimu gently holding him and not moving for the entire duration. Once Li Yang pretended like he woke up, Jing Yimu helped him sit down with crossed legs. He then placed his palms on Li Yang''s chest again, speaking in a gentle voice.


    "Show me that you have memorized it."


    Li Yang let his own crimson flame course through his body, settling in the pressure points that Jing Yimu had marked earlier with his own flames. Once his flame settled in the pressure points, he felt both his Qi and strength rapidly surge, a burning pain coming from his body. Seeing him activate the technique so quickly, a bright smile appeared on Jing Yimu''s face as he praised.


    "Magnificent, you truly have excellent perception. If only your affinity was higher. After we leave this Cursed Realm, I will help you look for special flames that you can absorb to increase your affinity. The stronger your flame, the stronger Burning Hope will be."


    Jing Yimu could not help but let out a slight sigh. From what he could see, if Li Yang''s affinity was not so weak, there would be no shortage of powerful people willing to take him in as a disciple if they were to learn about him. Because of this, he also somewhat thanked his own luck that allowed him to discover Li Yang before anyone else did. Hearing that the special technique''s power could be increased through using a better flame, an ability that Li Yang''s own special technique did not have, Li Yang''s interest was once more piqued as he spoke in an excited and curious voice.


    "It becomes stronger if I have stronger flames? What flames are best to use?"


    Hearing Li Yang''s question, Jing Yimu''s eyes lit up with desire as he started to talk passionately. Jing Yimu was confident that there were very few people on this planet, that knew more about flames than he did.


    "Which flames are best to use, the strongest ones of course! If you can ever find one of the six mythical flames and use it to fuel that technique, even I have no idea how mighty it will be."


    Li Yang could not help but raise an eyebrow when he heard Jing Yimu''s passionate declaration. He had never heard about these so-called ''six mythical flames'' even in his past life. He knew about several mythical types of lightning, but nothing about mythical flames.


    "Six mythical flames? What are those?"


    Jing Yimu seemed to have been expecting Li Yang''s question, as he immediately started talking about the six flames, clear longing visible in his eyes.


    "The six mythical flames are the six strongest flames on this planet. I don''t know if there are stronger flames spread throughout this vast universe, or even if there are any stronger ones hidden away on this planet, but I do know that these six flames contain immeasurable might."


    Jing Yimu was powerful, but even he had only rarely left this planet and visited other ones, so the amount of information he had about the vast universe was limited. Jing Yimu quickly listed all six of the mythical flames.


    "The six flames are the Void Flame, the Cleansing Flame, the Revealing Flame, the Ice Flame, the Destroying Flame, and the Heavenly Flame. The Void Flame can only be found in the void between planets and dimensions, it has incredibly strong corrosive power, corroding even time and space itself. The Cleansing Flame is the flame of the holy Phoenix, able to cleanse all that is wicked, turning even evil gods to ash. The Revealing Flame is the flame of the Torch Dragon, able to burn away all illusions and falsehood, laying bare even the secrets of the universe. The Ice Flame is a terrifying mixture if ice and fire, able to freeze and burn anything it comes into contact with, leaving only dust in its wake. The Heavenly Flame is the flame of the heavens and comes in several different varieties. Descending upon sinners and people who strive for the heavens, everything beneath the heavens will turn to ash upon contact with this flame. The Destroying Flame is the flame of the Golden Crow, the flame with the greatest destructive property. It has no other special properties, but beneath the heat of those golden flames, even the heavens themselves can be burned, not even leaving behind ash."


    Li Yang felt the urge to let out a wide grin after hearing Jing Yimu''s explanation. Of the six mythical flames, he had already seen two of them in this lifetime, the flames of the Golden Crow and the flames of the Torch Dragon. And did he not have a little Golden Crow resting on his shoulder right now, lazily listening to their conversation? But Li Yang would of course never let Jing Yimu know this, so he played the part of the excited student.


    "Wow! Have you ever found one such flame, Master Yimu!?"


    Seeing Li Yang''s excited expression, Jing Yimu shook his head and let out a slight laugh. Finding one of these six mythical flames was far easier said than done, especially for the ones controlled by powerful Divine beasts.


    "I have once come into contact with one of the Heavenly Flames, the purple variety. It is of the same rank as the golden lightning that the Thunder Monarch once used, but I was too weak to absorb it, almost dying as I came into contact with it."


    Just like Heavenly Lightning had different ranks, so too had Heavenly Flame. The difference between them was that Heavenly Lightning was used to test people, while Heavenly Flame was used to punish people who had sinned or gone against the heavens. Jing Yimu stood up from the ground and gave his body a slight stretch, no longer talking about the six mythical flames. He looked towards the east, the direction of Soaring Sword, and spoke up, reminding Li Yang.


    "Only use Burning Hope when you fear for your life, the pain that comes with using the technique is no joke, it might even drive you mad if you use it for too long. Come, we must continue."


    Li Yang hurriedly stood up and moved closer to Jing Yimu, giving an earnest nod of his head.


    "Yes, Master Yimu."

 43 Terrifying ability.

    After teaching Li Yang the Burning Hope technique, Jing Yimu carried him along as they hurried towards the location of the third trial, a valley located outside of Soaring Sword. He carried Li Yang and flew at high speed, teaching him about the intricacies of the fire element and how it could be used.


    Li Yang knew quite a bit about the fire laws from his last life, but he had to admit that even when he was at his peak, he knew less about the fire laws than Jing Yimu did. With the chance to learn more about the fire laws presented to him, Li Yang acted the part of a diligent disciple and absorbed all of Jing Yimu''s knowledge, intently listening to all his words.


    Seeing Li Yang studying so diligently under him, and seeing how quickly he managed to digest the information about the fire laws, even implementing them at times, his face could not help but crack into a wide grin. The more Li Yang learned, the more Jing Yimu taught him.


    "Little Yang, you must never, not even for a split second, forget about those talismans. If you for even a single second feel that your mind is about to be absorbed by your heart demons, crush a talisman If you feel that the wind is getting a bit sharp, immediately crush a talisman! Caution sails a ship for a thousand years!"


    Li Yang and Jing Yimu stood at the edge of a valley so large that it looked like a scar on the world, so deep that Li Yang was unable to see the bottom. The walls of the valley were almost completely straight and smooth as if the entire valley had been carved out by a single slash. Li Yang knew that the valley did not only look like that, it had in fact been created by a single slash of a sword, a single slash by Ye Ning. Ye Ning was the only person Li Yang knew who could unleash such a terrifying slash. Looking at the serious Jing Yimu, Li Yang could only rapidly nod his head.


    "Don''t worry, Master Yimu, I won''t be foolish. I will make sure to flee the moment I suspect or feel that things might go wrong!"


    Jing Yimu continued to look at Li Yang for a few moments, his gaze stern and solemn. If it was up to him, he would not let Li Yang enter the trial grounds. After all, Li Yang was the first disciple he had taken in. They had traveled together for a while already, and the more time he spent with Li Yang, the more satisfied and closer he felt with him. When he looked at Li Yang, he felt like he saw a younger version of himself. But seeing the determined expression on Li Yang''s face, he could only give an unwilling nod of his head.


    "Good. Make sure you remember to do just that."


    Restricting someone to keep them safe would also restrict their growth. Jing Yimu feared that if he did not allow Li Yang to take some risks, he would easily stagnate in his cultivation, never reaching a higher stage. Jing Yimu grabbed Li Yang and jumped down into the valley, towards the entrance of the third trial.


    The inside of the valley, while blanketed by a sharp wind that felt like tiny blades on Li Yang''s skin, was surprisingly lush and flourishing. There were various flowers growing out from the lower part of the valley walls, and the ground was covered in swaying green grass that went all the way up to Li Yang''s knees. The moment they entered the valley, Jing Yimu entered a highly alert state, dashing at full speed towards the entrance of the trial.


    While Jing Yimu was highly alert and dashing at full speed, Li Yang had closed his eyes and taken a few deep breaths. The wind was slowly getting more ferocious, even starting to slice small wounds into Li Yang''s skin. But the wind brought with it a familiar feeling and scent, the scent of a carefree swordsman who liked to drink wine and leisurely wander the world with his spear-wielding wife.


    After Jing Yimu reached a certain spot within the valley, the wind around them suddenly grew so strong that it even obscured their vision. Li Yang felt Jing Yimu''s grip on him loosening, quickly vanishing completely as the wind around them started to grow calmer again.


    Once the wind had completely calmed down again, turning into nothing more than a gentle breeze, Li Yang found himself standing at the bottom of the valley, with only Jinwu remaining around him. Li Yang swept the surroundings with his eyes, a carefree look in his eyes. Not seeing any signs of Jing Yimu, he opened his mouth and spoke out.


    "You seem to have grown nicely, Zizai. When Ning picked you up, you weren''t even the size of my eye, the winds you summoned not even enough to sway my sleeves."


    After Li Yang''s voice sounded out, the gentle breeze around him seemed to tremble for a short moment. The wind picked up strength again, turning into a small tornado that spun around in front of Li Yang. After spinning in front of Li Yang for a short while, the tornado turned into a large cyan colored bird that was almost 20 meters in length. The bird looked at Li Yang with eyes that contained a mixture of shock and joy.


    "Thunder Monarch, it really is you! I suspected it might be you when I first noticed you enter the valley, but seeing you travel with that Bastard Yimu, I couldn''t be sure."


    The voice that came from the bird sounded a bit immature as if it had yet to become an adult. This bird was not a normal type of Demonic beast, it was a Wind Elemental. A Wind Elemental was wind that had gathered enough Qi to become a new life. Most people who found such a Wind Elemental would absorb it to strengthen their own wind element, but Ye Ning had taken it in and decided to raise it. Li Yang stretched out an arm and pat Zizai on the head, speaking with a slight smile.


    "It is good to see you, Zizai. I am currently traveling with Jing Yimu because of a certain reason, but I hope to be able to kill him once we take on Yawen''s trial. Could you take me to the location of the trial and tell me what I have to do to complete it?"


    Zizai rapidly nodded his head at Li Yang''s words, landing on the ground and turning into human shape. Zizai''s human shape was in the form of a youth that only looked a bit older than Li Yang, seemingly around 15 or 16 years old. He had pale and smooth skin, short green hair, and cyan eyes. Once he took human form, he grabbed Li Yang''s sleeves and started pulling him deeper into the valley.


    "The test that Big Brother Ning set up is very simple, you have to enter an array and have your body undergo an illusion that will drag out your heart demons. If you manage to resist or overcome your heart demons, you will have completed the trial. Failing to resist them or being devoured by your heart demons will result in failure, and most often either going insane or dying from exploding. But since it is you who is going to undertake it, I doubt anything is going to happen. Good luck!"


    Zizai spoke rapidly, not even stopping to breathe as his words flooded out. Despite living for countless years, Zizai was still considered a child Wind Elemental. He also had an easily excitable personality, which was one of the reasons Ye Ning had first decided to take him in and raise him. Zizai only dragged Li Yang for a short distance before letting go of his sleeves. Once Zizai let go of his sleeves, a ferocious wind once more appeared around Li Yang, clouding his vision.


    When the wind vanished, Li Yang did not find himself at the bottom of the valley again. He instead found himself standing on a patch of cracked earth, surrounded by streams of emerald lava. The air was filled with not only the faint smell of sulfur but also the smell of burnt wood and the sweet scent of poison. Upon noticing the scenery around him, Li Yang''s expression quickly changed, becoming so calm that it even seemed icy.


    Jinwu immediately noticed the change in Li Yang, brushing himself against Li Yang''s neck to calm him down. Li Yang took several deep breaths, patting Jinwu on the hand, putting on a forced smile as he spoke in a low voice.


    "Sorry. I figured I might end up seeing this, but it seems I wasn''t as prepared for it as I thought I was."


    Li Yang closed his eyes for a few seconds, once he opened them again, they were like two black holes, not allowing anyone to discern what he was thinking or feeling. He slowly started to walk, following a familiar path that was ingrained in his bones. A strong wind started to blow over the area as he walked, causing his azure hair to sway strongly in the wind, the smell of sulfur and poison growing stronger.


    Li Yang continued to walk until he reached the bottom of a small hill, stopping to take a few more deep breaths at the bottom of the hill. Once he had taken several deep breaths, he continued to walk forwards, ascending up the hill. Upon reaching the top of the hill, he saw the scenery he had expected to see here.


    A little distance away stood a ruined wooden cottage, the small garden at the back of the cottage burning with purple flames. Standing in the air around the cottage were people clad in the robes of several different sects that Li Yang recognized from his previous life. And standing in front of the ruined cottage and facing the group of people, were a wounded Fang Ying and Fang Xue''er.


    Fang Ying was holding the bleeding Fang Xue''er closely, her eyes sweeping the people surrounding them, a vicious light glowing in her eyes. Standing on top of the hill a short distance away, Li Yang could see that Fang Xue''er had already lost an arm and a leg, while Fang Ying had a large hole in her waist. If things went like they did in the past, Fang Xue''er would die after two more attacks, one sent by a man known as Jing Jianru, and one sent by a woman known as Xue Senzhou.


    Li Yang continued to look at the scenery, his eyes and expression frightfully calm. But his face was pale, sweat dripping from his forehead as he continuously took deep breaths as if he was trying to gulp down as much air as possible. Li Yang saw the attack sent by Jing Jianru land on Fang Ying and Fang Xue''er, blowing away a chunk of flesh from Fang Xue''er''s hips.


    Upon seeing this scene, he suddenly stopped taking deep breaths. Seeing Li Yang like this, Jinwu hurriedly flapped his wings and started flying in front of Li Yang''s face, loudly cawing as he talked to Li Yang. Li Yang looked at Jinwu, his lips turning into a heartbroken smile.


    "I know. Fighting will mean that I fail the trial. I also know that the two of them are not my Ying''er and my Xue''er, they are merely illusions created to taunt and test me, even if I fight, nothing will change. But even if they are not mine, I can''t stand seeing them hurt like this. So what if I fail this trial? I can just take it again as many times as I have to. Even if it is pointless and will achieve nothing, right now I want to fight. Jinwu...Please."


    To Li Yang, it was far easier to walk away from a happy illusion than it was to walk away from a painful illusion. No matter if they were real or not, he could not bear seeing Fang Ying and Fang Xue''er hurt in any way. Jinwu continued to fly in front of Li Yang''s face, but upon seeing the look on his face, it could only lower its head in a nod.


    Jinwu landed on Li Yang''s shoulder, but just as Li Yang was about to charge forward and tear apart the illusions in front of him, a blinding golden light was released from Jinwu''s body. Jinwu''s body turned into a stream of golden energy that completely covered and sank into Li Yang.


    With the golden energy covering and sinking into his body, information started flowing into his mind. This was the ability Jinwu had gained after growing stronger while Li Yang undertook the first trial, an ability that the two of them could use because Jinwu was born from the blood Li Yang dropped onto his egg. It was an ability to fuse together, greatly strengthening the other and allowing him to use the power of the other. A man who was an overlord in his previous life and a Divine Beast fusing together, how terrifying would such a fusion be?


    When the golden light had completely sunk into Li Yang''s body, his entire body felt like it was filled with overwhelming power. The robes he had been wearing earlier had changed, turning into a flowing golden robe decorated with images of blazing Golden Crows. His once pitch black eyes had turned a magnificent golden, and two wings covered in icy blue feathers sprouted from his back.


    Li Yang only gave the changes to his body a quick glance, as he had already been informed by Jinwu that the changes would revert once the two of them stopped using the fusion ability. He looked at the wings for a bit longer, a pleasantly surprised light flashing past his eyes.


    If he wanted to fly normally, he would first have to reach the Primordial Rune realm. But with these wings now available, traveling would be much easier. Li Yang glanced at his left shoulder, but Jinwu had already fused with him, so there was no one there. A gentle light flashed in his eyes as he muttered out in a low voice.


    "Thank you, Jinwu."


    After saying his thanks, Li Yang''s eyes landed on the group in the distance. He felt like a bit of time had passed, but it seemed that Xue Senzhou had not sent her attack yet, so he knew that only a few seconds had passed. His eyes seemed to glow with golden flames as he glared at the group and took a step forward, the earth cracking as he dashed forwards. His right arm became covered with golden flames, while a terrifyingly cold mist started coiling around his left arm. These were the two elements of Jinwu, the golden flames and an unknown type of ice.

 44 Second attempt.

    Li Yang dashed forward like a golden bolt of lightning, the earth behind him freezing and scorching as he passed. He was currently inside an array that mixed reality and illusion, so he could do whatever he wanted without it having any impact on the real world.


    His gaze was cold as he charged into the group of people, tearing them apart as he made his way towards Xue Senzhou. Despite only being illusions, they felt completely lifelike as he tore them apart as if they were real bodies. While tearing a path through the group, Li Yang also marveled at the might of Jinwu''s two elements. He had expected the might of the golden flames, not even leaving behind ash as they scorched everything. But Jinwu''s ice moved around like a light blue smoke, everything that touched it immediately freezing solid.


    Li Yang was like a tiger set loose upon a flock of sheep, none of the people in the group able to stop him. Everyone inside the illusion had the strength that they had from back then, so for a few short moments inside the illusion, Li Yang had returned to his past prime, to the days of the Thunder Monarch. But this Thunder Monarch had his strength increased by a child Divine Beast, turning into a monarch of fire and ice.


    With no one able to stop or stand against him, it didn''t even take half a minute for the entire group to be torn apart. All that remained, in the end, was Li Yang, surrounded by frozen corpses and scorched earth, his golden robe still clean and pristine. Yet despite slaughtering the entire group, Li Yang''s expression did not improve.


    With a slight turn of his head, his eyes fell on two bodies lying on the ground in the distance. He had killed everyone, but Fang Ying and Fang Xue''er had both died. This was an illusion and a trial, no matter what he did, the end would not change. Despite expecting the result, his heart still ached at seeing the bloody corpses.


    Li Yang did not walk over to the corpses, because he could feel the world around him shift and distort. After only a short moment, the world around him had once again turned into the scenery at the bottom of the valley. Li Yang gave the surroundings a quick sweep with his eyes, before shaking his head and undoing the fusion ability.


    "As expected, I failed the trial. Thank you for putting up with my selfishness, Jinwu."


    Jinwu landed on Li Yang''s left shoulder, looking a bit weaker and rather exhausted, but he still snuggled close to Li Yang''s neck. Li Yang gave Jinwu a few pats on the head, before speaking out in a loud voice.


    "Sorry, Zizai, but could you send me back into the trial?"


    To Li Yang, the entire bottom of the valley looked identical, he also didn''t know where he would be sent after failing the trial, so he had no idea where the entrance of the trial currently was. But he knew that Zizai would be able to hear him from anywhere inside the valley, so he could simply ask Zizai to send him back to the trial.


    Not long after Li Yang''s voice rang out, the wind around him once more turned ferocious, lifting him up and sending him deeper into the valley. After flying through the air like this for a short while, the world around Li Yang started to twist and distort with the wind, letting him know that he had once again entered the trial.


    The moment the wind around Li Yang vanished and he saw the contents of the illusion, his eyes could not help but tremble slightly. He stood atop a small hill, black clouds covered the sky and released a torrent of rain. The earth beneath the hill was drenched in blood, a large group of people surrounding the hill, in his hand was a familiar golden sword. But there was one big difference between this scene and the one he had experienced in the past, now there were four additional corpses on the ground not far from them, the corpses of four dear friends.


    Li Yang closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath, he then turned his head to the side, ignoring the people that surrounded him and shouted at him. Just as he expected, a graceful woman clad in an azure robe was standing next to him, her face pale and carrying a somewhat worried expression. Fang Ying was covered in blood and wounds, but they only added a valiant charm to her. Looking at that familiar visage in such a familiar scene, Li Yang could not help but be somewhat spellbound. Noticing that Li Yang was looking at her with a spellbound expression, Fang Ying could not help but turn towards him.


    "Do you really think now is the time to be looking at me like that?"


    Her voice was a bit weak, but it traveled directly to Li Yang''s heart. In his life, Li Yang only ever had two regrets. Not being able to save Fang Xue''er was one, and this fateful day was the second. As he responded, Li Yang could not help but wear a brilliant smile.


    "I couldn''t help it, you are just too beautiful."


    Hearing such an unexpected answer, Fang Ying could not help but be caught slightly off guard, but she quickly puffed out her cheeks slightly, responding in a tone of voice that could only be considered cheeky.


    "So this is what it takes for you to praise me, the both of us being chased down and surrounded?"


    Li Yang did not respond to her question, his smile only growing brighter as he saw her somewhat pouting expression. He took his eyes off her and swept the surroundings, he could see Jing Yimu standing at the bottom of the hill, shouting at them, but his words did not reach Li Yang''s ears.


    "Do you regret it? All these years?"


    Back then, it had been Fang Ying who asked him this question, but now it was him asking her. They had spent so many years together, suffered so much hardship together. This was just an illusion, but Li Yang still wanted the Fang Ying next to him to answer the question.


    "Not a single second. If I was given the chance, I would do it all over again."


    Hearing her response, a slight smile spread on Li Yang''s face. At the end of his past life, it had been him who had spoken very similar words. Li Yang once more glanced at those four familiar corpses lying on the ground not far away. After glancing at the corpses, he dropped his golden sword and took a hold of Fang Ying''s hand, speaking out in a gentle and soft voice.


    "Tell me, Ying''er. Would you follow me, to the great void, to a true emptiness?"


    Li Yang had already made up his mind. He did not know if his choice would allow him to pass this test, but he knew that the choice was the one that his heart told him was right, the choice he was unable to make back then. Fang Ying also glanced at the four corpses for a short moment, tightening her grip on Li Yang''s hands, her voice calm and gentle.


    "A world without you and the others is a world that is not worth existing."


    Li Yang''s lips curved into a smile, his eyes meeting Fang Ying''s. His right hand held onto Fang Ying''s while his left arm slowly rose up, his flat palm facing upwards. A pitch black energy started to gather in the upturned palm, but Li Yang was completely absorbed in Fang Ying''s eyes.


    "Then together. To a point beyond existence."


    The pitch black energy started to gather together, forming into a small black orb that floated above Li Yang''s palm. When the orb appeared, it was as if the entire world fell silent, all sound sucked up by the orb as it slowly grew larger. Despite the orb seemingly sucking up all sound, Li Yang was still able to hear Fang Ying''s voice.


    "Together. No matter where."


    After Fang Ying''s last words rang out, the black orb rapidly expanded, turning into a massive black hole. This was the choice Li Yang had been unable to make back then, to unleash the full power of destruction and drag Jing Yimu and the others with them to death. But in this illusion, even Zhao Feng and the others had already died, so there was nothing holding Li Yang back.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying were the first to be sucked into the black hole, twisted and distorted until they completely vanished, even their souls forever destroyed. But the true power of destruction had already been unleashed, so it did not stop there. The black hole swiftly grew, sucking up not only the planet they were on, but even dragging in a countless amount of other planets.


    Had Li Yang been able to see the end result, he would surely have been surprised. Half a galaxy, completely destroyed and replaced by a black void. This was the full strength of the destruction that Li Yang had comprehended. Had his cultivation been higher, the black hole would have been even larger. Truly, a funeral pyre fit for a monarch and his empress.


    After being sucked into the black hole, Li Yang found himself floating in a pitch black space. After only a short moment, the pitch black space started lighting up and distorting, turning back into the scenery at the bottom of the valley, the familiar voice of Ye Ning ringing out in Li Yang''s head.


    "Following your heart and freeing it from the shackles of guilt and regret, you can be considered to have completed my trial. You can take my emblem, hopefully, you will be able to gather all four and reignite the lightning that was lost."


    In both attempts at the trial, Li Yang had basically done the same thing. He had fought and reached the inevitable end of the illusion, the death of Fang Ying. But the difference between the two was that at the end of the second attempt, Li Yang''s heart was content. He had followed his heart and done as he wished, just as Ye Ning had always done.

 45 Jing Yimu finishes the trial.

    The darkness around Li Yang lit up with a soft white light that slowly increased in intensity. The white light started to surround Li Yang, solidifying as it did so. The light quickly turned into a white cloud that coiled around Li Yang, one end of the cloud merging into his chest, a pleasantly warm feeling spreading throughout his body.


    Li Yang enjoyed the warm feeling, simultaneously inspecting what the cloud that was merging with his chest was doing. It only took a quick inspection to see that the part of the cloud that had already merged with his chest was slowly turning into a token that settled down close to the two other tokens that were already merged with his chest. This token was a light blue in color, the image of a lonely cloud with a sword hanging above it engraved onto the token.


    After what felt like only a short while, the entire cloud had merged into Li Yang''s chest and become a part of the token, returning the surroundings to a pitch black darkness. Just as Li Yang was starting to wonder what would happen next, a fresh breeze blew past him, the darkness swiftly melting and returning to the scenery of the valley.


    Li Yang took a deep breath of the fresh air, feeling the solid earth beneath him and the soft breeze around him. No matter how hardy and resolute a person was, seeing both of their great regrets in quick succession would still be tough, no matter how they resolved the situation. While Li Yang was enjoying the breeze, the wind started to dance around him, the somewhat childish voice of Zizai ringing out.


    "I said so, didn''t I? That this trial would be no problem for you. Now it has only been a short three weeks, but you have already completed the trial and earned Big Brother Ning''s emblem."


    The wind around Li Yang turned into the cyan bird that was Zizai, who was currently wearing what seemed to be a proud smile. Li Yang''s eyebrow ticked up slightly when he heard Zizai mention how long he had been inside the trial, even Jinwu looked rather shocked. To Li Yang, it felt like it had been no more than a few minutes at best, but now it turned out that it had been three weeks already? He could not help but wonder exactly how powerful the arrays located inside this hidden realm were, to distort his sense of time like that. Li Yang swept the surroundings with his gaze for a short moment, before turning back to Zizai.


    "Since you are talking to me this openly, I guess that means Jing Yimu is still inside the trial?"


    Zizai might have a somewhat childish mind, but Li Yang knew that he was not dumb enough to talk to Li Yang so freely if Jing Yimu was able to hear them. He also did not believe that Jing Yimu would simply leave him behind, not after Li Yang had made sure that the two of them had gotten as close as an intimate master and disciple. Zizai rapidly nodded his head, slightly tilting his head as he questioned.


    "Yup yup, Bastard Yimu is still taking the trial. It usually takes him two or three months to fail the trial, so if he follows the usual pattern, he will be out in a little over a month. Do you want me to send you to the location of the other trials?"


    Zizai had watched Jing Yimu attempt the trials countless times, so he had already memorized how long it would usually take Jing Yimu to complete one attempt. Upon hearing Zizai''s question, Li Yang could not help but let out a somewhat surprised exclamation.


    "You can do that?"


    When he had met Mengxiang and Chen Huo, neither of them had offered to directly transport him to the next trial, so Li Yang simply assumed that they were unable to do so. Zizai once again rapidly nodded his head, a proud smile on his face as he loudly proclaimed.


    "Yup yup. The others can''t, but since I can control all wind, sending you to the other trials is no problem. The ride might be bumpy, but you can completely trust me, I will get you there in no time!"


    Right after the last of Zizai''s words fell, the wind inside the valley grew ferocious again, gathering around Li Yang and slowly lifting him and Jinwu up off the ground. Knowing what was about to happen, Li Yang hastily let out several loud shouts.


    "Stop, stop! I was just asking because I was curious, not because I wanted you to send me away. And for that matter, you didn''t even ask me where I wanted to go."


    After Li Yang shouted out, the wind that was surrounding him started to weaken in ferocity, his body slowly returning down to the ground. Once his feet touched the ground again, he sent a slight glare at Zizai, who quickly started to explain himself.


    "I can control all wind, so I can just ask you where you want to go while you are in the air. And why do you not want to go to the other trials?"


    Seeing the innocent expression that Zizai wore while explaining himself, Li Yang could only let out a slight sigh. He gave a slight shake of his head and then once again explained his current plan to Zizai.


    "It''s not that I don''t want to go, it''s that I can''t go yet. I already told you, I have to wait for Jing Yimu and take Yawen''s trial alongside him. Only there will I have a good chance of killing him."


    Li Yang had already somewhat explained his plan to Zizai when the two of them first met again, but now it seemed like he had forgotten all about it. Zizai''s eyes quickly lit up with the light of remembrance as he heard Li Yang''s words, his head rapidly bopping up and down.


    "Ah! Yup yup, that makes perfect sense, I must have forgotten!"


    Li Yang wanted to comment on Zizai mentioning the obvious, but seeing his innocent eyes and bright smile, he could not bring himself to say anything, so he only shook his head and let out a slight chuckle. After a short moment of silence, Zizai seemed to have suddenly come up with an idea, as his eyes lit up with a bright light.


    "Ah! Then you have to wait for him to come out, which will still take a bit of time. Let me take you to a good place where you can wait for him."


    Before Li Yang even had the chance to think of a response, the wind around him picked him up once more, flying him through the air at high speed. Zizai also remembered Jinwu, who was surrounded by a smaller gust of wind and dragged along.


    After flying for a short while, the wind brought Li Yang and Jinwu down to the ground, revealing the area around them, a small and refreshing meadow. This part of the valley was different from the rest. The grass was shorter and had a more vibrant color, there were fewer flowers here, but the air was fresher and held a calming scent. There was a single tree located not far from where Li Yang stood, a ray of sunlight shining directly down on the tree, illuminating the red apple-like fruits that were growing on the tree.


    There seemed to be an array surrounding the entire meadow, as Li Yang could sense that the Qi in the air was far denser than it was in the outside world. Looking at the meadow around him, Li Yang''s eyes could not help but brighten. The fruits that were growing on the tree were a type of fruit that was very useful to certain Demonic beasts, so he did not care much about them, but this meadow was extremely useful for cultivation, allowing one to save a large amount of time.


    "This is the place? It really is a good place, cultivating here will save a lot of time."


    Hearing Li Yang praise the meadow, Zizai''s entire face lit up with a bright smile, his body turning into wind. The wind danced around the meadow, rustling the grass and the leaves, Zizai''s joyful voice sounding out.


    "Yup yup, this is where Big Brother Ning said that I should live after he left. He said that he hoped I would be nice and big when he came back to pick me up. It has been a while, but I am sure he will come and pick me up soon. After all, even you have already come."


    Li Yang could tell that Zizai was truly happy, seeing the arrival of Li Yang as a sign that Ye Ning would soon come to pick him up. Seeing him happy like this, how could Li Yang have the heart to tell him that whether or not Ye Ning was alive was unknown?


    "Yup, I am sure that Ning will soon come to pick you up. If he doesn''t, I will make sure that Yawen gives his rear a kick and forces him to move."


    Li Yang decided to toss out a few words here, walking forwards and sitting down beneath the lone tree. The speed at which the wind danced increased after Li Yang spoke, so it was clear that Zizai became even happier.


    "You''ll do that?! Thank you, Thunder Monarch! I will let you know when Bastard Yimu is about to finish the trial!"


    After Zizai''s words sounded out, the wind that danced around the meadow died down, bringing a tranquil silence to the meadow. With Zizai keeping an eye on Jing Yimu, Li Yang felt confident that he could cultivate in peace. He took a few deep breaths, crossed his legs, and then closed his eyes. When he finished Dai Shu''s trial, he had already been very close to carving his fourth rune, so he was confident that he could at least carve his fourth rune while waiting for Jing Yimu if he was lucky, he might even be able to carve the fifth.


    Jinwu seemed to understand what Li Yang was thinking, so it did not disturb him while he was cultivating. What he chose to do instead was to start eating the fruits that were growing on the tree, slowly but steadily devouring more and more fruits. With Li Yang fully immersed in his cultivation and Jinwu fully focused on eating fruits and resting, time passed by unnoticed, two months passing in silence.


    As a cultivator, the amount of food Li Yang needed and the amount of waste he produced was far lower than that of a normal person. Once a cultivator reached a high enough level, they even stopped needing to eat all-together, surviving on Qi alone. After two months of cultivating, Li Yang had easily managed to carve the fourth rune for all his elements and was almost finished carving the fifth one. But his cultivation was cut short by the voice of Zizai, which resounded over the meadow after two months of absence.


    "Thunder Monarch, Bastard Yimu is about to leave the trial! Let me bring you to the place where he will appear!"


    Li Yang opened his eyes and stood up, stretching his body and enjoying the popping sound of his joints. He did not even need to say anything, wind automatically gathering around him and Jinwu, dragging them away. Li Yang sent one last look at the meadow, a slight smile on his face.


    "Shame to lose such a great place, but I have already gotten quite a bit of worth out of it."


    The wind brought Li Yang and Jinwu back to the place where they had first appeared after they cleared the trial. The area was currently calm, but Li Yang did not doubt Zizai''s words that Jing Yimu was about to finish the trial. He took a deep breath to correct his mindset, and then sat down on the ground with his legs crossed, calmly cultivating.


    After a few minutes of cultivating, the air not far from Li Yang started to shimmer and distort, Jing Yimu stepping out of the shimmering air. Once Jing Yimu stepped out of the shimmering air, Li Yang sprang up and put on an excited expression.


    "Master Yimu, you have finally finished the trial!"


    Upon spotting Li Yang, a wide grin spread on Jing Yimu''s face. His body blurred as he dashed forward, picking up Li Yang and spinning him around in a tight hug, utterly shocking Li Yang.


    "HAHA, Little Yang! You truly are my lucky charm!"


    He continued to spin around a few more times, his loud laughter resounding within the valley and echoing into the distance. Had he not paid attention to his strength, Li Yang would have already been squeezed into a fine paste. It was only after a few more seconds of spinning and laughing that he put down Li Yang, taking out a sky blue token and showing it to him.


    "371 times! 371 times I have attempted this damned trial, and every single one of them has failed! That is, until now! Look at this, Little Yang! This was earned thanks to you!"


    Li Yang''s pupils shrank slightly when he saw the token in Jing Yimu''s hands. Jing Yimu had also completed the trial? Despite already failing so many attempts? But how could Li Yang know that the reason Jing Yimu often failed this particular trial was because of his regret that he had never had a child he could pass his own legacy onto? With Li Yang acting the part of a perfect disciple and lovable child, that regret had completely vanished. Li Yang quickly regained his calm state of mind, giving Jing Yimu an apologetic bow.


    "Is that the token that one gains when completing the trial? That is amazing, Master Yimu. I was forced to escape the trial not long after I started it, please forgive me."


    Li Yang''s words sounded like they were filled with heartfelt joy, something that caused the grin on Jing Yimu''s face to grow even brighter. He gave Li Yang a few heavy pats on the shoulder, letting out another loud laugh.


    "Don''t think about it, even I have failed the trials so many times after all. As long as you persevere and never give up, you will eventually succeed. I can also see that you have managed to raise your cultivation while I was inside the trial, so you have clearly not been idle while waiting for me. That is good, managing to cultivate even in a place like this."


    Li Yang had almost engraved his fifth rune, so he had loosened up the technique he used to hide his cultivation, making it look like it had risen slightly since the time Jing Yimu entered the trial grounds. Jing Yimu wanted to say more, but the wind in the valley started growing ferocious and sharp as if it wanted to slice them both in half. Zizai had to act his part, after all, looking like he wanted to tear Jing Yimu apart on the spot.


    "Shit, I completely forgot about him! Little Yang, we are leaving!"


    Jing Yimu''s expression rapidly distorted as he grabbed onto Li Yang''s wrist and kicked off the ground, soaring away at a speed faster than the eye could see. The two quickly left the valley, the howling wind stopping at the edge of the valley. It was only after reaching a distance that was far from the valley, that Jing Yimu''s lips curled into a grin again. Now he had completed one of the trials, the next stop was Zhao Feng''s trial in Soul''s Rest.

 46 Returning to the emerald volcanoes.

    Jing Yimu flew through the air, using his Qi to make sure that Li Yang was flying safely next to him. He was humming a cheerful tune, a bright grin on his face. Li Yang had originally guessed that Jing Yimu would land not far from the valley, the two of them walking towards the emerald volcanoes like they had been doing for the other trials, but now it seemed like he was planning on flying all the way to the emerald volcanoes to undertake the next trial.


    Just as Li Yang guessed, Jing Yimu continued to hum cheerfully, not showing any signs of stopping their flight. He glanced at the sky several times, making sure that there were no clouds gathering, but their luck was quite excellent, not a single drop of poisonous rain falling in a whole two days. Since they were now flying instead of walking, two days was more than enough to reach the outskirts of the emerald volcanoes.


    It was only upon reaching the outskirts of the emerald volcanoes that Jing Yimu finally decided to land, the grin on his face giving way to a serious expression. The two stepped onto the barren earth that was the outskirts of the emerald volcanoes, but before Li Yang could walk any further, Jing Yimu waved his hand, raising a wall of Qi that surrounded Li Yang and prevented him from moving further.


    Li Yang''s pupils rapidly shrank, his mind quickly moving as he tried to figure out what Jing Yimu was planning. He still acted calm, not taking any actions until he felt that he was certain what Jing Yimu was planning. Jing Yimu turned around and faced Li Yang, his eyes carrying a gentle light.


    "You know, things have gotten better and better for me ever since I met. Not only have I managed to complete one of the trials, I have even found someone that I can give my legacy to, someone to continue my name after I die. I truly believe that our meeting was destiny, a meeting determined long ago. And because of that, I must break my previous promise."


    Jing Yimu shook his head, releasing a heavy sigh. To cultivators of his level, breaking their own word was considered a great shame. But right now, Jing Yimu could not be bothered to try and keep the promise he had made to Li Yang. He waved his arm once more, reinforcing the wall of Qi around Li Yang, making sure that there was no chance of it breaking, and then continued to talk.


    "I cannot let you take part in this trial. The other three trials are fine, but this one I cannot allow you to attempt. The other trials will give you time to use those talismans, but this trial will shatter your body and torment your soul, you will not have the chance to use those talismans. I refuse to let you die, but if I just leave you alone to wait for me, I am certain that you would just run ahead and try to enter the trial. I know that you want to train yourself, but this is not the place to do it. Just wait quietly for me here, you have enough food and water in your interspatial ring for two years, so just quietly cultivate and wait for me. With this wall of Qi up, nothing will be able to discover or harm you."


    The way Jing Yimu saw it, Li Yang trying to attempt this trial was nothing short of suicide. With his body shattered, he would not even be given the chance to use the talismans he had been given, even if he was still conscious after having his soul tormented. Jing Yimu checked the wall of Qi one last time, before turning around and vanishing into the depths of the emerald volcanoes.


    Li Yang looked into the distance, and only upon hearing the sounds of Chen Huo attacking Jing Yimu did he sit down and let out a long sigh. He used his knuckles to hit the wall of Qi a few times, a dull knocking sound ringing out. Jinwu also flew around, knocking at the wall of Qi with his beak, but to no avail. Li Yang could only let out another sigh and mutter to Jinwu.


    "I know that I wasn''t going to attempt this trial again anyway, but that doesn''t mean that I want to be stuck here for as long as it takes him to finish the trial."


    Li Yang could only knock the wall one more time, letting out a bitter laugh. He already had the emblem that this trial rewarded, it was the very first trial he had completed, why would he bother taking it again? While he could not tell this to Jing Yimu, he could pretend to take the trial, and then have Chen Huo take him away and find him a good place to cultivate. But now it seemed like he was stuck sitting here and waiting.


    After a short while of waiting, the sound of rushing wind reached Li Yang''s ears. He opened his eyes and slightly raised his head, spotting Chen Huo, who was currently in human form, flying over. Once he saw Li Yang, Chen Huo landed on the ground in front of the wall of Qi, slightly tilting his head.


    "Thunder Monarch, so it really was you I was sensing all the way out here. Why are you locked up here?"


    Chen Huo could sense everything happening within the emerald volcanoes, and that of course also included the outskirts, so he had immediately noticed that Jing Yimu had left someone behind before attempting the trial. Li Yang could only let out another sigh and shake his head, shortly explaining the situation.


    "Jing Yimu did not want to risk me attempting the trial while he was gone, so he locked me up here to wait for him."


    Chen Huo could not help but gawk slightly after hearing Li Yang''s explanation, he then promptly let out a small laugh.


    "Hehe, he seems quite eager to watch your back and keep you safe, you must have done an excellent job of getting closer to him."


    The great Thunder Monarch, locked away for his own safety, by the man who was part of the reason he had died no less. Chen Huo could not help but wonder if Jing Yimu knew of Li Yang''s true identity, what would he think about his own actions? Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulder in a nonchalant manner as he responded.


    "I know him quite well, so it was rather easy. But I think I''ll pass on having him watch my back. I already have Jinwu and Ying''er, any more and things will just get out of hand."


    Just like he said, he knew Jing Yimu very well, they had once been as close as brothers after all. But no matter how close they had been, or how well Jing Yimu was treating him now, Jing Yimu was the reason Fang Ying had died, Li Yang would never forgive him. Chen Huo gave a slight nod of his head, placing his palm on the wall of Qi.


    "Should I break you out?"


    Chen Huo was stronger than Jing Yimu, had it not been for the fact that he was locked up into this array to become its guardian, he would have long since chased down and kill Jing Yimu. To shatter a wall of Qi Jing Yimu had set up was incredibly easy for him. But Li Yang shook his head, giving a quick response.


    "No. If you do that, he will immediately notice it once he finishes the trial. We are so close to reaching Yawen''s trial, so the fewer risks I take, the better. I''ll just have to cultivate here quietly and wait for him."


    Li Yang wanted to go and visit Fang Xue''er''s grave, but he did not want to do anything that would arouse suspicion, especially now that he was so close to achieving his goal. Chen Huo removed his hand from the wall of Qi, giving another nod of his head.


    "As you wish, I will make sure that he comes out as fast as possible."


    Chen Huo turned around after he finished talking, and was just about to move away when Li Yang''s surprised voice caused him to stop.


    "You can do that?"


    Chen Huo turned around, giving another short nod of his head as he explained. As the guardian of the trial, he could raise the difficulty if certain conditions were met, of course, there was a limit to how much he could raise the difficulty.


    "As he has already acquired one of the emblems, I have the right to increase the difficulty of the trial somewhat. I cannot make it outright kill him, but forcing him out faster than usual should be no problem."


    Hearing Chen Huo''s confirmation, a slight smile spread on Li Yang''s face, it seemed like he would not have to wait for as long as he had initially expected.


    "Good, please do that."

 47 Towards the final trial.

    Chen Huo left immediately after getting confirmation from Li Yang, preparing to force Jing Yimu out of the trial. With him leaving, only Li Yang and Jinwu were left in the area, a tranquil silence descending upon them. Jinwu flew in front of Li Yang''s face, letting out a few low caws, causing a slight smile to appear on Li Yang''s face as he nodded his head.


    "Alright, you can just sleep. I am going to cultivate a bit, condense the runes a bit more. I''ll wake you up when it is time to leave."


    Li Yang sat down in a position where both his thighs were pressed against each other, Jinwu landing on his thighs and laying down as it went to sleep. Jinwu was different from Li Yang, who enjoyed cultivation, Jinwu was more lazy, preferring to relax and enjoy himself. After Jinwu went to sleep, Li Yang closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, focusing his mind and sinking it into his dantian.


    Four types of shimmering runes floated in front of him, one in the shape of a roaring flame, one in the shape of a furious bolt of lightning, one in the shape of a mountain of ice, and one in the shape of a pitch black hole. While waiting for Jing Yimu, he was planning on condensing his runes further. Condensing the runes was different from creating new ones, as one only had to use large amounts of Qi to slowly compress the runes to condense them. This would allow them to become tougher and purer, making it easier to draw out more strength and making it harder for others to shatter them.


    Li Yang continued to take deep breaths, his chest bulging with every breath he took. He slowly started to draw upon the Qi from the protective wall around him, using the strong Qi to surround his runes and compress them. Jing Yimu had not only set up the wall to protect Li Yang but also so that he could use the abundant Qi within the wall to cultivate. He was confident that even if Li Yang spent five years absorbing the Qi within the wall, he would still not be able to weaken the wall enough for him to slip out of it.


    And he was correct. Even if Li Yang had all the memories from his past life, even if he used the element of destruction, there was no way he could make up for the strength disparity between the two of them. The element of destruction could destroy everything, but it still needed to be supplied enough Qi to do so. And the current Li Yang had no way of supplying enough Qi to fuel the element of destruction enough to destroy this protective wall.


    Under the constant pressure that they were subjected to, his runes started to slowly shrink. But even though they shrunk, the light glowing from them grew a little brighter each time they shrunk. Because Li Yang was completely focused on his cultivation, he had no real way of keeping track of how much time passed. And since he was a cultivator, the amount of food he needed and waste he produced was far lower than other people, allowing him to easily go for months without eating.


    But his cultivation could not continue without pause, it could only continue for as long as Jing Yimu was taking on the trial. So after he had spent a little over a month quietly cultivating, a loud explosion suddenly sounded out, the earth trembling fiercely as a wave of heat washed over the entire area. Had it not been for the protective wall around him, Li Yang probably would have ended up somewhat wounded because of the heat.


    As the sound of the explosion started to die down, Li Yang opened his eyes for the first time in a little over a month, glancing towards the volcanoes. Jinwu also woke up because of the sound, flying up and perching on Li Yang''s left shoulder, slightly shaking his body. When Li Yang glanced at the volcanoes, he saw that there was a large plume of smoke coming from the remains of the middle volcano. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he pat Jinwu on the head.


    "Seems like there is no longer a need for us to wait."


    A few moments after Li Yang spoke, someone shot out from the plume of smoke, heading directly towards Li Yang at high speed. The person landed in front of Li Yang, revealing himself to be a slightly sorry looking Jing Yimu. His robe was scorched black and torn in a few places, his hair disheveled and his face pale. Looking at the state of him, it looked like he had engaged Chen Huo in a slight confrontation either before he entered the trial, or right now as he left the trial. Li Yang put on a happy smile, standing up and speaking out in a cheerful voice.


    "Master Yimu, you are back! Did you manage to complete the trial?"


    Li Yang could easily guess that Jing Yimu had failed the trial, but as Jing Yimu''s ''disciple'' it was a question that he had to ask. Jing Yimu gawked slightly after hearing Li Yang''s question, a faintly forced mysterious smile appearing on his face as he responded.


    "What do you think, Little Yang? Do you think I was unable to complete it?"


    Jing Yimu straightened up his back as he spoke, almost causing Li Yang to burst out laughing. He had clearly failed to complete the trial, so what was the point in acting mysterious like this? But Li Yang managed to keep a straight face, a light glimmering in his eyes as he clapped his hands.


    "How could I believe that? You have already completed the previous trial, so I am certain that you have managed to complete this one. Congratulations, Master Yimu, now you only need to complete the last two. You will surely manage that quickly!"


    Jing Yimu''s smile twitched slightly after he heard Li Yang''s complements, had it not been for the fact that he had countless years of experience, he would probably have ended up blushing slightly. He cleared his throat and then waved his hand, removing the wall of Qi that he had set up around Li Yang.


    "A tiny amount of the Qi in the wall has been drained, it seems like you realized what I thought when I set it up, good."


    With the wall disappearing, Li Yang gave his body a few stretches. After sitting still for a little over a month, his joints released slight popping sounds as he stretched them. Jing Yimu seemed to have suddenly realized something, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out a spear that was orange in color, the spear-head made out of a transparent crystal. He tossed the spear to Li Yang, a smile on his face.


    "I forgot to give this to you after I completed the previous trial, so you''ll have to forgive me. Happy birthday, Little Yang."


    Li Yang grabbed the spear, which was even longer than he was tall, almost three meters long. There was a faint heat coursing through the spear, flames engraved along the shaft, so it was clearly meant for a person who cultivated the laws of fire. It was also only upon hearing Jing Yimu congratulate him that Li Yang had turned 13 around two months ago, while Jing Yimu was taking on the previous trial. Li Yang quickly put on an excited expression, giving Jing Yimu a deep bow.


    "Thank you, Master Yimu! I will make sure to treasure it."


    The spear seemed like it was of excellent quality, but Li Yang was a swordsman, so it was not very useful to him. But he was lacking a proper weapon for the moment, so it was better than nothing. Jing Yimu reached out with his hand, patting Li Yang on the shoulder and helping him straighten his back.


    "No need for such formality, it is only right that I give you something, I am your master after all. Now come, we have another trial to head to!"


    Li Yang''s lips curled into an almost invisible smile after hearing Jing Yimu''s words. He was so close now, so close to acquiring the last emblem, so close to killing Jing Yimu. The thought alone almost made him break out into a wide grin.

 48 Entering the last trial.

    After the two left the emerald volcanoes, Jing Yimu did not fly them directly towards the next trial, his eagerness dampened slightly after his previous failure. What he chose to do instead, was to continue training Li Yang while they were traveling. He had just gifted Li Yang a new spear, so he wanted to make sure that Li Yang managed to become a bit more proficient with the spear before they took on the next trial.


    "Little Yang, you are holding the spear wrong. When you are trying to stab like that, you must put more strength into the arm that is supporting the base of the spear, only then can you pierce forth with all your strength."


    Jing Yimu stood behind Li Yang and held onto his arms, helping him position them properly on the spear. He was not someone who used a spear to fight, but he had lived for countless years already, he had far more experience than most. Of course, even while they were training, Jing Yimu made sure that they were constantly on the move, only taking a break whenever the poisonous rain would appear. He also continued to teach Li Yang what he knew about the fire element, as well as how to use it while fighting.


    "This spear is perfectly suited for channeling fire Qi, but you must still find a way to channel it that suits you. Do you want to let all the Qi blaze fiercely, producing continuously explosive attacks? Or do you want to let the Qi circulate within the spear, gathering heat and energy to decimate everything that touches the tip of the spear?"


    Learning how to use one''s element efficiently was often far more important than the amount of Qi one had. Even if one had a large amount of Qi, it would mean nothing if they were unable to use it efficiently, wasting it with every attack or movement. Of course, Li Yang already knew how to use his elements efficiently, but as long as Jing Yimu was watching, he played the part of a diligent disciple.


    "A spear can do more than just stab, it can also smash, block and slice. You need to find a style that suits you, one that does not focus on simply one aspect of the spear. If your spear-play focuses on only a single aspect, you can easily be suppressed when faced with someone who is adept at countering that one aspect."


    Jing Yimu even demonstrated several different ways to use the spear, slowing down his attacks to a level where he felt that Li Yang would be able to see and memorize them properly. Whenever he was teaching Li Yang, he felt countless years younger, so he did not mind repeating his moves as many times as Li Yang asked.


    "This spear is best suited for fire Qi, but you mustn''t forget that you also have ice Qi. If you can use your fire Qi for attacks, and then your ice Qi for defense, you will have a great advantage over others in your future fights."


    Despite being made for fire Qi, the spear could still hold ice Qi. Ice was far sturdier and suited for defense than fire was, so if Li Yang managed to master both, he would have perfect defense and perfect attack. It was only after the two had walked for half a month that Jing Yimu stopped their training, a solemn expression on his face as he looked into the distance.


    "Alright, we will have to cut the training short now. Look, that mountain is the location of the next trial. You will face an endless battle within it, so always keep a talisman ready to escape."


    Their surroundings were no longer as lush and green as they used to be. The ground was dry and dusty, with barely any grass growing as far as the eye could see. Instead of grass, there were several jagged pieces of metal growing up from the ground, looking like claws trying to grasp the heaven''s. In the distance ahead of them stood a tall mountain that was a silvery gray in color, looking like a sword that pierced towards the heavens. That was their goal, the site of Bai Yawen''s trial.


    Li Yang''s expression turned solemn as he stared at the mountain, a fire slowly burning within his chest as he thought about how close he was. Jing Yimu rubbed his interspatial ring, pulling out a crimson robe that was large enough to cover all of Li Yang.


    "This armor will help protect you. You will be unable channel your Qi into it during the trial, but it is still sturdy enough to block quite a few attacks."


    Jing Yimu quickly had Li Yang put on the robe. The robe was a bit too large for him, but once he put some Qi into the robe, it shrank to a size that fit him perfectly. Li Yang could tell that the robe was made using the hair and blood of a strong Demonic beast, but he could not tell exactly what type of Demonic beast. He quickly gave Jing Yimu a bow.


    "Thank you, Master Yimu. I will not disappoint you."


    Jing Yimu''s lips curved into a smile after hearing Li Yang''s words. He let out a slight sigh, reaching out and straightening Li Yang''s back, giving him a few pats on the head.


    "Don''t worry about that, just focus on getting out alive."


    Jing Yimu no longer wasted any time after talking, grabbing Li Yang and flying towards the mountain at full speed. He was certain they would get attacked the moment he got within range, so he had to move fast and enter the trial before anything could happen. As they approached the mountain, the metallic outcroppings started to tremble, as if they were trying to break out from the ground.


    Jing Yimu''s eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing the outcroppings tremble. He activated his Qi, an ocean of deep crimson flames appearing in the air above him. With a thought of his mind, the ocean of fire sank to the ground, drowning the land in flames, the metallic outcroppings starting to slowly melt under the intense heat that would melt even the hardest metal. Jing Yimu flew towards a small cave at the bottom of the mountain, an array activating the moment he entered the cave.


    His hand suddenly felt lighter, and he didn''t even need to look to realize that Li Yang had vanished, pulled away from him by an array. Jing Yimu had expected this, so he was not surprised, his mind quickly focusing on the trial he was about to face.


    While Jing Yimu put his mind onto the trial ahead of him, Li Yang found himself standing in a cave. The walls around him, even the ground beneath him, were made out of a strange type of metal, thin and short spikes growing out in some places. A white orb floated in the air above him, lighting up the entire cave. Li Yang swept the cave with his vision, a slight smile appearing on his face.


    "Little Zhu, it has been quite a while, hasn''t it?"


    Right after his voice rang out, the walls of the cave started wriggling slightly, a woman stepping out from the wall. The woman was clad in a silver robe and had pale skin, her lips as red as blood. Her hair was a shimmering silver in color, hanging all the way down to her hips. She stepped in front of Li Yang, giving him a short bow.


    "Thunder Monarch, it has been many years since we have last met. I am glad that you are still alive. When I first got the message from Zizai, I almost thought he was messing with me."


    There was a faint laugh hidden within the voice of the woman, Lin Zhu. Zizai could control all wind, so it was easy for him to send messages to anyone within this realm. After hearing Lin Zhu''s words, a somewhat wry smile appeared on Li Yang''s face as he shook his head.


    "You know, the more I think about it, the stranger it feels to be called Thunder Monarch by you guys. You can just call me by my name, right now you are far stronger than me after all."


    Li Yang had thought about this earlier as well. He was no longer the Thunder Monarch, the Thunder Monarch had died long ago. For now, he was simply Li Yang, even once he got stronger in the future, he would likely not be called the Thunder Monarch anymore. After all, now it was not only lightning that he could use, but also fire and ice. Lin Zhu gawked somewhat at Li Yang''s words, trying to protest slightly.


    "This...Very well. Lord Li Yang."


    She would listen to his request and not call him Thunder Monarch anymore, but she still had too much respect for him to address him without honorifics. He might not consider himself the Thunder Monarch anymore, but she would never forget that proud figure standing tall amidst a black sky lit up by golden lightning. Even now that she had gotten far stronger, that image still sent shivers down her spine. The slight smile on Li Yang''s face grew a bit larger when he saw Lin Zhu agree to his request.


    "I''ll take it. I guess that Zizai has told you what I plan to do here? Tell me, is it possible?"


    Li Yang''s eyes narrowed dangerously as he spoke, the smile on his face turning chilly. Lin Zhu felt slightly chilly upon seeing his smile, so she quickly gave a nod of her head.


    "It is possible. The only arrays used during this trial are transportation arrays to separate multiple contestants. As long as I move you around a little, I can make it so that you can reach Jing Yimu."


    Li Yang''s smile grew even wider upon hearing Lin Zhu say that it was possible. Had it not been possible, it would be far harder to find a chance to kill Jing Yimu. Seeing his grin, Lin Zhu quickly spoke out to warn him, her expression solemn.


    "But I must warn you, I cannot aid you in killing him. As long as he is in the trial, I cannot take action against him. Moving you around is the best that I can do."


    Li Yang shrugged his shoulders somewhat, giving a short response. He had never expected Lin Zhu to aid him in the act of killing Jing Yimu. Even if she could, he would not ask her for help. Killing Jing Yimu was something he wanted to do personally.


    "It is more than enough, thank you, Little Zhu."


    After he spoke, the walls of the cave started wriggling again, a glowing white door appearing on the wall to his left. Li Yang glanced at the door, then turned back towards Lin Zhu, a slight smile on his face as he spoke.


    "I hope that we can all gather together again in the future, see if we can find some of Old Chao''s wine and chat about the old days."


    Li Yang was not only talking about Chen Huo and the others, he was also talking about Zhao Feng and the others. If they truly managed to reincarnate, he would love nothing more than for all of them to once again gather together and chat. A bright and enchanting smile appeared on Lin Zhu''s face as she nodded her head.


    "That would be lovely. I wish you luck, Lord Li Yang."


    Li Yang sent another smile at Lin Zhu, before turning around and stepping towards the white door. His warm smile vanished, a cold expression appearing on his face as fire and lightning danced within his eyes. He reached out and pat Jinwu on the head, a cold arc appearing on his lips.


    "Let''s go Jinwu, I can barely hold myself back anymore."

 49 Horde of beasts.

    After stepping into the white door, Li Yang''s vision blurred as he felt his body move through space. Once he stopped moving through space, he found himself standing in a massive cave, the ground beneath him yellow and dry, expanding for as far as he could see. He could just barely see the ceiling above him, but he was completely unable to see the walls around him, a vast hilly expanse surrounding him.


    As he surveyed the surroundings, Li Yang felt a strange energy press down on his body, completely sealing his dantian. His runes were completely sealed, all his Qi forced to stay within his dantian. Li Yang knew about a few arrays that could do something like this, but none that would produce a strange energy like this, so he guessed that it was likely the mountain itself that was suppressing his runes and sealing his dantian. The universe was vast, and there were countless wondrous places, so he would not find it strange if such a place truly existed.


    The ground suddenly started shaking, a rumbling sound resounding through the massive cave. Li Yang''s eyes quickly narrowed, the orange spear appearing in his hand. No matter how eager he was to kill Jing Yimu, he would not forget that this place was a trial ground meant to test his combat skills. The earth around him cracked open, silver beasts crawling up from the cracks.


    The beasts came in all shapes and sizes, insects, reptiles, animals. They were all completely silver in color, their eyes glazed and soulless. Li Yang knew that each of these beasts was created by Lin Zhu, they were an army made out of metal that would listen only to her orders. While Li Yang was looking at the army that was rising up from the ground, Lin Zhu''s voice rang out within his mind.


    "Lord Li Yang, Jing Yimu is currently located a few hundred kilometers to your west. I was afraid that he would find something strange if I were to transport you closer to him."


    Li Yang turned towards the west after hearing Lin Zhu''s words, as if he was trying to see if he could spot Jing Yimu. The grip he had on the spear tightened, his knuckles turning slightly white. He heard the grating roars of the beasts that were getting closer, but he completely ignored them.


    His eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a cold smile. He no longer hesitated, turning his body and dashing towards the west at full speed. It would take him quite a while to traverse several hundred kilometers, but he did not plan on running the entire distance. He would only run for a bit, and then use one of the talismans that Jing Yimu had given him, instantly crossing the remaining distance.


    Of course, the silver beasts would not simply let him do as he wished. Beasts crawled out from the earth all around him, swarming towards him with open maws and outstretched claws. Jinwu flew in the air above Li Yang, letting out excited caws as he observed the situation. Jinwu was also suppressed by the mountain, his fire and ice sealed deep within him, so he would not be able to help Li Yang during this trial.


    Li Yang charged forward, a ferocious smile appearing on his face as he grasped the spear. Ever since he had been reborn, he had been acting low-key and meek, hiding and deceiving. The only battle he had fought was when he took the entry mission to the Royal Dragon Pavilion. But he was Li Yang, the once famed Thunder Monarch. Arrogance, pride, ferociousness, a love for battle. All these things were already deeply ingrained in him, they had just been waiting for a chance to burst forth.


    A beast in the shape of a large mosquito flew at him, it''s shiny stinger aiming at his neck. Li Yang spun the spear in his hand, the hilt of the spear clashing against the stinger and blocking it. While the hilt blocked the stinger, the head of the spear sliced upwards, slicing open the arm of a tiger-shaped beast that lunged at him. After blocking one attack and countering another, he stomped on the ground and jumped up.


    He used the head of one beast as a support, jumping even higher into the air, grabbing onto the wing of the mosquito beast. Grabbing onto the wing of the mosquito, he swung his body onto the body of the mosquito, his weight forcing it towards the ground. He raised his spear high, stabbing it into the head of the mosquito, sending it crashing towards the ground.


    Before it crashed into the horde of beasts, Li Yang grabbed onto the head of the mosquito, angling the stinger so that it pierced into the back of a beast that was directly beneath him. He jumped off the beast just as it was about to crash into the horde of beasts, landing on a large lion and shattering its spine with a heavy stomp. The beasts had strong bodies, but Li Yang''s body had been forged by fire and was continuously tempered by his own lightning Qi, it was far stronger than the body of a normal person at his cultivation level.


    After shattering the spine of the lion, Li Yang continued to dash towards the west, jumping from beast to beast. The spear in his hand was never idle, stabbing, smashing, and stabbing at the beasts that surrounded him. His blood was boiling, his heart pounding madly in his chest. At this moment, Li Yang felt truly alive again. His lips could not help but curl, a loud laugh escaping from his lips.


    "HAHAHA! COME! COME! GIVE ME MORE!"


    He was not worried about Jing Yimu hearing him, as the two were still a few hundred kilometers apart. With all his Qi sealed, not even Jing Yimu would be able to notice anything past a few kilometers around him. The beasts seemed to react to his shout, letting out loud roars that shook the earth as the swarmed even tighter around him.


    Li Yang''s eyes blazed as he looked at the swarm of beasts, his spear moving faster and faster, silver blood splattering all around him and drenching his body, a foul stench filling the earth. Li Yang was the holder of the element of destruction, the side of Fang Ying was the place he considered his home, but the midst of the battlefield was his second home.


    Thanks to the robe that Jing Yimu had given him, Li Yang could stride through the horde without worrying about injuries. Even when the beasts hit him with their attacks, they merely pushed his body away, unable to wound him. Li Yang, on the other hand, was able to slay the beasts with one or two swings of his spear, each of his hits wounding one of their vital parts.


    Li Yang continued to slay a path through the beasts, the passage of time completely meaningless to him. All that mattered to him at this moment, was the spear in his hand and the enemy ahead of him. He counted every step he took, ever stab he made, every beast he slew. And once he felt that he had taken enough steps, he took out one of the talismans Jing Yimu had given him, a grim grin on his face as he cracked the talisman, Jinwu flying down and landing on his shoulder.


    "Jing Yimu, I have waited so long for this, now I will have my revenge."


    His words were only heard by Jinwu and the surrounding beasts, a silver light flooding out from the crystal and surrounding his body. The beasts continued to lunge at him, but Li Yang and Jinwu had already vanished, flung through space, towards Jing Yimu.

 50 A spear for the lost.

    After using the talisman, Li Yang quickly reappeared far away from where he had used it. Despite the great distance he had passed, he found that the area around him looked practically the same as the area where he had first appeared after stepping into the white door. He swept the surrounding silver beasts with his gaze, but there was no sign of Jing Yimu. He closed his eyes for a short second, straining his ears and picking up sounds of battle from the distance.


    A slight smile appeared on Li Yang''s face as he turned towards the sound of battle. He was just about to crush another talisman when an idea struck him. He grabbed the spear tightly, using the tip to slice open the armor that Jing Yimu had given him. The armor was indeed strong, strong enough to defend against the attacks of the silver beasts. But when it was Li Yang who attacked the armor, it was completely different. He had customized the armor with blood shortly after entering the mountain, so if he wanted it to be weak, then it would be weak.


    He slashed wounds all over his body, completely tearing the armor and drenching it with his own blood, a dark glint in his eyes. Jinwu cocked his head when he saw his actions, but he could somewhat guess at what Li Yang was thinking, so he didn''t say anything. Once the armor was completely torn and ruined, he pulled out another talisman and crushed it, flying through space once more.


    When he was done being flung through space, the area around him still looked the same, but he could see someone battling not too far from him. Jing Yimu was surrounded by a horde of beasts, the sword in his hand flashing with a cold light as he continuously swung it. Despite being completely surrounded, he had yet to be wounded, his robe only somewhat torn.


    Li Yang''s lips curled into a grim grin for a short second, but he quickly collected himself. He had just been flung through space, so he was now falling towards the ground a short distance below him, towards the horde of beasts. Li Yang glanced at the horde of beasts below him. The beasts raised their heads when they sensed him, opening their maws and trying to tear at him with their claws. Seeing this scene, Li Yang put on a horrified expression, screaming out in a terrified voice.


    "MASTER YIMU!"


    He could see a shiver run through Jing Yimu''s body when he heard the scream. Jing Yimu ignored the screams, hurriedly turning around, his eyes landing on Li Yang, who was about to be swarmed by beasts. His face rapidly paled when he saw the wretched state that Li Yang was in, his body covered in blood. His voice could not help but crack slightly as he called out.


    "LITTLE YANG!?"


    Jing Yimu slashed furiously at the beasts around him, dashing forward at full speed. Even when the attacks of a few beasts landed on him, wounding him and drawing blood, he continued to ignore it, his terrified eyes glued onto the falling Li Yang. He was so worried that he did not even question how Li Yang arrived there, assuming that he had made a mistake while using the talismans.


    Since Jing Yimu practically ignored the beasts around him, he quickly reached Li Yang, even managing to reach him before he was completely surrounded by beasts. He opened both arms wide, embracing Li Yang in a tight hug and using his own body to shield him from the incoming attacks. The claws of the beasts landed on his back, tearing deep wounds into it. With his Qi completely suppressed, his defense had fallen to a point where even a normal mortal could wound him.


    Safe within Jing Yimu''s tight embrace, Li Yang''s grin only grew wider and grimmer, his plan had worked better than he ever hoped it could. Li Yang tightened his grip on the spear, an idea appearing within his mind. He raised his eyes slightly, his mind connecting with Jinwu, who was flying a little above him. The flying Jinwu gave a slight nod of his head, his body turning into a stream of golden energy that entered Li Yang''s body, unnoticed by Jing Yimu.


    When Jinwu entered Li Yang''s body, their fusion ability activated. Li Yang''s tattered armor turned into a magnificent golden robe decorated with golden crows, his pitch black eyes turning a deep golden. Two icy blue wings should appear on his back, but Li Yang prevented them from appearing, lest Jing Yimu, who was fully focused on shielding Li Yang, notice them.


    Li Yang''s body felt like it was filled with power, a smile appearing on his face as he realized his idea had proved correct. Upon fusing with Jinwu, he became something that was neither human nor Divine beast, a type of being he had never heard of before. And now, it seemed like even this strange mountain could not suppress the fire and ice that was flowing within his body.


    Li Yang tightly grasped the spear, golden flames flooding into the spear as he delivered a lightning-quick stab with it. He was within Jing Yimu''s embrace, so how could Jing Yimu dodge? Why would he even think to dodge, after all, he was embracing his dear disciple, a person he viewed as his own son. The spear pierced through Jing Yimu''s chest, golden flames bursting forth and swallowing the surrounding area.


    The silver beasts started to quickly melt under the heat of the golden flames, but Li Yang completely ignored them, his gaze locked onto Jing Yimu. Jing Yimu''s mouth and eyes were wide open filled with disbelief. The flames that were ravaging his body prevented him from even bleeding, his blood evaporating. He lowered his head slowly, his gaze landing on Li Yang and filling with pain, pain at being betrayed. In a low voice, he managed to squeeze out the words.


    "Little Yang...Why?"


    Jing Yimu could not understand it. The pain he felt from his wounds were nothing compared to the pain he felt at the betrayal. Under his sad eyes, Li Yang''s lips cracked into a grim grin, his eyes turning sharp and prideful, an expression Jing Yimu had never seen on this Li Yang. Li Yang swept the surroundings, which were burning with golden flames, a loud laughter escaping his lips.


    "Hahaha! It''s not quite as good as that nameless hill, but this strange mountain will make for a fine burial ground for you, Jing Yimu."


    At first, Jing Yimu was confused at Li Yang''s words. But as he looked closely at Li Yang, seeing the prideful and ferocious expression in his eyes, his looks started to slowly overlap with someone he knew long ago. Coupled with the words Li Yang had just spoken, words very few people knew, it quickly clicked in his mind, his trembling voice sounding out.


    "Little Yang...No...Thunder Monarch...You...Are still alive?"


    His voice not only contained sadness, it contained a strange sense of relief, even a bit of joy. Li Yang pulled the spear out of Jing Yimu''s chest, taking a few steps backward. The beasts in the surroundings were all melting under the golden flames, so it was only Li Yang and Jing Yimu. Li Yang''s merciless gaze stayed on Jing Yimu the entire time, his voice chilly.


    "No, the Thunder Monarch died countless years ago, died because of you. I am no longer the Thunder Monarch, I am Li Yang. Oh, how about Crow Emperor? That''s a pretty good title."


    When he got to the end of his sentence, Li Yang glanced at the golden crow robe he was wearing, the grin on his face turning somewhat joyful. Right now, he was feeling truly joyful, almost bubbling with happiness. Even with Jing Yimu''s strong lifeforce, he would soon die, buried in a mountain all alone. Jing Yimu stretched out an arm as if he was trying to grab a hold of Li Yang, his lips forming a smile.


    "My brother... I am...Glad...That you are still alive."


    Li Yang''s eyes could not help but narrow when he heard how Jing Yimu called him, seeing Jing Yimu so happy also made him rather annoyed, as he could tell that Jing Yimu was truly happy at seeing him alive. But no matter how happy he was, Li Yang would still rob him of everything today.


    "You don''t have the right to call me that, you lost that right the day you sprouted the idea to kill Ying''er."


    Jing Yimu took a staggering step forward, trying his best to move closer to Li Yang. He was happy from the bottom of his heart. His idol and best friend had been reborn. Now he could become who he should have been in the past, without the corruption of that monster. Before Jing Yimu got to move any closer, Li Yang raised the orange spear, which was now dyed completely golden, his voice colder than the winds from hell.


    "Jing Yimu, this spear is for all the things that I lost because of you. I pray that your soul never manages to reach reincarnation."


    After Li Yang spoke out, he stabbed out with the spear. Golden flames and an icy mist twisted around the tip of the spear, space trembling slightly under their gathered might. The spear stabbed into Jing Yimu''s chest, the two elements exploding as Jing Yimu let out a few weak words, his relieved and hopeful gaze locked onto Li Yang.


    "My...Brother..."


    With the elements exploding, the left half of Jing Yimu''s body turned to ash, while the right half was frozen solid, quickly shattering and turning into dust. Li Yang looked at the dust and ash, which was quickly blown away by the slight breeze that was present in the mountain. His gaze was steely, his voice still chilly.


    "Goodbye, Jing Yimu."


    Not even Jing Yimu''s interspatial ring remained, shattered after turning to ice, its content lost in the void that was space. Perhaps someone might find the contents one day, but Li Yang could not be bothered to care about it. He raised his head slightly, staring at the ceiling of the cave above him, a smile appearing on his face.


    "Xue''er, Ying''er. I did it, I killed the one who was responsible for your deaths. In the future, I will bury everyone who joined him and aided in your deaths. Everyone who breathed the air on that nameless hill, everyone who breathed the air in those emerald volcanoes, I will bury them all, a funeral pyre for the past."


    His gaze flashed with lightning and fire as he spoke, the fires burning around him growing in intensity. Jing Yimu had been one of the main instigators, but he was not the only one who had taken part in the deaths of Fang Ying and Fang Xue''er. But Li Yang was not impatient. He had time, plenty of time. Eventually, he would turn all who had taken part in those days to ash. Jinwu''s worried caw rang out in his mind, but Li Yang responded with a bright smile.


    "It''s okay, I am fine. Let us finish this last trial, then it won''t be long before we can leave this place."

 51 Tian clan.

    Li Yang swept the surroundings with his eyes, the golden flames blindingly bright as they scorched everything around him. Other than the golden flames that scorched everything, there was also a fine mist that moved gently with the wind. But while the mist moved gently, everything that came in contact with it instantly froze, shattering and turning into dust. Li Yang could not help but marvel at the might of Jinwu''s dual elements. After Li Yang spent a short moment in awe, he turned his eyes away from the carnage, his voice sounding out.


    "I''ll be undoing the fusion now, Jinwu."


    Shortly after he spoke out, the golden robe he was wearing turned into a stream of energy, quickly turning into Jinwu. His eyes returned to being pitch black, and the two icy wings on his back dissolved. He looked at the torn red robe he was wearing, a slight frown appearing on his face. He rubbed his interspatial ring, taking out a small crystal.


    The small crystal was a Spirit Stone, the crystallization of Qi. Most cultivators used them as currency or to train, the purer the Qi within them, the more valuable they would be. Li Yang placed the Spirit Stone against the robe, the Qi within it quickly entering the robe and repairing it. He could not use his own Qi, so he had to rely on the Spirit Stone to supply the necessary Qi to repair it.


    While Li Yang was waiting for the armor to repair itself, Jinwu flew around his head, letting out several caws, seemingly unsatisfied. Hearing his complaint, Li Yang could not help but lift his head, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Jinwu.


    "Yeah, we could have kept the fusion going for longer, but don''t think that I am unaware of how much it drains you to keep it going."


    Li Yang felt no strain whenever he used the fusion ability with Jinwu, but he could tell that it drained quite a bit of energy from Jinwu if they used it for too long, he was worried what it would do to Jinwu. Jinwu still didn''t seem quite satisfied, looking Li Yang up and down with a questioning gaze, letting out a few more caws. Hearing his words, Li Yang could feel the corners of his mouth twitching.


    "Don''t look at me like that, I can still clear a trial like this with ease. Aren''t you underestimating me a little too much here?"


    Li Yang snatched Jinwu out of the air, using his knuckles to give his head a vigorous rub. Little bastard dared to think he was unable to complete a trial like this. After giving Jinwu''s head a strong rub, he loosened his grip and let him go. Jinwu flapped his wings a few times, landing on Li Yang''s shoulder and letting out a few caws in a complaint at its treatment. Li Yang simply rolled his eyes, grasping the spear as his eyes landed on the slowly receding flames.


    He could see beasts gathering together on the other side of the flame, waiting for them to vanish so that they could tear into Li Yang. Facing the horde, Li Yang simply put on a fearless smile, his eyes shining with a splendid light. Even if he didn''t have the robe that Jing Yimu had given him, he was confident that he would be able to finish this trial, the robe simply made it easier.


    The golden flames grew smaller and smaller, the beasts inching closer and closer. But it was not the beasts that made the first move, it was Li Yang. He grasped the spear and dashed forwards, jumping over the flames and directly into the horde of Demonic beasts. Jinwu had already taken off from his shoulder, flying above him and keeping a close eye on his surroundings.


    As Li Yang jumped into the swarm of enemies, he completely emptied his mind, his eyes becoming dull. He was not certain for how long he would have to battle to clear this trial, but since the first trial alone had taken him a month, it was clear that it would require a great deal of time. Forcing himself to stay conscious for so long was hard, even for him, so he had decided to rely on his instincts, putting himself in a nearly unconscious state and letting his instincts control his body.


    This would allow him to reduce the strain on his mind from forcing himself to stay conscious, allowing him to practically sleep through the entire trial. Of course, were it not for the sharp instincts he had retained from his past life, it would be impossible for him to pull it off. Li Yang continued to carve a path through the unending horde, his mind blank as time passed by without him noticing.


    ¨C


    While Li Yang was mindlessly slaying the endless swarm of beasts, the rest of the continent was quietly preparing for the grand competition that the Huo clan was going to put on soon. Even the Tian clan located at the center of the continent and the Duan clan located at the far coast were preparing, picking out who among the younger generation they would send.


    The Tian clan was located at the center of the continent, situated atop a mountain so tall that it crested the clouds. There was a magnificent palace, nine spires that pierced into the clouds stationed around it, located at the peak of the mountain, the headquarters of the Tian clan. The only ones who could live there were the most elite disciples, as well as the ones who had high positions within the clan. Between the nine spires and the palace was a massive courtyard filled with rare flowers and plants, there were even several gorgeous lakes filled with water that was brimming with Qi.


    Inside this courtyard stood several smaller buildings, each one two or three floors tall and built out of softwood that released a faint heat. These houses were where the elite disciples lived while they focused on cultivation, each house supported by an array that would automatically draw in large amounts of Qi from the surroundings.


    There was currently a young man walking towards one of the buildings, his hands folded behind his back as he walked with a leisure gait, enjoying the scenery. He was clad in a light green robe decorated with the emblem of a tall mountain that pierced a lone cloud, the mark of the Tian clan. He had smooth and silky black hair that was tied into a neat bun, and his facial features were soft and rounded, a faint smile hanging on his lips. His skin was a bit pale, but from the strong pressure he released, it was clear that he was not sickly.


    He walked up to one of the houses, knocking on the ornate door that was engraved with the symbol of the Tian clan. A low growl came from within the house, the youths mouth twitching slightly when he heard it, but the growl was quickly silenced by a soft voice.


    "Langshen, don''t be rude. You can enter."


    The male youth let out a stealthy sigh of relief when he heard the soft voice. He shook his head slightly, making sure that his smile was flawless, and then entered the house. The inside of the house was neatly decorated, colorful paintings, blooming flowers, and delicate tapestries filling the room with life. The youth merely glanced at these decorations, his eyes landing on the center of the room.


    At the center of the room was a wooden table, a fragrant pot of tea placed on the table, a porcelain cup filled with steaming tea standing ready. On both ends of the table stood a small couch large enough to hold two people. One of the couches was empty, but there was a girl sitting on the other couch, slowly sipping tea from a second porcelain cup. Curled up on the second seat of the couch was a wolf that had silvery-gray fur, its head resting on the lap of the girl, looking at the youth with a slight glare.


    The girl had graceful and delicate features, her silvery-white hair tied up into a long ponytail. She had cherry-red lips and emerald eyes, a faint and lovely smile hanging on her lips as she looked at the second cup of tea placed on the table. The male youth slowly strode forward, speaking up in a cheerful voice.


    "Junior Sister Ying is only growing more beautiful as the days pass, soon there will be no one in the clan who can match up to you."


    The youth, Tian Gong, sat down on the couch located on the opposite side of the table, smiling at his Junior Sister, at Fang Ying. He glanced at the steaming cup of tea that stood on the table, assuming that it was prepared for him. He reached out to grab onto it, but his hand quickly stopped when the wolf that was resting next to Fang Ying, Langshen, let out a subdued growl. Fang Ying pat Langshen on the head, speaking to Tian Gong with a slight smile.


    "Please don''t touch that. Senior Brother Gong, to what might I owe this surprise visit?"


    Tian Gong pulled back his arm, cold sweat starting to gather on his back. Langshen had only let out a subdued growl, but he knew just how ferocious and brutal he could be when he was let loose. Tian Gong smoothed it over with a smile, casually leaning back in the couch as he let out a light chuckle.


    "How could I possibly have the guts to give you a surprise visit if it wasn''t for something important? Elder Brother Zheng is hosting a party tomorrow evening, celebrating his recent breakthrough. Certain disciples of the other clans are also coming to take part in the party, so he wishes for you to grace them with your presence."


    The words Tian Gong spoke were not the complete truth. It was indeed true that Tian Zheng had recently broken through in his cultivation, but the main drive behind the party was so that the Tian clan could try and matchmake Fang Ying. The disciples that were coming from the other clans all had illustrious positions, each one taking control over one aspect of their clan. If they could marry Fang Ying to one such disciple, they could basically assure a deeper alliance between the two clans.


    And even if they failed to marry Fang Ying to any of those disciples, they could still marry her to Tian Zheng, she would make for a suitable wife and dual cultivation partner. Tian Gong swept the room with his gaze, his eyes landing on a zither that was leaning against the wall, a faint smile appearing on his face as he spoke up again.


    "He wonders if you would perhaps be willing to bring your zither and play a piece, it would be a shame if no one were to ever hear what you might be able to do with it."


    How could Fang Ying not understand what Tian Gong was thinking, how could she not see what the true purpose of the party was? But she did not care about any of that. She turned her head, glancing at the zither that was leaning against the wall, the zither she had not allowed anyone to hear her play. She turned back to Tian Gong after a short moment of silence, nodding her head with a faint smile on her face.


    "You can tell Senior Brother Zheng that I will certainly come to celebrate his breakthrough, but he will have to forgive me for not bringing my zither. I can only play that zither when the thunder is rumbling, so I am afraid he will not have the chance to hear it."


    Tian Gong''s face broke into a wide smile when he heard Fang Ying''s response. He quickly stood up, cupping his hands towards Fang Ying and giving her a bow, his voice cheerful.


    "Wonderful, I will go and deliver the news immediately! I am certain that he will understand your troubles and not pester you about the zither. I bid you farewell, Junior Sister Ying."


    Tian Gong quickly left after cupping his hands at Fang Ying, as he knew she preferred the peace of being alone. The way Tian Gong saw it, Fang Ying would end up marrying someone who had a high position in one of the clans, so he would have to do his best to get on her good side.


    After Tian Gong left, Fang Ying turned to look at the zither once more, a blooming smile appearing on her face. She dug her hand into her robe, taking out a piece of paper that only contained a few words, ''Huo clan competition, Li Yang''. A lovely laugh escaped her lips when she read the message, softly stroking Langshen''s head.


    "Soon, Langshen. Only two more years."

 52 A grand mausoleum.

    Li Yang mindlessly killed, the spear in his hand stabbing and sweeping without end. Silver blood splattered the area around him, his entire body drenched in the foul smelling liquid. Despite the blood drenching his body, despite the fact that his mind was blank, his lips had curled into a wide smile. Since he was acting on instinct alone, he was able to unleash everything he got, the satisfaction of being able to fight freely filling every inch of his being.


    But sooner or later, all things must come to an end, and Li Yang''s mindless battle ended after he spent almost three straight months battling. When the last beast was slain and Li Yang no longer sensed any beasts in the surroundings, his consciousness slowly returned. He blinked his eyes a few time to get used to his vision again, giving the surroundings a quick sweep with his gaze.


    All the beasts that were slain had already sunk back into the earth, their silver blood the only trace that remained of the battle that had just taken place here. Li Yang could feel his stomach grumbling the moment his consciousness returned, so it was easy to guess that at least over two months had passed. He glanced at Jinwu, who had grabbed a tight hold on his shoulder and was sleeping without a care, before swiping his interspatial ring and taking out some food and water, quickly scarfing it down.


    Thinking back to the three other trials he had taken, his lips could not help but curl into a wry smile as he shook his head. Were these trials ever meant to be completed by anyone? When someone with a cultivation as weak as his had to spend over two months of continuous battle to clear Bai Yawen''s trial, how long would those with a stronger cultivation have to fight? Not to mention the trial where his body was disintegrated and rebuilt, or the two illusory trials he had to endure. Even Li Yang felt that the trials were quite sadistic and cruel.


    After Li Yang finished the food and drinks he had pulled out, he gave Jinwu a few pokes to wake him up. He slowly woke up, looking at the surroundings with a droopy gaze, slowly spreading his wings. He took off from Li Yang''s shoulder, but it seemed like he had only done so to stretch his body, as he quickly returned to Li Yang''s shoulder, now fully awake. Li Yang gave him a few pats, muttering quietly as he scanned the surroundings.


    "So, where do we have to go receive the emblem for completing the trial?"


    Jinwu joined Li Yang in sweeping the surroundings, looking for any sign that would let them know where to go. Li Yang was just about to start heading in a random direction when he felt his chest heat up, the three emblems that were already lodged in chest flying out and floating in front of him. The three emblems formed a square that was missing a corner, a faint light radiating from each of the emblems.


    The faint breeze that blew through the area started to increase in strength, the blood that covered the ground rising into the air and gathering into shining orb. The orb flew over to the three other emblems, taking up a spot in the missing corner of the square, rapidly shrinking. The blood turned into a small square emblem that was silver in color and was engraved with the image of a spear piercing through a roaring dragon, an awe-inspiring pressure radiating from the emblem. Once the emblem formed, the familiar voice of Bai Yawen rang out in Li Yang''s head.


    "You have fought, and you have won, proving your worth. I grant you my emblem, whether or not you can acquire the rest depends on your performance."


    After the voice rang out, the new emblem started to release faint light that connected it to the three other emblems. The moment all three emblems became connected, the light they released quickly grew blinding, forcing Li Yang to close his eyes and turn his head away. The blinding light continued to shine for a few seconds, before it quickly receded, allowing Li Yang to turn his head back.


    In the place where all four emblems had floated, there was now only a single emblem, floating proudly as space around it distorted from the power it released. The emblem was the size of Li Yang''s hand and a deep golden in color, arcs of golden lightning crawling along the surface. The emblem was engraved with the image of two long dragons, one golden and one purple. The dragons coiled around each other, their maws wide open as they roared at the heavens.


    While Li Yang was looking at the emblem, the ground beneath the emblem lit up with a large array, runes covering the ground for as far as Li Yang''s eyes could see. The entire mountain started to shake as the array activated, a massive amount of Qi filling the runes as they lit up with a gray light. As Li Yang was preparing to deal with whatever might happen, the light of the array dimmed down, four familiar kneeling figures appearing before him. Upon seeing these four figures, Li Yang''s tensed body calmed down as he spoke out.


    "So it''s Little Zhu and the others, you guys nearly gave me a heart-attack."


    The four figures that appeared were Lin Zhu and the others, all four guardians had appeared before him, kneeling in human shaped. Since all four had arrived at the same time, Li Yang guessed that the array that had activated was an array designed to teleport the four guardians here once someone completed all four trials. Zizai was the one to respond to Li Yang, his cheerful voice ringing out.


    "Congratulations on completing all four trials, Lord Li Yang, I knew it was only a matter of time."


    Zizai stepped forward with a slight bounce, his childish face covered in a wide and beaming smile. The three people behind him also stood up, their faces similarily covered in smiles. Finally, after so many years of waiting, someone had completed all four trials. And it was not just anyone, it was the Thunder Monarch himself who had come to pick up his own inheritance. Li Yang let out a light chuckle as he gave a slight wave of his hand, turning towards Chen Huo as he spoke.


    "Alright, alright, no need to try and flatter me. So, how do I go about entering the Thunder Flower Memorial, and is it possible for me to bring the four of you out of here once I have picked up whatever is in the Thunder Flower Memorial?"


    Right now, Li Yang was very curious exactly what of his inheritance that Zhao Feng and the others had left behind in the Thunder Flower Memorial. At the same time, he would like to bring Mengxiang and the others out with him, after spending so many years stuck here, they must surely be bored. Chen Huo stepped forward, pushing the floating golden emblem towards Li Yang as he spoke, giving a slight shake of his head.


    "Entering the memorial is easy, you merely need to have that emblem on you as you enter the city. That way, none of the arrays will activate. As for bringing us out of here, while we appreciate the thought, we have sworn to our previous masters that we would not leave this hidden realm unless they were to return."


    Li Yang grabbed the emblem, which turned into a stream of energy that sank into his body, settling in his chest. He then furrowed his brows slightly, his gaze moving between all four guardians as he questioned.


    "You swore to them?"


    Since Chen Huo said that they swore, it must mean that they had sworn an oath. To cultivators and powerful Demonic beasts, an oath was the strongest binding force, a promise they could never break. One would generally only swear an oath to ones closest friends and allies. Mengxiang was the one who responded, with a bright smile on her face as she gave a nod of her head.


    "Yes. No matter what, they are our masters, we refuse to follow anyone else. Only if they were to return will we leave this hidden realm. If they never return, we will never leave here."


    They were Demonic beasts that had incredibly might, they had their own pride and dignity. They had completely submitted to Zhao Feng and the others, so they would never follow anyone else. They respected Li Yang for his past might, but that did not mean that they would be willing to follow him. Seeing them like this, Li Yang could only let out a slightly regretful sigh, but his lips quickly curled into a warm smile.


    "I see, that''s a shame. Then let''s hope that they managed to reincarnate, that way we can all go and drink some good wine together, just like in the old days."


    Lin Zhu and the others replied with bright smiles of their own, nodding their heads. If they could all gather once more, simply drinking peacefully, that would truly be bliss. After a short moment of silence, Zizai stepped forward, his body turning into a wind that surrounded Li Yang and Jinwu.


    "Lord Li Yang, let me take you to the memorial."


    With Zizai surrounding his entire body, Li Yang''s body shot through the air. When he was wondering how Zizai would bring him out of the mountain, the ceiling above them split open, a passage to the outside appearing. With Zizai bringing him away at full speed, Li Yang''s vision blurred so badly he was unable to tell what anything was.


    But despite their speed, they still had to fly for a few minutes before they managed to reach the Thunder Flower Memorial. Zizai brought Li Yang down in front of the Thunder Flower Memorial, which was a large city covered in a light layer of white snow. The sky was covered in dark clouds, snow continuously falling from the sky. Yet despite the continuous snowfall, the layer of snow covering the city did not grow any larger. Looking at the city ahead of him, Li Yang could not help but let out a slight murmur, his voice heavy with reminiscence.


    "So this is the place huh? They really went all in."


    The part of the city he could see in front of him was a perfect recreation of a city that the six of them often visited in the past, or it might even be the actual city. Li Yang was unable to see the center of the city, but he could feel that there was a terrifying power gathering at the very center of the city. Zizai formed his body in front of Li Yang, giving him a slight bow as he spoke.


    "This is as far as I can take you. As we are the guardians of the four trials, we cannot be gone for too long, lest the arrays that support the trials crumble without our support."


    Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head, bidding Zizai farewell. Zizai''s body quickly turned into wind, vanishing into the distance as he returned to the trial that his master had told him to keep an eye on. Li Yang watched Zizai leave, and then turned towards the city in front of him, staring at it in silence for a moment.


    He took a deep breath, and then stepped forward, entering the city. The emblem in his chest released a faint heat after he stepped into the city, so it seemed like it had activated, preventing the arrays in the city from activating. Li Yang walked at a slow pace through the city, his gaze carefully sweeping the surroundings, sometimes stopping on a few buildings as he reminisced about the past, a past he would never be able to return to.


    Jinwu could sense his somewhat melancholic state, so he pressed up closely to Li Yang''s neck, comforting him. Seeing Jinwu acting like this, Li Yang''s lips curled into a faint smile. His eyes landed on a small building not far from them, a small balcony adorning the front of the building. Li Yang raised his arm to point at the building, a warm smile on his face as he spoke.


    "It''s a city full of familiar places. Do you see that building there? It used to be a restaurant, I had my first proper date with Fang Ying there. That building was where I and Fang Ying first became one."


    After he pointed at the restaurant, he moved his arm and pointed at a tall pagoda located a small distance to their right. The pagoda used to be a hotel that charged a truly exorbitant sum for even a single night''s stay. The two continued to slowly make their way through the city, Li Yang occasionally pointing out a few places that were noteworthy.


    When they got deeper into the city, the buildings slowly gave way to larger stretches of land that did not belong to the city. Li Yang could see a small lake covered in lotus flowers in the distance, a single weeping willow standing at the bank of the lake. He could not help but stop when he saw the lake, the smile on his face growing even warmer.


    "That small lake over there, beneath that weeping willow is where I and Fang Ying shared our vows. It was a small ceremony, only Zhao Feng and the others serving as witnesses, but it meant the world to us."


    Li Yang stood still and looked at the lake for a bit, his mind lost in the past. In the end, he closed his eyes and took another deep breath, taking his eyes away from the lake, continuing deeper into the city. As they got closer to the center of the city, the terrifying power slowly grew more oppressive, so it was clear that they were quickly approaching it.


    After he spent around three more hours walking, the two of them finally reached the center of the city, a magnificent sight appearing in front of them. At the very center of the city stood a small hill that looked completely unremarkable, but atop that unremarkable hill stood a grand mausoleum. The mausoleum was a deep azure in color, and Li Yang could tell that it was built out of a single Demon crystal.


    Li Yang did not even have to guess at what Divine beast had been slain to acquire such a large Demon Crystal, as the skeletons of two dragons adorned the mausoleum, their bodies positioned so that they coiled around each other and roared at the sky. The terrifying power that Li Yang had felt came from these two skeletons, a testament to their might when they were still alive. At the bottom of the hill stood a small marker, a few words engraved on it. Upon reading the words, Li Yang could not help but laugh out.


    "So this is where you built the memorial, huh? A nameless hill turning into the world''s greatest memorial? Dai Shu, you always had such a flair for the dramatic, didn''t you?"


    How could Li Yang not recognize that small and unremarkable hill? It was the place where he and Fang Ying had died, the place where they shared their last kiss, and the place where he swore that death was not enough to stop him from chasing her. Li Yang took his eyes away from the marker, locking his gaze onto the mausoleum as he stepped forward.


    "Well then, shall we go and see what they hid away for me in such a grand mausoleum?"

 53 Death breeds life.

    Li Yang slowly made his way up the hill, heading towards the mausoleum. The hill released a faint foul smell, an oppressive feeling radiating from the hill and causing the blood within Li Yang''s body to feel like it was freezing. This was not caused by an array, but rather because of what had happened on the hill all those years ago.


    Both Li Yang and Fang Ying had died on this hill, their blood and Qi seeping into the hill, forever tainting it. That alone would be enough to turn the hill into a place that could kill weaker cultivators, but now the corpses of two dragons had also been placed on the hill, the residual energy within their bones also seeping into the hill. Li Yang was confident that if there wasn''t some type of array present within the hill, anyone beneath the Immortal Rebirth Realm would die if they got too close.


    Li Yang quickly got closer to the azure mausoleum, studying it slightly as he approached it. The building was in the shape of a triangle, the tip facing away from Li Yang, and was a little over 10 meters tall, and almost three times as wide. The corners of the building were as sharp as swords, glimmering whenever they were hit by light. The gate into the mausoleum was violet in color and engraved with the same two dragons that were engraved on the emblem Li Yang had acquired when he completed all four trials. Li Yang brushed the engravings with his fingers, chuckling to himself.


    "You guys really liked this image, didn''t you?"


    Li Yang could easily guess why Zhao Feng and the others had chosen this image to represent him and Fang Ying, even going as far as killing two dragons to mark their tomb. One part of the reason was that he and Fang Ying were often called dragons among people, their might causing countless people to stare at them in awe.


    The other part of the reason was that of their entire group, Li Yang and Fang Ying had been the only ones who never had any beast companions. This prompted people to joke about them being too picky, that they would never settle for anything less than a dragon. After reminiscing for a short moment, Li Yang pushed open to the doors to the mausoleum and entered it.


    Because the entire building was made out of a Demon crystal, the light from outside shone in through the building, casting an azure light over everything inside the building. The inside of the mausoleum was far less extravagant than the outside, consisting of only a single room that only contained two items, the rest of the room was completely empty.


    The first item was a large statue that stood at the center of the room, so tall that it touched the ceiling. The statue was carved out of a light green crystal, most likely the Demon crystal belonging to the second of the two dragons that marked the mausoleum. The statue featured Li Yang and Fang Ying, both sharing a loving gaze as they smiled at each other.


    Li Yang stood in silence for a few minutes, simply looking at the statue with a calm gaze, Jinwu quietly nustling against his neck. Looking at the way the statue was carved, Li Yang could tell that it was Ye Ning himself who had carved. He was always the more artistic one among them, so the statue was truly lifelike. After looking at the statue for a few minutes, Li Yang took a deep breath and looked behind the statue, to the last item within the mausoleum.


    Pierced into the ground a short distance behind the statue was a single Jian sword. The sword was very simple, without any decorations. The hilt was bound in black leather, thin violet veins running through the leather. The blade of the sword was a dark golden color, but there was a violet pattern in the shape of waves running along the back of the blade, giving the blade an eye-catching glow. Li Yang looked at the sword with a gaze that was a mixture of joy and reminiscing.


    "So you have managed to survive all these years on your own, it must have been hard."


    Li Yang slowly stepped past the statue and walked towards the sword. As he walked closer, he could see that not only were there faint arcs of golden lightning coiling around the blade, there was also a fine purple mist oozing out from the place where the sword was stabbed into the ground. Upon closer inspection, he could also see the faint image of a dragon coiling around the hilt of the sword. Looking at what had become of his former weapon, he could not help but mutter out, reaching out with his hand.


    "The years have changed you, did the power of Ying''er seep into you while you waited for me to return?"


    There was no way Li Yang would mistake the sword in front of him, it was the weapon he had used in his previous life, a weapon he had nurtured with great care. But back then it did not have these violet marks, it had been completely golden, the power of lightning completely filling it. From the purple mist that was oozing out from where it stabbed into the ground, he could detect the familiar scent of Fang Ying''s poison. Coupled with the purple markings, it was clear that Fang Ying''s poison had seeped into the blade over time, becoming a part of it.


    As Li Yang''s hand approached the blade, he did not notice the faint dragon that was coiling around the blade opening its eyes. Li Yang did not notice it because he was still somewhat stuck in his reminiscing, but Jinwu managed to clearly see it. The faint dragon turned lifelike and shot towards Li Yang''s hand, but before it managed to reach him, Jinwu let out a loud cry and shot towards the dragon, his body wreathed in golden flames.


    Li Yang quickly snapped out of his memories when he heard Jinwu''s cry, immediately entering a vigilant state as he jumped backward. Jinwu clashed with the dragon, golden lightning arcing out from the dragon and crashing into the golden flames. When the two elements clashed, Li Yang spotted a glimmer of violet within the flames, a familiar scent tickling his nose. A thought struck him, and he quickly called out.


    "Jinwu, stop! Come back here!"


    Jinwu didn''t quite understand why Li Yang would call it back, but it would not go against Li Yang''s orders. It was Li Yang''s blood that allowed him to be born, so to him, Li Yang was practically a father. Jinwu quickly disengaged, flying back to Li Yang''s shoulder, but he still kept a vigilant eye on the dragon. Once the golden flames and golden lightning vanished, Li Yang was able to see the dragon properly.


    The dragon was rather small, only around half a meter in length. It had a long, serpentine body that was covered in deep golden scales, three purple streaks going down both sides of its body. Its back had a long row of small violet spines, four short legs that ended in four claws growing out from its body. It had a small dragon head that was staring at Li Yang with a mixture of confusion and rage. After seeing the dragon, Li Yang was now certain that his theory was correct, calling out to it in a gentle voice.


    "You are an elemental that was born from the power that remained after I and Ying''er died, aren''t you? Were you using that sword as a host because it felt familiar?"


    While speaking, Li Yang raised his arm and unleashed the power of his lightning rune, azure bolts of lightning dancing around his entire body. While the lightning was not golden as it had been in his previous life, it still carried his energy, his mark. The rage in the dragon''s eyes vanished when it smelled the familiar scent in the lightning, its eyes lighting up with a joyful light. With the faint sound of thunder ringing out, the dragon shot forward, turning into a blur.


    The dragon quickly reached Li Yang, pushing aside a disgruntled Jinwu and coiling itself around his neck at it let out several low, happy sounding roars. Seeing the dragon like this, Li Yang knew that he was indeed right. The remains of his and Fang Ying''s powers had soaked into the hill after their death, and then the power from the dragon skeletons had been added onto that later on. With the passage of time, the energy had gathered together and gained sentience, becoming an elemental.


    But it was just born and had no idea where to go, so when it felt the familiar energy from the sword, it settled down inside it and used it as a host. Li Yang raised his hand and stroked the scales of the dragon, which was still roaring happily, pondering about what he was going to do with this little dragon.

 54 Twin dragons of monarchy.

    Jinwu seemed somewhat annoyed at how the little dragon had just pushed him away, so he landed on Li Yang''s shoulder and started to peck the scales of the little dragon. As he pecked the dragon, he also let out several caws, complaining to Li Yang as well as scolding the dragon. The dragon turned its head somewhat, looking at Jinwu with an annoyed gaze. But before it got to respond to Jinwu''s scolding, Li Yang pat him on the head and spoke up.


    "Alright you two, don''t fight like that. Tell me, little one, do you have a name I can call you by?"


    He could not continue to refer to the dragon as Little one, but he didn''t actually know what to call it. It was unknown how long ago this elemental had gained sentience, so he guessed that it might have already given itself a name. The dragon gave several rapid nods of his head, letting out a few low roars.


    But as the two of them didn''t share a bond like the taming ceremony with each other, Li Yang had no way of understanding what the roars meant. Seeing Li Yang''s confused expression, the dragon grew a little distressed, his head moving around as he seemed to look for a solution. his eyes suddenly lit up as he uncoiled his body from Li Yang''s neck and flew down to his hand, prodding it with his head.


    It continued to prod Li Yang''s hand for a bit, waiting for Li Yang to understand his intentions. It took a bit of time, but Li Yang eventually understood the intentions of the dragon, raising an eyebrow as he spoke out.


    "You want us to do the taming ceremony? Aren''t you worried that I am a bad person, I could choose to absorb you to strengthen my lightning element, you know that right?"


    If Li Yang did the taming ceremony with the dragon, he could slowly use their bond to weaken the consciousness of the elemental, allowing him to easily absorb it, instantly gaining the ability to once again control the golden lightning he had used in his past life.


    After hearing Li Yang''s response, the dragon didn''t shrink back, coiling around his arm in a loving gesture. He raised its head and flashed him what seemed to be a smile, but as his mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth, it came off as a bit terrifying. But it was enough to get across what he meant, so Li Yang pat him on the head with a smile.


    "Alright, if you are going to trust me that much, how can I possibly let you down?"


    The dragon had unconditional trust towards Li Yang, and Li Yang was also rather fond of the dragon. After all, the dragon was born from the fusion of Li Yang and Fang Ying''s power, it could almost be considered their child. Li Yang placed his hand on the head of the dragon, initiating the taming ceremony, just like he had done with Jinwu.


    A strange stream of energy surrounded the both of them, connecting their minds and binding them together for the rest of their lives. Once the taming ceremony was over, the dragon let out several happy caws, letting go of Li Yang''s arm and flying around his head. After flying around his head for a bit, the dragon coiled around his neck again, so Li Yang took the chance to speak up.


    "There you go. Now, do you have a name or do you want me to give you one?"


    The dragon raised his head and let out several short roars, but this time Li Yang was able to understand the words that the dragon was speaking. Upon hearing the response, Li Yang''s lips couldn''t help but curl into a slight smile as he tapped the dragon on the head a few times.


    "Shenlong, the dragon god? Quite the ambition you have there."


    The little dragon had given himself the name Shenlong, the name that according to legend belonged to the first god of dragons. As Li Yang tapped him on the head, and he heard Li Yang''s words, Shenlong seemed to puff out his cheeks and turned his head away. Seeing such a childish reaction, Li Yang could not help but let out a chuckle, stopping his actions.


    "Alright, alright, I won''t make fun of you. Shenlong, this is Jinwu, he is your big brother."


    Li Yang pointed at Jinwu as he spoke, introducing the two of them to each other. Shenlong turned towards Jinwu, but when their eyes met, Jinwu raised his head, scoffing slightly. Seeing Jinwu''s action, Shenlong let out a few roars, arguing with Jinwu, who quickly responded with several caws of his own. Li Yang could only tap the two of them on the head, interrupting their argument.


    "Enough of that, no need to argue like that. Shenlong, are you a lightning dragon or a poison dragon, or are you both?"


    Li Yang had seen Shenlong use his golden lightning, as well as Fang Ying''s poison, so he guessed that he was most likely a dual-element elemental, but he still felt it was best to ask and get confirmation. Shenlong stopped arguing with Jinwu, uncoiling itself from Li Yang''s neck and letting out a few roars. After it let out a few roars, its body was covered by an energy that was a mixture of purple and golden. The energy quickly vanished, but Li Yang could not help but be dumbfounded when he saw what Shenlong had become.


    "This...something like this is possible?"


    At the spot where Shenlong had been flying, there were now two dragons flying. One dragon was a magnificent golden in color, while the other was a deep violet. Shenlong had been around half a meter long, but the two dragons in front of Li Yang were only half as long. Seeing the dumbfounded expression on Li Yang''s face, both the dragons let out triumphant roars, raising their heads high in satisfaction. After they relished in their satisfaction for a bit, they started to explain a bit to Li Yang, but their explanation only caused him to raise an eyebrow.


    "So you are Shenlong, and you are Huanglong? One is the dragon god and the other is the symbol of the monarchy, just where did you come up with your names?"


    The golden dragon was Shenlong, while the violet one was Huanglong. According to legend, Huanglong was the dragon that was the symbol of the monarchy, their divine right to rule. They were a very rare twin elemental, containing not only dual elements but also two separate minds. Shenlong controlled their lightning, while Huanglong controlled their poison, and only when they were both together would they be able to unleash their full might. After hearing Li Yang''s question, Shenlong and Huanglong fused back together, turning towards the sword standing not far away from them.


    "The sword?"


    Li Yang stepped towards the sword, Jinwu and Shenlong following right behind him. The sword released a few faint arcs of golden lightning, the air around it a little bit hotter than the rest of the room. Li Yang furrowed his brows for a short moment, before reaching out with his right arm and grasping onto the hilt of his old weapon.


    The moment he grabbed onto the sword, the skin on his right arm cracked and split apart, blood pouring forth and drenching the sword and the ground around it. Horrific pain filled all of Li Yang''s body, arcs of golden lightning traveling up the sword and into his body, wreaking havoc on his insides. Jinwu and Shenlong rushed forward in panic, but Li Yang stopped them with a loud and guttural shout.


    "Don''t! I can take it!"


    Both of them stopped, flying in the air right behind Li Yang as they looked on with worried eyes. Golden lightning continued to flood into Li Yang''s body through the sword, more and more of his skin cracking open, his entire body quickly ending up drenched in blood. Yet despite the horrifying pain and terrible state of his body, Li Yang''s eyes contained an arrogant light as he let out a loud laugh.


    "Hahaha! I once forged my own body in an ocean filled with lightning that came directly from the heaven''s to punish me, do you think a tiny amount like you will be able to roast me?!"


    After he laughed out, Li Yang took the initiative to absorb the golden lightning into his body, using his destruction rune to weaken it a little before he absorbed it with his lightning rune. The golden lightning seemed to take this as a challenge, as it increased the amount of lightning that flooded Li Yang''s body, trying to force him to surrender.


    "Trying to force me to kneel, eh? I didn''t kneel to the heaven''s, I didn''t kneel to fate, I didn''t even kneel when I met the god of destruction, what makes you think I''ll kneel to something like you!?"


    In this life, Li Yang had been laying very low, even going as far as acting like a wonderful disciple to Jing Yimu. But he was a proud and even arrogant person, it was bred into his bones after spending so many years as the Thunder Monarch, so how could he possibly let a little bit of lightning force him to his knees?


    Li Yang continued to absorb the lightning, no matter how much of it flooded his body and scorched his flesh, he simply continued to absorb it with reckless abandon. As time passed, the lightning slowly changed, no longer scorching his flesh, but instead slowly healing the wounds it had created.


    Once all his wounds had been healed up, the golden lightning carefully flowing through his body, the sword released a bright flash. A wave of energy was released by the sword, flinging Li Yang backward until he crashed into the statue, sliding down to the floor. As he laid on the floor, he could not help but let out a somewhat vengeful mutter.


    "Zhao...Feng...You absolute bastard...I''m going to hit you...If we ever meet again."


    The only one who could have done something like that to his old sword was Zhao Feng or one of the others. But Li Yang was certain that it was Zhao Feng who had done it, as he was the only one who had that kind of personality. Jinwu and Shenlong quickly flew over, prodding Li Yang with their heads as they looked at him with concerned eyes. Li Yang slowly stood up, his body somewhat unsteady because of the impact. He quickly pat Jinwu and Shenlong''s heads, assuring them that he was fine.


    "Yeah, I''m fine, just had to clear one last test left behind by that bastard."


    Only Zhao Feng had the personality that would make him place one last test right at the end when no one would expect another test. Luckily, the golden lightning was only meant to test the strength of the one who touched the sword, even strengthening their body while they resisted it. Only after he had resisted and absorbed the lightning was he given the true inheritance that was stored within the sword. The inheritance was very simple, it was a full recollection of Li Yang''s past life and the techniques he used. Li Yang walked towards the sword again, looking at it with a gentle gaze.


    "As I am now, I cannot use you for too long. But I promise you, once I get stronger, I will bring you along to stand supreme once more, the earth trembling whenever I wield you."


    Li Yang had felt it when he touched the sword, it was filled with his lightning and Fang Ying''s poison. If he were to try and wield the sword for more than a few seconds, the lightning and poison would invade his body with full force, tearing him apart instantly. He was simply too weak to resist them for the moment. He raised his hands towards the sword, a golden light flashing on his hand. The sword turned into a beam of light, digging into Li Yang''s hand and vanishing into his body.


    When the sword became drenched with his blood, it had once again become bound to him. The sword was of a much higher quality than the spear and armor Jing Yimu had given him were, so he could store the sword within his own body, putting it in a dormant state. Once he became stronger he would be able to once again use it freely. After he absorbed the sword, he turned around and came face to face with Jinwu and Shenlong, one flying right above the other as they looked at him with worried eyes. Seeing them like this, Li Yang could not help but let out a slight laugh, patting the two of them on the head.


    "In my past life, despite the passage of countless years, I never had a single beast companion. Yet now, after only 13 years in this life, I have been blessed with two adorable little rascals."


    Shenlong and Jinwu both let out a happy cry, Jinwu perching on Li Yang''s left shoulder, and Shenlong coiling around Li Yang''s neck and right shoulder, looking like an extravagant ornament. Li Yang''s lips curled into a slight smile as he raised his head, looking through the building and into the sky, a faint voice escaping his lips.


    "It feels like a blink of an eye, but a year has already passed, huh. Well then, shall we leave this hidden realm? Ying''er and the greater world awaits us outside."

 55 Back in Clouds End.

    Li Yang swept the building with his gaze once more, his eyes stopping on the statue standing at the center. Jinwu and Shenlong joined Li Yang in quietly gazing at the statue, a tranquil peace descending on the room. After a few short moments passed in silence, a bright smile appeared on Li Yang''s face, his body moving towards the door. As he walked, he pat Shenlong on the head and spoke up.


    "That woman in the statue, she is the reason that Huanglong could be born alongside you. In two years time, we will hopefully be able to meet up with her. At that time, I am thinking about letting Huanglong follow her, what do the two of you think?"


    Huanglong was born from Fang Ying''s poison power mixing with the energy that the dragon bones released, if she was at Fang Ying''s side, both would be able to unleash greater power. But Li Yang did not want to force Shenlong or Huanglong into doing something they did not want, so he decided to ask for permission first. Shenlong closed his eyes for a bit, his mouth moving slightly, so Li Yang guessed that he was talking with Huanglong.


    After only a short moment, Shenlong opened his eyes again, letting out a low roar and giving several short nods of his head, it was clear that Huanglong was more than willing to follow Fang Ying. Li Yang''s smile grew a bit brighter, patting Shenlong a bit more on the head.


    While he was patting Shenlong, he felt something peck his neck, the somewhat unsatisfied face of Jinwu appearing before him as he turned to check. It was not hard to guess that Jinwu was a bit grumpy that he was not being petted as well, so Li Yang reached out and pat him on the head using his free arm.


    With both his arms in an awkward position to pat both Jinwu and Shenlong on the head, Li Yang left the building and made his way down the hill. He stopped petting them as he made his way through the city, pondering over how he should leave the hidden realm. The normal way would be to return to one of the exits, but he did not know where the closest exit was, and walking all the way back to the entrance he had used did not sound optimal. A thought struck him as he walked, so he rubbed his chest and let out a slight mutter.


    "Maybe this thing can help me."


    With a thought of his mind, the emblem that was resting within his chest materialized above his palm, calmly hovering in the air. Li Yang tried to send an order to the emblem, telling it to take him out of the hidden realm. After a short moment of silence, the energy that the token released started to grow a bit stronger, space around it distorting as a black gate appeared in front of Li Yang. Looking at the gate, Li Yang could not help but comment.


    "I knew I could trust Zhao Feng and the others to make things convenient."


    Li Yang swept the city around him one last time, before stepping into the black gate. As he stepped into the exit, Li Yang felt spice contort around him, a heavy pressure pushing down on him. Shenlong and Jinwu tightened their grasps, making sure that they didn''t get separated from Li Yang.


    After enduring the spatial contortions for a few moments, a bright light flashed in front of Li Yang''s eyes, forcing him to close them. When the bright light passed, Li Yang did not find himself standing in front of the log hut that had been the entrance to the hidden realm. He instead found himself standing at the top of a hill so tall and steep it could almost be considered a mountain. Li Yang fondled his chin, muttering slightly as he swept the surroundings with his gaze.


    "Now then, where exactly did we end up?"


    Jinwu and Shenlong also joined Li Yang in checking the surroundings, but as Shenlong had no idea if anything was familiar or not, he simply looked around out of curiosity. It did not take much searching before Jinwu let out a short caw, directing Li Yang to turn towards the right and peer into the distance, spotting Mourner''s Refuge in the distance. After spotting their destination, Jinwu and Shenlong both returned to Li Yang, Jinwu resting on Li Yang''s left shoulder, and Shenlong coiling around his neck.


    Between the hill that Li Yang was standing on and Mourner''s Refuge, there was only a single forest separating them. Li Yang took his time moving through the forest, concealing himself just in case there were any strong Demonic beasts within the forest. Even the stronger Demonic beasts inside the hidden realm had been unable to spot him once he concealed himself, so as he moved through the forest, nothing was able to spot him, allowing him to make it to Mourner''s Refuge before long.


    Mourner''s Refuge had stood for untold years, so the single year that Li Yang had been gone was unable to leave a single mark on it. Li Yang found a caravan that was returning to Cloud''s End City, hitching a ride with them after handing over a bit of money. Li Yang had been unable to get his hands on Jing Yimu''s interspatial ring, but he still had quite a bit of funds within the interspatial ring that Jing Yimu had gifted him. Of course, the funds within the ring were also gifts that Jing Yimu had given him for training expenses in the future.


    Once on the caravan, Li Yang integrated himself with the guards, spending the days chatting with them. He stealthily released Jinwu and Shenlong, allowing the two of them to roam freely around the caravan. Shenlong had been stuck within the mausoleum for all his life, and Jinwu had been following Li Yang throughout the entirety of the time spent in the hidden realm, both could use a small break where they could fly freely. Of course, the fact that they dealt with anything that might attack the caravan was just an added bonus.


    With nothing to interrupt them, the caravan was able to easily make its way to Cloud''s End City. The people of the caravan were quite shocked that the journey had gone by so peacefully, but none bothered thinking too much about why the journey had been so smooth. Jinwu and Shenlong had already returned to Li Yang once they got close to the city, so he didn''t have to wait for them once they arrived, allowing him to quickly enter the city.


    The first thing Li Yang did after entering the city after a year''s absence was to head towards the building of the Universe Merchants. All the robes he had on him now were given to him by Jing Yimu, but they were not to his taste, so he wanted to get them switched out for better ones.


    Li Yang quickly found the same merchant he had been at last time, commissioning several of the same robes he had asked for last time, violet robes in the form of a wolf skin, with a padded left shoulder for Jinwu. He was considering whether he should add something for Shenlong to the robe, but Shenlong protested, saying that he enjoyed the feeling of closeness when he coiled around Li Yang''s neck.


    Since it was Shenlong himself who said it, Li Yang did not say anything else. After waiting for a few hours, the commissioned robes were done, Li Yang quickly putting one on after finding a secluded spot. In his past life he had been fonder of clean and simple robes, but in this life, thanks to his time in the Liang tribe, he had grown rather fond of robes like these, ones fashioned after wolf skin.


    Once his clothing was in order, Li Yang made his way towards the Royal Dragon Pavilion. One reason he headed towards the pavilion was to see if his previous message he had sent had gotten any results, and another reason was to see if anything had happened during this one year he was gone.


    The Royal Dragon Pavilion had not changed while he was gone, still releasing a strong pressure that made one not dare think of causing trouble. Li Yang casually opened the door and entered the building, giving the room a quick sweep with his eyes. The sun had already set, so there were quite a few people drinking, making a small amount of noise as they talked with each other.


    Li Yang''s eyes landed on the counter at the left of the room, an expression of light surprise appearing on his face when he saw that the woman standing there was the same one he had met one year ago. He made his way to the counter, taking out the tablet that served as his identification and placing it on the table as he spoke out.


    "Has the message I sent gotten any responses?"


    The woman was sitting on a chair that leaned against the wall, casually reading a book. When she heard Li Yang''s voice, she raised her head, her eyes lighting up with surprise when she saw Li Yang and his identification tablet. She closed the book and stood up, giving the identification tablet a quick look-over before speaking out in surprise.


    "Took you a while to get back to us. Had it not been for the tablet letting us know that you were still alive, I would have signed you off as dead. We sent your message to 23 different people, but there was only a single response."


    The woman swiped her interspatial ring and took out a small piece of paper, handing it to Li Yang. Hearing that there were 23 people that fit the criteria he had specified, Li Yang could not help but be surprised. But he quickly shook away the surprise, grabbing the piece of paper and reading it. Once he saw the words written on it, his face split into a silly grin and he had to stop himself from letting out a loud laugh.


    "I look forward to hearing the thunder rumble during the competition. Down by the river, where the ocean meets the sky."


    Li Yang read the message several times, his grin growing sillier and sillier as he read it. She had gotten the message. In three years time, they would finally be able to meet again. Jinwu and Shenlong knew the reason behind his grin, but the receptionist could only raise her eyebrows in confusion. Li Yang quickly wiped the grin off his face, returning to business as he spoke up.


    "So what kind of interesting things have been happening lately? To be more specific, what has been happening around the Cloud Wilderness."


    Shortly before he left the Cloud Wilderness, a Golden Crow and a Torch Dragon had fought each other to the death. Li Yang refused to believe that none of the clans had noticed this, so he was wary about what they might do. After all, that Golden Crow was Jinwu''s mother, he could not let them desecrate her corpse. The receptionist fondled her chin slightly after hearing Li Yang''s question, seemingly trying to remember something. After a short while of thinking, her eyes lit up as she spoke out, shrugging her shoulders.


    "Around the Cloud Wilderness? Half a year ago, the various clans and sects of the continent sent over several groups to investigate something around the edges of the Cloud Wilderness. Half a year has passed, but none of the groups have left the Cloud Wilderness, my guess is that they are imposing themselves on the tribes residing in the outskirts until they find whatever it is they are looking for."


    The woman spoke casually, but her words froze in her throat when she saw Li Yang''s expression turn cold and gloomy. She did not know why, but faced with that expression, she almost felt herself overcome with dread as if she was nothing but helpless prey in front of a predator. Li Yang''s expression quickly returned to normal, cupping his hands towards the woman.


    "I see, thanks for the information."


    Li Yang turned around and left the building, his expression growing a bit cold again. He could easily guess that the people that had arrived were looking for the corpses of the Golden Crow and the Torch Dragon, hoping to cut them apart and harvest every inch of them. Not only that, they were most likely imposing themselves on the various tribes, the Liang tribe included.


    Li Yang had, after all, spent 12 years in the Liang tribe, so he had some feelings towards it. Especially Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi, they were people he considered friends. It was far from the friendship he had with Zhao Feng and the others, but it was enough for him to be willing to help them.


    People from sects and clans were often quite arrogant when faced with people of lower birth, especially when it came to people who lived in tribes, the weakest of the weak. There was no telling what they might do to the people of the Liang tribe, people they viewed as almost sub-human. Li Yang continued to walk, heading towards the building of the Universe Merchants as he muttered to Jinwu.


    "Seems like we have to make a quick trip home."


    Whether it was to stop the people from the sects and clans from acquiring the body of the Golden Crow or to stop them from harming the Liang clan, both alone were reason enough for Li Yang to return to the Cloud Wilderness. But now that he had to do both, there was no way he could avoid returning.

 56 The Demons offer.

    Li Yang did not waste too much time, quickly buying a few provisions as well as a new sword he could use. The sword was of a very normal quality, not even having reached Mortal Grade quality, and was made out of simple steel and without any arrays engraved. But as it only had to serve him until he could use his actual sword, it was good enough.


    Cultivators were divided into realms, Demonic beasts into ranks, and weapons and armors were divided into grades. What decided an items grade was its materials as well as what arrays were engraved into it. The grades that Li Yang knew of were Mortal, Spiritual, Earth, and Heaven, each grade was further separated into Early, Middle, Late, Peak. The spear Jing Yimu had given Li Yang was a Mortal grade weapon of the middle stage, perfectly suitable for the strength he had shown at the time. At the time of Li Yang''s death, his golden sword had been at the late stage of the Earth grade.


    Once Li Yang had picked up provisions and a decent weapon, he quickly made his way out of the city, heading in the direction of the Cloud Wilderness. Li Yang had no intention of testing his luck and seeing if he could find a caravan that went in the direction of the Cloud Wilderness, he had a much simpler plan. After creating a bit of distance from the city, he veered off the road and found a spot where he could not be seen from the road. He pat Jinwu and Shenlong, speaking in a low voice.


    "You two can either fly next to me or hold on tight, it''s up to you."


    After he spoke, he bent forward slightly, his entire body tensing up as his muscles rippled. Crimson flames and azure lightning, both tinged with a hint of gold, started coursing around Li Yang''s body. He had activated not only the flame strengthening technique of Jing Yimu but also his own lightning strengthening technique, his speed and strength drastically increasing. Jinwu and Shenlong both grabbed on tight, their eyes flashing with excitement.


    Li Yang glanced at the two of them, checking that they were ready. Once they nodded their heads, he kicked off the ground and shot forward. The earth beneath him was torn open from the force of his movements, his body turning into a blur that was a mixture of azure, crimson, and violet. Li Yang could have fused with Jinwu and use his wings to fly, but that would be a little slower than his running speed when he used all his might, so he decided that running was the best option.


    When he had hitched a ride with the caravan that was heading towards Cloud''s End City, the entire trip had taken him five days. Of course, had they not taken a break twice a day, the trip would have gone quite a bit faster. Li Yang''s running speed was far faster than the caravan, and he also didn''t need to take any breaks, so the time it took him to reach the outskirts of the Cloud Wilderness was only a single day of constant running.


    But the Liang tribe was located a small distance into the Cloud Wilderness, so Li Yang did not stop running after reaching the outskirts. He kicked off the ground and jumped up, grabbing onto a branch and quickly climbing up one of the trees. The trees in the Cloud Wilderness could easily reach several thousands of meters in height, towering above the ground. The trees in the outskirts had yet to grow that tall however, most of them only being around 100 meters in height, but that was already plenty tall.


    There were fewer Demonic beasts in the treetops, and it would be easier for Li Yang to scout the area from up high, which was why he decided to travel the rest of the way by jumping from tree to tree. Before Li Yang could decide on how to proceed, he had to gather a bit more information about the people that had entered the Cloud Wilderness, especially how strong they were and how many there were.


    Li Yang continued to jump from tree to tree, keeping a close watch on his surroundings. Only when he started getting a bit deeper into the Cloud Wilderness did he stop, crouching down on a branch. He closed his eyes and raised his arms, his palms facing each other, lightning dancing around his fingers and slowly forming a small orb between his palms.


    Once the orb had grown to the size of his head, Li Yang opened his eyes and clapped his hands together. The lightning quickly dispersed, spreading into the surroundings and vanishing from sight, a myriad of information filling Li Yang''s mind.


    What he had used just now was a tracking technique from his previous life. The technique would spread lightning into the surroundings, forming a constant perimeter around the user. The lightning would resonate with the electricity that coursed through most living beings, allowing the one who used the technique to know about anything lurking in the surroundings.


    Right now, Li Yang could only cover about 1000 meters in every direction with his lightning, and even that was only because he was so familiar with the technique. But that was also enough for the current him, allowing him to save some time on searching for anyone that might know some information. But even with the tracking technique active, it still took him some time to find anything other than some hidden Demonic beasts. After all, the Cloud Wilderness was unbelievably vast.


    It was only after searching for almost six hours that he finally discovered someone human. His technique discovered two people, but one of them was on death''s door, the electricity flowing within his body almost having crawled to a halt. Li Yang made his way closer to the two, his brows furrowing slightly. He recognized the location that the two people were at, it was one of the places where the flames of the Torch Dragon had landed after they were sent flying from a clash with the Golden Crow flames.


    Li Yang stayed at the top of the trees as he moved stealthily, making sure that he kept himself hidden as best he could. He quickly made his way to the charred clearing where the two people were discovered, he could tell that one was lying on the ground while the other was pacing around the clearing. Li Yang stopped once he reached a tree at the edge of the clearing, his eyes narrowing when he saw the two people in the clearing.


    There were two men in the clearing, one lying on the ground with severe injuries, while the other was pacing nervously and muttering to himself, his face pale and dyed with desperation. The man who was pacing around was a youth who seemed to be in his twenties, he had short and needle-like orange hair, green eyes, and was clad in a crimson robe embroidered with an emblem that featured a lone flame torching the sky.


    The man lying on the ground was middle-aged and had rather rough features, his skin tanned and rough, he had long black hair that was dirtied with blood, and was clad in the hide of some animal. The reason Li Yang''s eyes narrowed when he spotted the two people was because he recognized the middle-aged man, he was a farmer from the Liang tribe, Liang Jie. Li Yang had only rarely interacted with him, occasionally getting some vegetables from him.


    Li Yang checked the body of Liang Jie, using the electricity within him to scope out the injuries. He had several broken bones, his ribs shattered and stabbing into his lungs, his organs were bruised and ruptured, his skull smashed somewhat. He was alive for the moment, but he would not last much longer, it was clear that he had received a brutal beating. The youth that was pacing around had some blood on his robe and hands, so it was clearly he who had inflicted the wounds. Li Yang temporarily moved his focus away from Liang Jie, his eyes landing on the youth as he strained his ears to pick up what he was muttering about.


    "...Already been here for half a goddamn year. Fuck, if I don''t produce any results soon, the clan might punish me for being incompetent. Shit, I only agreed to this because it was said to be an easy mission. Even the guides from these fucking tribes are useless, maybe I should just find Senior Brother Qiu and tag along with him, at least that way I can have someone to share in the blame."


    The youth continued to mutter back and forth about whether or not he should head towards this senior brother of his, so Li Yang decided that it was time to take action. Li Yang didn''t say a word, simply raising his right arm and pointing towards the youth. Arcs of azure lightning coiled around his finger, forming a small spear that shot towards the youth.


    The youth had a cultivation that was a little above Li Yang, having carved his sixth rune and entering the late stage of the Xiantian rune realm. Li Yang, on the other hand, had only carved five runes, carving the fifth one while he was traveling towards Cloud''s End City. But even if the youth had carved one or two more runes, Li Yang was confident that he could still kill him easily, especially if he fused with Jinwu.


    The youth''s ears twitched as the spear of lightning got closer, quickly turning towards Li Yang with a shocked expression. He raised his arms, a large hammer adorned with flames appearing in his hand, blocking the path of the lightning. Li Yang simply sneered, the lightning suddenly dipping down and moving beneath the hammer. It dug into the leg of the youth, his veins and bones charring from the high heat as the lightning moved through his body.


    The lightning scorched the youth''s arms and legs, rendering them useless as he collapsed to the ground, his expression turning horrified. Once his arms and legs were useless, Li Yang jumped down from the tree, casually moving towards the youth. He didn''t even have the chance to say anything before the youth let out a shout that contained a mixture of anger and fear.


    "I am Huo Bo, how dare you do that to me?! Name yourself!"


    Huo Bo''s face was red from shouting, but Li Yang could see his eyes trembling. Since the insides of his arms and legs were completely roasted, he was lying sprawled on the ground, so he looked rather comical. Li Yang stopped in front of him, tilting his head slightly after hearing his name.


    "Huo Bo, someone from the Huo clan?"


    Li Yang could not help but raise an eyebrow and sweep Huo Bo with his eyes. Someone like this was from one of the three clans? Huo Bo''s eyes lit up when he heard Li Yang''s question, quickly nodding his head as best he could.


    "That''s right! Now..."


    While Huo Bo was nodding his head and trying to say something, Li Yang interrupted him by kicking him in the mouth, shattering two of his teeth. After Huo Bo shut up, Li Yang walked to Huo Bo''s left and placed his foot on his back, speaking slowly and calmly.


    "I really don''t care, so please shut up. I am going to ask you a few questions, and you are going to answer them truthfully. If you refuse to answer, or I believe that you are lying, I will torture you, understood? If you answer properly, it won''t hurt too much."


    Hearing Li Yang''s voice, which was so calm that it was almost chilling, Huo Bo did not dare do anything by repeatedly nod his head. Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head, his lips curling into an appreciative smile.


    "Good. First question, how many people have entered the Cloud Wilderness in this half year?"


    Li Yang could not help but be a little suspicious when he saw Huo Bo. Why was he searching all on his own, and why was someone so weak sent to look for the body of a Golden Crow and a Torch Dragon? Huo Bo stammered slightly, but he quickly responded.


    "A...About 15 groups of people, each containing between five to ten people!"


    Li Yang''s suspicions grew when he heard the response. That few people had come? Li Yang would not have been surprised if several thousand people came from each clan. But he could not be completely sure yet, so he continued to ask.


    "Okay, what is the cultivation of the strongest person who has entered here?"


    This was the most important piece of information to Li Yang. If the ones who had arrived were too strong, he would have to be very careful with his actions. Huo Bo was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking over his answer before he called ut.


    "The highest cultivation belongs to Senior Sister Yazhu and the others, having reached the early stage of the Ascending Foundation realm!"


    Li Yang tilted his head slightly after hearing Huo Bo''s response, his eyes glancing at Shenlong. Shenlong uncoiled himself from Li Yang''s neck, slithering down his body until he reached Huo Bo''s back. He sank his teeth into Huo Bo, arcs of lightning infiltrating his body and delivering pain that could almost be called soul-crushing. Huo Bo immediately started screaming, his voice growing rough and hoarse as blood started to flow up his throat.


    "I''m telling the truth! I swear! Please believe me!"


    Li Yang stopped Shenlong after a short moment, giving Huo Bo a chance to vomit up some of the blood that had pooled in his throat. His lips could not help but curl into a happy smile when he looked at Huo Bo, his answer had basically confirmed his suspicion, but he decided to ask another question just to be sure.


    "Why have all of you entered the Cloud Wilderness?"


    Huo Bo did not dare be a single second late in his response, lest he feel that terrible pain again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Li Yang''s smile, so he knew that Li Yang would not hesitate to torture him some more.


    "We don''t know! The clan''s got information that something strange had happened, so we were sent to look for anything suspicious and told not to come back until we found anything!"


    Li Yang could see terror and desperation in Huo Bo''s face, so he knew he was telling the truth. Upon having his suspicions confirmed, he could not help but let out a chuckle. But Li Yang still had more questions, so he continued to talk.


    "Heh, no wonder the strongest cultivator is only someone at the early stage of the Ascending Foundation realm. Alright, only two more questions now. Which clans and sects have sent people, and have you done anything to the Liang tribe?"


    Since the strongest person sent had only reached the Ascending Foundation realm, it could only mean that the clans and sects had no idea what had happened here, otherwise they would not have sent such weak people. But this was good news to Li Yang, as it would make things much easier for him. Huo Bo tilted his head somewhat in confusion at Li Yang''s question, but upon seeing his expression, he quickly responded.


    "Clans and sects? Besides the Huo, Duan, and Tian clans, there are also the Yuan clan, the Zhong clan, the Heaven''s Gate sect, the Roaring Soul sect, the Puppet God sect, the Myriad beast sect, and the Endless Horizon sect! I don''t know exactly which tribe this Liang tribe is, but all the tribes within this area were placed under the control of the Huo clan, the Tian clan, the Puppet God sect, and the Heaven''s Gate sect!"


    Li Yang listened to Huo Bo list the sects and clans with a calm face, after all, he knew basically nothing about the various sects and clans. But upon hearing the name of two particular sects, his eyebrows could not help but raise, a mutter escaping his lips.


    "Heaven''s Gate sect, Roaring Soul sect? So those old things are still around, huh? Tell me, comparing the sects and the two other clans with the three great clans, how do they fare? And what is the highest cultivation within any of the clans and sects?"


    The Heaven''s Gate sect and the Roaring Soul sect also existed while Li Yang was still alive. They were a peculiar bunch who continued to argue about whether or not it was best to cultivate the soul or to cultivate the body. Li Yang had a neutral relationship with both sects, but there were, of course, some people within the sects he had better or worse relationships with. Huo Bo''s face twisted slightly, an expression of slight shame appearing on his face as he spoke out.


    "They are all about even in strength, it''s just that the three great clans are more known because of the role they play in protecting the continent! And...and I really don''t know about the strongest in the sects, I am just a weak little nobody!"


    After Huo Bo finished responding, his face had reddened somewhat from the shame he felt at calling himself a nobody. But Li Yang still only looked at him with a calm gaze. He gave a slight nod, Shenlong sinking his teeth into Huo Bo again, lightning filling his body as he started to let out shrill screams.


    "PLEASE! I REALLY DON''T KNOW ANYTHING!!"


    Li Yang nodded at Shenlong after letting Huo Bo taste a bit more torture, signaling him to stop. Huo Bo was no longer able to hold his head up, his face sinking into the dirt beneath him as he started to vomit up blood and the contents of his stomach. His eyes were bloody, the blood vessels in his eyes exploding from the pain. Just when he thought Li Yang had believed him, he heard Li Yang''s reply.


    "I know. I never really expected you to be able to answer that question."


    How could someone like Huo Bo possibly know anything about the actual power level of the clan? Just like he said, he was a weak nobody. But Huo Bo had, after all, brought someone from the Liang tribe. to the brink of death, so Li Yang wanted him to feel some pain. After hearing Li Yang''s casual response, Huo Bo could not help but let out an aggrieved mutter.


    "Then why did..."


    If Li Yang had believed his words, why had he still tortured him like that? But before Huo Bo managed to finish his sentence, Li Yang increased the force in his foot, Huo Bo''s spine releasing creaking sounds as Li Yang let out a nonchalant sound.


    "Oh well, I have no more use for you."


    Huo Bo felt his ribs and bones creak under the pressure of Li Yang''s foot. He heard a slight sound coming from above him and knew that Li Yang had pulled out his weapon, preparing to end him. He hurriedly called out, his voice panicky as he tried to force his body to move.


    "wait, wait! You said I could live if I answered!"


    Cultivators valued their word and their face quite a bit, so very few were willing to lie or go against their own word, which was why he felt safe when Li Yang told him nothing would happen if he answered. But Li Yang quickly dashed his hopes, calmly repeating what he had said earlier.


    "No, I said it wouldn''t hurt too much, I never said I would let you live."


    From the start, Li Yang had never planned on letting Huo Bo live. Even though the person he had killed was someone Li Yang rarely interacted with, it was still someone from the Liang tribe, one of Liang Zhou''s people. Huo Bo''s heart froze when he heard how calm Li Yang was, his voice turning low as he begged.


    "Please, I am begging you!"


    Huo Bo''s voice was hoarse, not only from the pain and screaming but also from his slight sobbing. He used to take such pride in the fact that he was from the Huo clan, but facing Li Yang right now, all that pride was gone, replaced by bone-chilling terror. In response to his begging, Li Yang merely shrugged his shoulders.


    "Go ahead, I don''t really care if you do."


    Li Yang swung the sword he had bought in Cloud''s End City down, severing Huo Bo''s head from the rest of his body. His eyes were completely calm as he did it, not even flinching when blood splattered onto his robes. To Li Yang, the lives and happiness of those close to him were the most important things in the world. But reversely, the lives of those that weren''t close to him meant practically nothing to him.


    The only reason he felt a bit of anger at the impending death of Liang Jie was because Liang Zhou, someone he considered a friend, would be sad to hear the news of Liang Jie''s death. After beheading Huo Bo, Li Yang picked up Huo Bo''s interspatial ring, putting it into his own. He then walked over to Liang Jie, who was looking at him with somewhat dull eyes. Li Yang crouched down next to him, not mincing his words in the slightest.


    "You are dying, there is nothing I can do to stop that. Do you have any last words?"


    Liang Jie''s eyes lit up slightly when he heard Li Yang''s question. He weakly reached out with his arms, grasping onto Li Yang''s robe and staining it with a bit of blood that was on his hands. He opened his mouth to talk, but his punctured lungs prevented him from saying more than a few trembling words.


    "You...The...Tribe..."


    He only managed to speak three words, but from the desperation and hope in his eyes, Li Yang was able to easily guess what he was trying to convey. Li Yang gave a solemn nod of his head, placing the tip of his sword against Liang Jie''s chest.


    "Don''t worry, with me here, no one can touch the Liang tribe. You can rest in peace."


    Liang Jie had a relieved expression after hearing Li Yang''s assurance, his bloody lips forming a smile. He had seen how easily Li Yang dealt with Huo Bo, so he felt confident in leaving everything to him. Liang Jie closed his eyes, and Li Yang drove his sword into Liang Jie''s chest, piercing his heart and giving him a swift death, sparing him the slow death that his injuries would result in.


    After ending Liang Jie''s life, Li Yang stored away the corpse within his interspatial ring. He had to return the body to Liang Zhou after all so that he could give him a proper burial. Li Yang swept the charred clearing one last time, making sure there was nothing he had overlooked. Once he was certain there was nothing else, he turned towards the direction of the Liang tribe, speeding towards it.


    Since he was now focusing on heading directly towards the Liang tribe, it did not take him long to reach the village where they lived. But as he entered the village, he could not help but be a bit surprised at the lack of people, seeing no one. He activated his tracking technique, spotting a large group of people located at the northern part of the village.


    Li Yang made his way through the village, soon spotting the group of people he had detected. They were all gathered around the platform where the affinity ceremony was performed, with a somewhat exhausted Liang Zhou standing atop the platform and talking to the crowd. Not only Liang Zhou looked tired, but the people in the crowd also looked exhausted, their faces and eyes red.


    Li Yang swept the crowd, but he did not spot Liang Xinyi, the girl who was to be Liang Zhou''s wife. Li Yang had quite a bit of experience, after all, so he could guess at what was going on, the clans and sects had probably taken quite a few people from the tribes to act as guides and slaves while they searched through the Cloud Wilderness.


    Li Yang was not worried that the people from the sects and clans would try to **** Liang Xinyi or the others, as they felt that the people from the tribes were too far below them. He was more worried that they would kill them whenever they felt annoyed or angry.


    Li Yang''s thoughts started moving as he looked at the crowd. He could help them now, but what in the future, when he wasn''t here? What would Liang Zhou do then? A thought quickly appeared in Li Yang''s mind, his lips curling into a ferocious and somewhat demonic smile as he started walking towards the crowd and spoke up.


    "Those are some awful faces you have there, all red from crying too much, like a bunch of children."


    The group of people quickly reacted upon hearing Li Yang''s voice, turning towards him, some in shock and some in anger. But upon spotting Li Yang, they could not help but turn dumbfounded. Li Yang had returned to the tribe? But why did he suddenly feel so different, so sharp and ferocious? Liang Zhou''s face lit up with a glimmer of happiness when he saw Li Yang, quickly waving him over.


    "Li Yang! You have..."


    Liang Zhou was somewhat shocked to realize that he was completely unable to see Li Yang''s cultivation, but he did not pay it any heed at the moment. Before Liang Zhou got to finish what he wanted to say, Li Yang stretched out his hand holding his open palm towards Liang Zhou as he spoke, the smile on his face causing a slight shiver to run up the spines of everyone in the area.


    "Did you lose something? Or rather, was it taken away from you? If it was taken away from you, then what you have to do is already decided, is it not? Anyone who took something from you, bring them down and crush them, take back what is yours. Tell me, Liang Zhou, do you want me to help you take back everything?"


    The people around the platform did not know what Li Yang had done in the one year he had been gone, but when they looked at the smile on his face and heard his offer, they could not help but feel like he was a demon looking to strike a deal with them.

 57 Demon Warriors of the Cloud Wilderness.

    There was a short moment of silence after Li Yang had spoken, Liang Zhou and the others looking at his outstretched hand, their brows furrowing. The silence only lasted for a little bit, before someone seemingly lost their patience, calling out in a loud voice that contained a hint of resignation.


    "What are you blabbering about?! There is no way we can do anything against them, they are far too powerful."


    Li Yang turned towards the one who had shouted, an older man who had a large scar going over his empty left eye, Liang Situ. Li Yang''s lips curled up slightly, a faint sneer appearing on his face as he spoke up.


    "That is only because you guys are weak right now. But what if you could become stronger, so strong that you don''t need to listen to their orders?"


    His words caught the attention of the people in the surroundings, their blood starting to heat up slightly. No one liked to be bossed around by others, forced to listen to their orders. But their warming blood was cooled down again by another loud shout by Liang Situ.


    "Are you dumb, do you want us to against the great clans and sects? That would just doom the entire tribe. What we need to do is quietly endure, that way we can at least protect our dignity and secure our future."


    His words reminded the others who their enemies were, the three great clans and several mighty sects they had never heard about before. Facing behemoths like that, just securing their survival was a great thing. But after hearing Liang Situ''s words, Li Yang burst into a loud laughter, turning towards a middle-aged man with a missing leg.


    "HAHAHA! Your dignity, your future? Liang Yiyun, I can''t see your wife and son, where are they?"


    Liang Yiyun had lost his left leg when he was young, so despite his ripe age, he had not been taken away to serve as a guide. Being singled out by Li Yang and becoming the focus of everyone, Liang Yiyun could not help but be slightly taken aback. He lowered his head somewhat, a low voice escaping from his lips.


    "...They were taken by someone from the Puppet God Sect and someone from the Tian clan..."


    A soft sigh rang through the crowd, people looking at Liang Yiyun with pity. They already knew what happened to his wife and son, but they still grew sad upon hearing about it. Li Yang did not look at Liang Yiyun with pity, instead pressing on with the same faint sneer.


    "And what did you do to stop them from getting taken?"


    After hearing Li Yang''s question, Liang Yiyun grew deathly pale. After a short moment, he raised his head to look directly at Li Yang, his eyes having grown somewhat red as he responded in a voice that was barely a whisper.


    "...I did nothing..."


    Liang Yiyun was ashamed, but at the same time, he was afraid. Faced with people from the great Tian clan, and a sect that seemed equally strong, what was he supposed to have done? Li Yang stepped forward slightly, throwing his arms wide open when he stood at the edge of the platform, his loud voice reaching everyone.


    "Look around you! They have taken your women, your young and able! And none of you did anything to stop them. your dignity is already worthless. And your survival? By the time they have finished what they have come for, I can guarantee that most, if not all of the taken people will have been killed, your future dying with them."


    If the people from the clans managed to learn that the remains of a Golden Crow and a Torch Dragon were located here, they would kill anyone else who might have learned of it. At that time, all the tribes might just be wiped out. The crowd descended into silence after Li Yang''s loud shout, but Liang Zhou broke the silence.


    "You know what they have come for?"


    From listening to Li Yang''s words, it was clear that he knew what the clans had come here for. But Liang Zhou could not help but wonder, how had Li Yang learned about it? Exactly what had he been doing for that one year where he was gone? Li Yang turned away from the crowd, giving Liang Zhou a slight nod.


    "I do, but I cannot tell you."


    Liang Zhou looked at Li Yang in silence for a short moment, studying him closely. He still looked very similar to the day he had left the village. He had grown taller and his features more pronounced and manly, becoming rather handsome, but he could still clearly tell that he was Li Yang, the same person he had considered as a little brother.


    But there was something different about him, about the look in his eyes. For his eyes to become like that, Liang Zhou could only assume that something horrible had happened to Li Yang during this last one year. Liang Zhou could not help but take a step forward, placing his palm on Li Yang''s cheek as he continued to observe him.


    "You have changed, brother Yang. What happened to you, what caused your eyes to become so sharp?"


    In the past, Li Yang had always seemed so carefree and calm, his eyes bright as he observed everything around him with a touch of nonchalance. But the eyes of the Li Yang that had returned, while still bright as a dark star, were far sharper, like an unsheathed blade. Li Yang did not remove Liang Zhou''s hand, he simply gave a slight smile and shook his head.


    "It''s a bad habit that I can''t seem to kick."


    Li Yang was not lying. The sharpness in his eyes was a result of his time as the Thunder Monarch when he spent so long fighting to protect those close to him. Even now that he was no longer the same Thunder Monarch, his eyes would still occasionally gleam with that same sharpness. After a short moment, Li Yang turned back to the crowd.


    "What is your answer, do you want my help? Do you want the strength to stand tall and proud, to protect that which you love? Or are you fine with cowering in the dirt while everyone steps over you?"


    Silence covered the area, the people in the crowd looking a bit pale as they thought it over. Liang Zhou also looked like he was thinking hard about it, but the first one to break the silence was an older man who was blind in one eye. He kneeled heavily on the ground, his voice tearful as he spoke out.


    "I...I am willing to accept your help. Just please, give me the strength to bring my daughter back home!"


    Once the first man kneeled, the others quickly started to follow, with Liang Yiyun being the second one to kneel to Li Yang. As the crowd started to kneel to Li Yang and accept his offer, Liang Zhou also tried to kneel, but Li Yang stopped him. Liang Zhou was a friend, after all, there was no way Li Yang was going to make him kneel. Once everyone but him kneeled, Liang Zhou asked the question everyone was wondering about.


    "Please give us the strength to protect our own. What do we need to do?"


    How was Li Yang going to have them become strong enough to resist the three great clans? Was it even possible to strengthen several people that quickly? But Li Yang quickly gave a confident reply, glancing at a few older men within the crowd.


    "Good. We are going to need a large amount of Demonic beast blood and bodies, the stronger the Demonic beast the better. Later on, I will head deeper into the wilderness to check out the various groups that have arrived, I will bring back a few Demonic beasts then, but we need some to start. I suggest sending out the few older warriors you have left, they should be able to find some quickly."


    The men he glanced at looked normal, even a bit frail. But Li Yang knew that they were the older warriors of the tribe, they had a large amount of experience and were adept at fighting, they just hid it deeply, which was why they had not been picked as guides. Liang Zhou could not help but tilt his head slightly after hearing what Li Yang needed.


    "Demonic beast blood and bodies? What do we need those for?"


    If Li Yang''s plan was to have them infuse their bodies with Demonic beast blood, there was no need to gather their bodies as well, so it was clear that he was planning something else. Li Yang''s smiles curved into a mysterious smile as he looked at Liang Zhou.


    "It''s very simple. You will become the new generation of Demon Warriors, the first ones to be born since the fall of the Devil''s Gate."


    After Li Yang spoke out, a dumbfounded silence descended over the area. Demon Warriors? Devils Gate? No one in the Liang tribe had ever heard about either of those things. But how could they possibly know about either of them? The Devil''s Gate had been a sect that existed back when Li Yang was at his peak, and it had been the birth and death of the Demon Warriors. They had committed such atrocities with their Demon Warriors that the rest of the world had collectively decided to wipe out any remaining Demon Warriors, branding the practice heretical and banning it completely. Liang Zhou knew a bit more than the others, so his brows furrowed slightly as he questioned.


    "Demon Warriors? Are those the same as the Demon Race? Or are they people with Demonic beast bloodlines?"


    Liang Zhou had never heard about Demon Warriors, but he knew that the Cloud Wilderness was in fact ruled over by a people called the Demon Race, so he guessed that they had a connection. But contrary to what he expected, Li Yang shook his head as he responded.


    "No. The Demon race consists of people who are the result of humans and Demonic beasts mating, while people with Demonic beast bloodlines are humans who have transfused Demonic beast blood into their own bodies to strengthen themselves. Demon Warriors are humans who have infused themselves with not only Demonic beast blood, but also used a special technique to acquire the limbs and organs of Demonic beasts, a heretical fusion of both man and beast."


    While explaining, Li Yang transmitted everything he knew about the Demon Warriors directly into Liang Zhou''s mind, allowing him to continue creating Demon Warriors after Li Yang left. After going over the information, Liang Zhou could not help but let out a small mutter.


    "You are turning us into monsters."


    Just like Li Yang had said, a Demon Warrior was a fusion of man and beast, replacing parts of one''s body with Demonic beast parts. Their strength would quickly increase, but they would never be able to call themselves human again, nor could they call themselves Demonic beasts or Demon Race. Li Yang heard Liang Zhou''s mutter, but he only let out a slight snort.


    "Everyone who is powerful is a monster, it is one of the requirements to become strong. And I am only giving you the option. If you refuse, you can still try to use your own efforts to become stronger, but the time it will take is far longer. The choice is yours."


    Even the most righteous of cultivators had the blood of countless people and Demonic beasts on their hand. The mighties cultivators could wipe out cities and countries with mere waves of their hands, if such people did not deserve to be called monsters, then who did?


    Liang Zhou turned towards the crowd that was looking at the two of them. They had also heard what a Demon Warrior was, they knew what it meant to become one. But despite that, their gazes were determined and steely, no one standing up from their bow. Seeing them like this, Liang Zhou nodded his head and turned to Li Yang.


    "For the Liang tribe."


    If it was to protect his people and those he loved, Liang Zhou was willing to become a monster. Li Yang''s lips curved into a ferocious smile as he looked at Liang Zhou and the others, giving a nod of his head.


    "Good. Since you have accepted my help, I will make you the Demon Warriors of the Cloud Wilderness, a force that no one will be willing to offend."


    Once they became Demon Warriors, they would be able to hide deeper within the Cloud Wilderness, out of the reach of the clans. And as they got stronger, they could kill stronger Demonic beasts, which in turn would strengthen them even more. Once they got strong enough, who would care about the fact that they were training in a heretical and banned technique? While the blood of the Liang tribe people was boiling, Li Yang gave a loud clap of his hands.


    "But before we do any of that, let us deal with a slight annoyance."


    While everyone was dumbfounded at what he meant, Li Yang turned towards a spot on the ground a small distance away from the platform. Without him having to say anything, Jinwu and Shenlong turned into blurs and flew towards the spot. Golden flames and lightning flashed, a loud explosion sounding out as the earth in the spot was completely shattered.


    After the dust settled, Jinwu and Shenlong were grabbing onto a female youth with long black hair and pale skin. There were shattered fragments of a humanoid doll scattered around her, so she had clearly hidden within a doll. While the people of the Liang tribe were shocked, Li Yang casually walked over to the girl, shaking his head slightly as he grabbed onto her neck and raised her up.


    "You are a bit silly, aren''t you? As the spy, you must always send out a message once something strange happens, otherwise, you might never get that chance."


    He had detected her the moment he entered the village, constantly keeping an eye on her as he spoke. Even when he mentioned Demon Warriors, she had not reacted in the slightest, not even sending a message to the rest of her sect. This caused Li Yang to guess that she had either never heard about Demon Warriors, or was waiting to gather more information before she reported it. The girl tried to talk, blood pouring out of her mouth as she stuttered slightly.


    "You...can''t do...this...I am..."


    Li Yang squeezed her throat a bit to stop her from talking, even without her saying anything, he could easily guess who she was and what she was doing here.


    "From the Puppet God Sect, I can tell. What a neat puppet you have, it works much like a transportable abode. But I really don''t care where you are from."


    Li Yang truly found the puppet neat. She could hide within it and decrease its size, allowing her to easily hide within the ground, looking like a normal pebble. As Li Yang looked at the girl with indifferent eyes, she glared at him and did her best to stutter out a few words.


    "You...will regret...this..."


    She was from the Puppet God Sect, so she knew how they dealt with anyone who went against them or those who insulted them. It was as if she could already see Li Yang''s body being turned into a living puppet. But Li Yang merely chuckled at her words, carrying her towards the platform.


    "You have no idea how many times I have heard that. But not once have I regretted my actions."


    Once Li Yang reached the platform, he punched the girl in the back, shattering her spine and preventing her from moving. He then threw her towards the crowd, which quickly backed away from her. Li Yang''s voice was cold as he pointed at the girl.


    "Kill her."


    Not only the others, but even Liang Zhou was also shocked at Li Yang''s words and cold voice. They had prepared to go against the clans and sects, but when faced with the act of killing one of their people, they could not help but hesitate. As Jinwu and Shenlong returned to Li Yang, he continued to talk, his voice causing the blood of the others to boil.


    "She is part of the people that have taken everything from you. Kill her, start your journey towards freedom with her blood."


    The old man who had been the first to kneel was also the first one to step forward, his hands trembling as he looked at the girl with a steely and somewhat hateful gaze. He had no weapon, so he could only grab a rock that was lying on the ground, grabbing it with both hands and using it to bash the girls back. Seeing his actions, the others also grew determined, picking up anything they could use as a weapon and hitting the girl, who could not even scream because of her shattered spine.

 58 The greatest monster.

    After they killed the spy from the Puppet God Sect, Liang Zhou did as Li Yang had said, sending out some of their older warriors to hunt for Demonic beasts they could use for the Demon Warrior technique. With the warriors heading out, the rest of the remaining people in the tribe ran around to prepare everything for the return of the warriors, for when they would get their revenge.


    While the villagers prepared, Li Yang and Liang Zhou retreated to Li Yang''s old house, which was located at the eastern edge of the village, somewhat secluded. It was a small house that only contained two rooms, the walls painted with a fresh blue color. As the two of them entered the house, Li Yang glanced at the inside, a faint smile on his face as he muttered.


    "It looks nice, you must have spent quite a bit of time on fixing it up."


    As he had never really bothered to take care of the house after his parents from this life died, the house had basically been in ruins when he left the village a year ago. But now the walls were rebuilt and repainted, the furniture within the house replaced with new items. Liang Zhou also swept the rooms with his eyes, letting out a slight laugh.


    "It was Xinyi''s idea, she figured we should keep your house nice and ready for whenever you came back. I bet she never expected you to come back like this."


    Liang Zhou glanced at Li Yang as he spoke. Once it was just the two of them, all the sharpness he had felt from Li Yang simply vanished, as if it had been nothing but an illusion. His face carried that same faint smile he had carried before he left, his posture relaxed. To be able to change his entire demeanor so quickly, how did he do it? After hearing Liang Zhou''s response, Li Yang could not help but let out a light chuckle.


    "I''ve only been gone a year, but she is already acting as the main wife, huh?"


    The house had been fixed up, but everything seemed like it was still in the same place. Li Yang walked over to the corner that served as a kitchen and was surprised to find that the cupboards had actually been stocked with dried and preserved food. He fetched a kettle, melted some ice into water, and then boiled some bitter herb tea. Once the tea was done, he and Liang Zhou sat down at the table located at the center of the room, both quietly sipping the tea for a moment before Liang Zhou let out a deep sigh.


    "Brother Yang. How do you feel about taking over the leadership of the tribe?"


    Liang Zhou had pondered it over for a while, but in the end, he decided that he was not worthy of leading the Liang tribe. In that case, it was better to hand over the leadership to someone strong like Li Yang, someone who could take them to greater heights. But Li Yang did not hesitate for even a moment before he shook his head.


    "Not happening."


    Liang Zhou could not help but be caught off-guard. He had rejected the notion that quickly, not even thinking about it? He tried to read Li Yang''s expression, looking for anything that he could use to read Li Yang''s thoughts, but he found nothing, so he could only continue to press on.


    "But the villagers need someone like you, someone who can cause their blood to boil!"


    Li Yang had only been back for a short moment, but thanks to him, the remaining villagers were all fully motivated to fight, even if their enemies were the great clans and sects. A leader who could motivate his people like that was invaluable. But Li Yang simply continued to gently sip his tea, calmly explaining to Liang Zhou.


    "I can motivate them, but I cannot lead them. Someone like you, who cares for them and wants the best for them, is far more suited for that. Do you remember what I said earlier, that you would be the first Demon Warriors since the fall of the Devil''s Gate? The Devil''s Gate was led by a person like me, and that is what caused their downfall. People like me are not suited to lead others, we are far too selfish. Even now, the only reason I am doing anything for this tribe is because I consider you and Xinyi as friends. Were it not for the two of you, the life of this tribe would mean nothing to me."


    Li Yang was selfish, other than his friends, nothing else mattered. He would burn entire countries just to see the flames dance in Fang Ying''s eyes. If he tried to lead any clan or tribe, it would only lead that clan to death. Liang Zhou was slightly taken aback after hearing the truth from Li Yang, falling into a short silence with a somewhat lowered head. After he got to organize his thoughts slightly, he raised his head again, speaking out in a low voice.


    "You said that all strong people are monsters, but what about you? I can''t tell exactly how strong you are, but not even Father or the people of the Shentu tribe were able to do anything to the people from the clans. Yet one such person was easily killed by your beast partners. Brother Yang, over this one year, what has happened to you? What have you forced yourself to become?"


    Li Yang''s beast companions alone were that powerful, so Liang Zhou could not even guess at how strong Li Yang was. But to become that strong in only a single year, what had Li Yang forced himself to endure, what sort of monster had he turned himself into. Hearing Liang Zhou''s question, a gentle smile could not help but appear on Li Yang''s face.


    "What I have become, huh? Big Brother Zhou, out of all the monsters in the world, I have become the greatest of them all."


    Not only was Li Yang the only person to ever have comprehended the law of destruction, but he was also someone that had been reborn after dying once. If that did not make him the greatest monster in existence, he did not want to meet the true greatest monster. Liang Zhou could not help but raise an eyebrow, looking Li Yang up and down.


    "You, the greatest monster?"


    He had to admit that Li Yang was strong, but was he really strong enough to be called the greatest monster? But Li Yang had no intention of explaining himself, the gentle smile on his face growing even warmer as he let out a slight mutter.


    "Well, there is someone else that is very close to me, but she is far more merciful and kind than I am, so she doesn''t quite fit the title of monster, she is more suited to be called a fairy."


    If anyone was close to Li Yang in terms of monstrosity, it would be his own wife, Fang Ying. She had also been reborn, and she was the only person to ever comprehend the law of life. But there was no way he would ever call Fang Ying a monster. Seeing the gentle smile on Li Yang''s face, Liang Zhou quickly understood something.


    "So she is the one you went out to look for."


    When Li Yang left the village a year ago, he said that he had to go look for someone. At that time, Liang Zhou had wondered if Li Yang had just been giving an excuse, but now it seemed that he had not been giving an excuse. Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.


    "Was it that obvious?"


    Liang Zhou let out a slight chuckle upon seeing Li Yang act so nonchalantly upon being called out. He gave a slight nod of his head, sipping his tea as he spoke up.


    "It was. Despite knowing you for so long, I have never seen you smile like that. Did you manage to find her?"


    Someone that could make a mysterious person like Li Yang reveal such emotion was surely a magnificent person. Liang Zhou had to admit that he was quite curious about the identity of the girl Li Yang was searching for. Li Yang shook his head, but his eyes glimmered with excitement.


    "Not yet. But we have managed to set up a meeting in two years."


    Only two more years and they would get to meet up again. But first, Li Yang had to find out how he could join the competition where they would meet up. It was supposedly open for the public, but he had no idea where it would even start. Liang Zhou could see the sheer excitement in Li Yang''s eyes, so he sipped his tea with a smile.


    "You''ll have to bring her here once you have managed to meet, I am sure Xinyi would love to meet her."


    Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head, the two continuing to drink tea and chat about everything they could think of. Liang Zhou did not even notice that he himself wasn''t worried in the slightest about whether or not Li Yang would really be able to bring back everyone who had been taken away.


    While they were waiting for the warriors to return, two days passed in quiet preparation. The villagers fixed up all the weapons and armors they could get their hands on, while Li Yang sent out Jinwu to check out the surrounding wilderness. On the afternoon of the second days, sounds of excitement came from the villagers as the warriors had returned with two Demonic beasts they considered to be decently strong. Li Yang also left his house, casually walking over to the warriors and inspecting the Demonic beasts.


    "As you''d expect from the more experienced warriors, they sure do work fast. There are enough Demonic beasts here for three people, who is going to be first."


    One of the beasts was a large brown eagle, while the second was a pitch-black panther with a tail covered in thick barbs. Both Demonic beasts had the strength of someone who had carved one rune, so the warriors did quite a good job to secure both of them within only two days. There was a short moment of silence after Li Yang''s question sounded out, but Liang Zhou quickly stepped forward, his expression determined.


    "I should be first. I am the leader, so I must show them that it is safe."


    Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head. Ever since Li Yang had rejected taking over as the leader of the tribe, Liang Zhou had worked even harder on his own cultivation, probably working towards becoming the type of leader Li Yang thought him to be. The moment he was alone, Li Yang had made Shenlong split into two, Shenlong staying with him and Huanglong sneaking through the village and serving as a guard, so Li Yang knew about everything that went down in the village. Li Yang grabbed the eagle and panther, dragging them closer to Liang Zhou as he gave him one final warning.


    "Prepare yourself, it is going to hurt quite a bit."

 59 The hunt begins.

    Liang Zhou gave a strong nod at Li Yang''s words, his back straight as a spear as he maintained his determined expression. Besides determination, there was a light of trust in his eyes as he looked at Li Yang. If the person who performed the procedure had ill intentions or made a mistake, it was easy for the one being transformed to die without a complete body. Seeing his expression, Li Yang''s lips curved up.


    "Since you have such trust in me, how could I possibly fail? On the thunder''s honor, I will make you the future king of this Cloud Wilderness."


    Li Yang did not waste any more time after speaking, his fingers digging into the head of the eagle type Demonic beast, pulling out its eyes. He placed the two severed eyes over Liang Zhou''s, the Qi within his body surging as he performed the technique. At first, the eyes only started to glow a little, but the strength of the light quickly grew, stinging the eyes of anyone who looked at it.


    Liang Zhou was the one who experienced the worst pain, his own eyes melting under a sudden strong heat that threatened to tear his mind apart. Darkness engulfed him, the pain making him want to scream out. But he bit down on his lips and he endured. As the future leader of the tribe, he had rarely gotten to show it, but he too desired strength. Strength to protect the tribe, to provide a better life for them, strength to stand tall and proud. And seeing how strong Li Yang had been upon returning, he even somewhat desired enough strength to become someone that Li Yang could proudly call a friend. So he endured, no matter the pain, no matter the darkness, he endured it.


    The eagle eyes started to shrink somewhat, growing to a size where they would fit Liang Zhou. It was a slow process that took almost half an hour, Liang Zhou enduring the pain and darkness all the while, his teeth puncturing his lips, droplets of blood running down his throat. After a little over half an hour, light returned to Liang Zhou, the eagle eyes settling in his empty eye sockets.


    While Liang Zhou was letting out a sigh of relief at the pain vanishing, Li Yang continued to pour Qi into the eyes, their appearance changing until they looked like Liang Zhou''s old eyes. Only once it looked like nothing had happened to Liang Zhou was the procedure over. Liang Zhou did not feel any increase in his strength, but his vision had become immeasurably stronger, to a point where it felt like the world around him had slowed down somewhat. But Li Yang''s voice quickly pulled him out of his awe-struck state.


    "That was the first one, now we move on to the main piece."


    Liang Zhou''s back was quickly filled with cold sweat at the prospects of going through that pain once more, but seeing Li Yang''s expectant expression, he still gave a strong nod of his head. Li Yang proceeded to tear out the spine of the panther, as well as the two wings of the eagle. Liang Zhou did not know which sort of mystic technique Li Yang used, or where he had learned it, but the spine and wings started to slowly fuse together, becoming a single entity.


    Once they had merged, he turned towards Liang Zhou, who understood what Li Yang meant. He took off his shirt and laid down on the ground, revealing his bare and somewhat scarred back to Li Yang. The spine and wings were placed against Liang Zhou''s back, Li Yang starting the technique once more. Liang Zhou thought he had been prepared for the pain after experiencing it once, but this time it was far worse than the first time.


    This time, his spine and shoulder blades crushed themselves, turning into a paste that squeezed itself out through his skin. Had it not been for the special technique involved, the removal of his spine would have immediately killed him. This time, Liang Zhou was unable to resist, a guttural roar escaping his lips. The villagers looked on in horror as Liang Zhou roared in pain, but Li Yang''s eyes were completely calm and focused.


    Strength always came at a price, and this pain was the price Liang Zhou had to pay. Li Yang also couldn''t afford to get distracted or let his thoughts waver, as the slightest mistake would result in the death of Liang Zhou. So he hardened his heart and ignored the cries of pain, focusing fully on the task at hand.


    The process was a bit slower this time, taking an entire two hours before it was finally finished. By the time it was over, Liang Zhou had screamed so much that his throat was bloody and hoarse, his voice unable to be released, his body limp and almost unable to move. He thought he would need to spend a bit of time resting, but the moment the procedure was complete, an unearthly strength filled his entire body, flooding through his veins and bones.


    The size of his dantian rapidly increased, strange runes forming and taking up position next to the runes he had carved with his own effort. As Li Yang had transmitted everything he knew about the technique, Liang Zhou knew that these were the Demon Runes that were part of the technique, they were what allowed him to unleash the full might of the Demonic beast part. In just a short moment, three such runes had quickly formed, glowing with a demonic red light as they filled him with strength.


    He pushed off the ground, his body bouncing up like a cannonball. When his entire body left the ground, two gray wings sprouted from his back, keeping him afloat as he soared in the air. The wings had been brown earlier, but since Liang Zhou had an affinity with the stone element, they had taken on a more stone-like color. The villagers marveled at the sight of the flying Liang Zhou and the strength he released, but Li Yang simply picked up the two corpses of the Demonic beasts, turning to the villagers.


    "Two more can be transformed right now, who is next?"


    There was a slight moment of silence from the crowd before several of the older warriors stepped forward to volunteer themselves. Since there were only enough parts for two more people, Li Yang picked out the two most suited, one that specialized in strength, and one that specialized in speed, and did the procedure on them.


    The one that specialized in strength got the front legs of the panther as well as some of its bones, while the one that specialized in speed got the hind legs of the panther and some of the lighter bones from the eagle. During the procedure, they too screamed themselves bloody and hoarse, but Li Yang simply told them to endure and then ignored them.


    Their strength also quickly increased, Li Yang explaining how to best use the Demon Runes. After spending half a day getting used to their new strength, the two warriors wandered into the wilderness to look for more Demonic beast. Now that they had personally experienced the might of the Demon Warrior technique, they could hardly contain themselves. How strong would the Liang tribe become if everyone could become a Demon Warrior? Taking on the great tribes was no longer just a dream. But at the same time, people could not help but wonder, where had the young and mysterious Li Yang acquired such a demonic technique?


    Li Yang did not explain where he had gotten the technique from to anyone. After all, how could he tell them he had gotten it when he helped someone from the Devil''s Gate escape from her pursuers after the destruction of the sect? She had been someone he considered a friend, much like Liang Zhou, so he simply wiped out anyone who chased after her. In the end, she still died, becoming the last of Devil''s Gate to fall, leaving Li Yang as the only living person who knew how to create Demon Warriors.


    Li Yang had no intention of waiting around for the warriors to return, he had things of his own that he also had to do. So before the warriors even left, he bade Liang Zhou farewell and assured him that he would return after a few days. Once Li Yang reached the outskirts of the village, a black blur shot out from the forest, landing on his shoulder with a few triumphant caws. Seeing Jinwu again after sending him out to check the surroundings, Li Yang chided him slightly.


    "What did I say about making a mess?"


    Jinwu''s feathers and beak were stained with blood, so it was clear that he had killed something or someone for food. Li Yang did not bother with asking what he had done, creating and melting some ice, using the water to give Jinwu a quick clean. Once Jinwu was clean, Li Yang got onto the main topic.


    "Well then, Jinwu, what sort of prey did you find for us?"


    Jinwu let out a few caws, Shenlong raising his head to listen in. Huanglong was staying behind in the village, acting as a hidden guardian for Liang Zhou in case things go awry while Li Yang was gone. After getting the report from Jinwu, Li Yang''s lips curved up somewhat, his eyes peering into the wilderness, as if he was trying to see the people he was muttering about.


    "Two groups from Heaven''s Gate, one from the Huo clan, and one from the Tian clan. Well then, shall we go and deal with those who have intruded in our home?"


    The sound of rumbling thunder rang out as lightning coiled around Li Yang, his body turning into a blur as he quietly vanished into the wilderness. His goal was simple, the extermination of everyone he deemed a threat to the Liang tribe, as well as anyone that might try to lay their hand on the corpse of Jinwu''s mother.

 60 Abyss Eye race.

    Li Yang made his way through the wilderness, using the tall trees to his advantage as he moved from branch to branch. He kept his tracking technique active at all times, nothing in the surroundings escaping his senses. Even though Jinwu had reported that there were four groups in the area, the actual place he had spotted them was quite a distance away from the village, so getting there would take a little time.


    As they moved, Li Yang would hunt down any Demonic beast he spotted and felt was strong enough, storing their bodies in an interspatial ring he would hand over to Liang Zhou. Those Demonic beasts that he felt were not strong enough, or those that were too strong to be used on the still weak Liang Zhou were fed to Jinwu and Shenlong.


    As Li Yang followed Jinwu''s directions, he also paid attention to the tracks that the groups had left behind, checking the direction they seemed to be moving in. Rather than check out the various scorch marks that were left behind from the Torch Dragon and Golden Crow flames, the groups were heading directly towards the Demon Plains.


    While Li Yang found it rather surprising that they weren''t checking out the scorch marks, it only made sense when one considered the circumstances. The people from the clans had no idea what they were looking for, so they could only tell the people from the various tribes to show them any place where something strange had happened recently. None of the tribes knew exactly where the flames that appeared a year ago had spawned, so they could only chalk it up to coming from the Demon Plains.


    After traveling for a little over half a day, the first group finally entered Li Yang''s range, his movements slowing down as he headed towards the group. Li Yang was slightly surprised when he spotted this group, as it was not one of the groups that Jinwu had spotted as he kept guard. The group contained 10 people, three guides from a tribe, six people from one of the clans and sects, and one person that caused Li Yang to raise an eyebrow. He climbed a bit higher into the trees, as two of the six sect people were also traveling in the trees, keeping watch over the surroundings. After reaching a higher vantage point that allowed Li Yang to see the entire group with his eyes, he pat Jinwu on the head and whispered to him.


    "They are a bit troublesome, so it would be best if we do the fusion here."


    The highest cultivation in the group was the person who seemed to be the leader, a male youth that had reached the middle stage of the Xiantian Rune realm, having carved eight runes. If he used his own strengthening techniques, Li Yang was confident that he could beat someone at that cultivation level without fusing with Jinwu, but because of a certain member of the group, he felt it was best to give it his all.


    Jinwu let out a silent caw, his body turning into a stream of golden energy that entered Li Yang''s body. His body was once again covered in a golden robe, two icy wings sprouting from his back, and his eyes turning golden as well. Li Yang put strength into his legs and was about to shoot towards the group, but a somewhat disgruntled snort from Shenlong stopped him. Li Yang''s lips curled slightly as he gave Shenlong''s head a few pats.


    "Come on now, there is no need to be so jealous."


    Shenlong let out another disgruntled snort, opening his maw and sinking his teeth into Li Yang''s hand. But contrary to what Li Yang was expecting, there was no pain coming from the bite. Instead, Shenlong''s body turned somewhat transparent after he bit Li Yang, quickly melting into a stream of pure electricity that entered Li Yang''s body.


    Under Li Yang''s shocked eyes, the golden robe he was wearing changed slightly, no longer only featuring blazing Golden Crows, but also several roaring Golden Dragons. Li Yang''s azure hair also changed, turning the same golden as Shenlong''s scales, golden arcs of lightning dancing around the hair. Looking at the changes, a realization quickly hit Li Yang, a shocked question escaping his lips.


    "You''re not an elemental, but a true dragon?!"


    That was the only explanation he could think of. Jinwu had already told Li Yang that only true Divine beasts could fuse with other beings, and that was only if they happened to share a bond of blood. No matter how strong an elemental got, it would never be a Divine beast, so it would never have the abilities of a Divine beast.


    Since Shenlong and Huanglong had been born from the remains of Li Yang, Fang Ying, and the corpses of two true dragons. Li Yang had assumed that the twins were only elementals, but now it seemed like they were not mere elementals, but true twin Divine beasts. Li Yang tried to figure out how they could have been born as true dragons, but Shenlong quickly gave him the answer, a triumphant and proud roar ringing out within Li Yang''s head, causing him to let out a light chuckle.


    "That''s how it happened? You really have quite the patience."


    Li Yang could not help but be a bit shocked after hearing the explanation. Shenlong and Huanglong had indeed been born as mere elementals, born from Li Yang and Fang Ying''s blood and Qi mixing with the Qi from the two dragon corpses. But even in that newborn stage, where they would normally be driven to absorb any energy around them, the twins had inherited Li Yang and Fang Ying''s strong desires for strength. The twins resisted the urge to absorb the dragon blood within the two dragon corpses.


    They instead chose to wait, absorbing the energy from the Demon Crystals and the remaining energy that floated in the air, waiting for the day they were strong enough. Only once they had grown somewhat stronger, their consciousness and sense of self becoming more stable, did they choose to devour the corpses of the true dragons. They ate the flesh, the blood, the organs, even the scales, and skin, using all the energy they gained to fuse themselves with the pieces they ate. It was a somewhat unorthodox method, but thanks to the great amount of energy, they were able to eventually evolve into true Divine beasts. And since Shenlong and Huanglong were originally born from Li Yang and Fang Ying''s blood, it was no problem for them to fuse with them.


    Li Yang felt like scolding Shenlong for not telling him this earlier but seeing the prideful and triumphant expression Shenlong was showing, reflected on the dragons that were on Li Yang''s robes, he could only lower his shoulders and let out a somewhat defeated sigh. Jinwu had done exactly the same when he first learned about the ability to fuse, so Li Yang could not help but wonder if Divine beasts loved to withhold information.


    With Shenlong satisfied at seeing Li Yang''s surprised and defeated expression, he did not let out another disgruntled sigh when Li Yang put strength into his legs again. Golden lightning danced around Li Yang as he crouched, concentrating all his energy in his legs. With Shenlong joining Jinwu in the fusion, Li Yang once again got to control the golden lightning he had used in his past life.


    Li Yang shot forward, the sound of thunder rumbling out and mixing with a sonic boom as he broke the speed of sound. His hands flickered, two spears of ice shooting out and piercing through the chest of the two people that were hiding within the trees. Li Yang instantly reached the remaining four targets, which were clad in white robes engraved with a large gate surrounded by clouds, probably the emblem of their sect.


    They were about to let out a shout, but Li Yang had no intention of giving them any chances. The sound of thunder rumbled out again, four bolts of lightning shooting down from the sky and roasting the remaining four people of the sects. As the lightning struck the people from the sects, several thick walls of ice appeared around the only person who wasn''t a guide, a lanky male youth in a brown robe, his head covered in messy black hair that even covered most of his face. The ice not only prevented him from fleeing, but it also made it so that he could not properly see Li Yang.


    The leader of the group managed to survive the first bolt of lightning, so Li Yang flashed forward and sent a fiery punch at his chest, his fist piercing directly through and roasting the youth''s heart. All six people from the sects were dead, and the last person was looked in a cage of ice, the guides had already fallen to the ground, shivering and sweating when they looked at Li Yang. The three guides were not from the Liang tribe, so Li Yang could not be bothered with them, quickly dismissing them.


    "I have no interest in you, you can just leave."


    The three guides quickly did as he said, standing up and fleeing as fast as they could. Not even the people that had crushed their tribe leader so easily could stand against this youth, so they did not even dare dream of not listening to Li Yang''s order. After dismissing the guides, Li Yang picked up the interspatial rings of the sect people, inspecting the insides. A slightly surprised mutter escaped his lips after he scanned the insides of the interspatial rings.


    "So this was a group from Heaven''s Gate? Why did they change their emblem? Dammit, had I known this, I would have kept one alive and asked him about the current leader of the sect."


    The emblem that Heaven''s Gate had used while Li Yang was alive had been a staircase ascending directly into the sun, not this massive gate surrounded by clouds. Jinwu only knew about the affiliation of the groups he had spotted because they had mentioned it a few times while they talked to each other, so not even he was able to recognize the sects by just their emblems.


    Li Yang shook his head and stored away the interspatial ring, turning the six corpses to ash before he walked towards the cage of ice he had made. The male inside was not able to see Li Yang, but Li Yang could see him with perfect clarity. Li Yang''s eyes were calm as he raised his arm, golden flames quickly swallowing the youth inside.


    Li Yang ignored the cries of pain as he continued to roast the youth. As he roasted the youth, Li Yang could not help but marvel at the might of Jinwu''s ice element. Despite the golden flames burning at full intensity right next to them, the ice showed no signs of melting. Li Yang continued to burn the youth until all his hair and clothes had been turned to ash, leaving him completely bare. Of course, had it not been for Li Yang holding back, the youth would have turned to ash long ago. Once he stopped the fire, Li Yang opened his mouth, his voice cold.


    "Why is someone from the Abyss Eye race here? This planet is far away from your territory."


    With the fire stopping, the youth fell to the ground, trembling from the intense pain. With all his hair burned away, a pitch black eye revealed itself on the top of his head. Thanks to the flames that had roasted him, the eye was completely dried out, almost melted, making it impossible to open it. It was this youth that Li Yang had been wary of, a youth that should not have been here. The youth spoke out, stuttering slightly.


    "You...you know about...me?...Then why...would you do...something so...dumb?...My race will...not let this...stand."


    Li Yang tilted his head slightly, arcs of lightning appearing in the air above the youth and sinking into his body. The youth''s body quickly started spasming and curling, uncontrollable screaming ringing out as he lost all control over his body because of the pain. Li Yang tortured him for a bit before he pulled back the lightning, speaking out again.


    "They won''t care about someone like you, I could kill millions of you, and none of those old fogies would say anything. Tell me why you are here."


    The Abyss Eye race was massive beyond understanding, they controlled the northern parts of the entire universe. They had billions upon billions of people like this youth in front of him, at least that was how it was while Li Yang was alive. The youth threw up the contents of his stomach, a hoarse and weak laughter escaping from his mouth as he turned towards where he believed Li Yang to be standing.


    "Haha...haha...fuck you..."


    Li Yang could not be bothered to waste any more time with someone who was clearly not going to tell him anything, so he decided to just kill the youth. Large thorns of ice grew out from the walls, piercing through the youth and instantly reaping his life. Li Yang picked up the interspatial ring of the youth, but it barely contained anything, only a bit of food and funds. After burning his body to ash and undoing the fusion with Jinwu and Shenlong, Li Yang could not help but click his tongue.


    "Tch, now even people like them have arrived on this planet. Their territory is on the other side of the universe, so why would they come here? Could another God be doing something?"


    Back when Li Yang was at his peak, the universe was divided into four sectors, one for each cardinal direction. The northern parts were controlled by the Abyss Eye race, the western by the Martial Alliance, the eastern by the Five-Elements sect, and the southern part was controlled by the Heaven Devouring race.


    The planet he was on was under the control of the Heaven Devouring race, so far from the territory of the Abyss Eye race that it was hard to even comprehend. Unless someone supremely powerful was aiding him, the journey would not only take incredibly long, it would be far too dangerous for someone like the youth in front of him.


    Li Yang could feel his head starting to hurt as he continued to think. For the current him, just the sects and clans on this planet were troublesome enough, but now one of four rulers of the universe had reared his ugly head, making things even more troublesome. But at the same time as he felt a headache, Li Yang was determined. No one would be allowed to get between him and Fang Ying. Even if one of the rulers of the universe were to try and get in the way, Li Yang would butcher them.


    Of course, first Li Yang had to finish what he was going to do here, as well as grow stronger. With these thoughts in mind, Li Yang once again climbed up the nearest tree and continued to make his way deeper into the wilderness.

 61 Fan Long.

    Li Yang continue to follow Jinwu''s directions, slowly noticing more and more tracks left by groups of people. As the groups started to approach the Demon Plains, they seemed to increase the thoroughness of their search. Trees were cut open, boulders overturned, corpses of Demonic beasts spread around the wilderness.


    Li Yang did not mind picking up the corpses of the Demonic beasts, storing them into his interspatial ring. These Demonic beasts were too weak to be noticed by the groups from the sects and clans, but they were perfect for Liang Zhou and the others, leaving them behind would be nothing but a waste.


    After another half day of traveling, Jinwu''s directions finally led him to a new group of people. Li Yang praised his own luck, because the people in the group were clad in the white robes of the Heaven''s Gate Sect. He had been looking to find out who the current sect leader was, so this was perfect timing for him.


    There were three people in the group that were clearly guards, Li Yang recognizing one of them as Liang Chun, a teenage girl who had become one of the tribe''s warriors a few years before Li Yang left the village. The two other guides were burly and tanned boys, but Li Yang could not recognize them, so they clearly weren''t from the Liang tribe.


    Liang Chun and the two boys were carving up several Demonic beasts, pulling out their insides and showing them to the people from Heaven''s Gate. The leader, a female with shoulder-length green hair, who seemed to be in her twenties, inspected the presented insides, but shook her head each time. Other than the female, who was only at the middle stage of the Houtian Rune realm, there were four other members, but they were all a little weaker than the leader. This group was clearly one of the weaker groups that went out, one that the clan did not expect to complete the mission.


    Li Yang swept the group with a quick glance, thinking about the best way to approach them. Thanks to his tracking technique, he could tell that there was no one else within 1000 meters, he could also tell that the three guides were in perfect health, without a single wound. Li Yang tapped his nose for a bit as he pondered, but in the end, decided to just go with the most direct approach.


    He jumped down from the tree he was hiding in, Jinwu and Shenlong tightly grasping onto him so they did not fall off. He landed a short distance away from the group, lightning surrounding his body. The people in the group quickly noticed his presence, but at that time, it was already too late. Li Yang dashed forward like a bolt of lightning, immediately reaching the leader, tightly grabbing her throat. His gaze was calm as he glanced at the people behind her, his voice cold.


    "Don''t move. Move and she dies. All I want is for you to answer my questions, there is no need for you to die a pointless death."


    Just to prove his point, lightning started to crackle around Li Yang''s hand, dancing on the girl''s throat. The four remaining people in the group, who were just about to take action, quickly halted in their steps, looking at the leader with uncertain eyes. The girl, who Li Yang had heard was called Xun Qiu, took a deep breath and weakly waved her hand.


    "Do as he says, we stand no chance."


    She knew that no one in her group was a match for the youth in front of her. She could feel lightning enter her body from the hand of Li Yang, her body numbing as she slowly lost control over her own body. The people in the group lowered their arms but kept looking at Li Yang with wary gazes. Li Yang sent a slight smile at Xun Qiu, wasting no time as he started to talk.


    "Excellent, a sensible one. My questions are simple, who is the current leader of your sect, what are you searching for out here, and what have you done to the people of the Liang tribe?"


    Even though he was talking to Xun Qiu, he was constantly keeping an eye on the rest of the people in the area, watching their every move. He did not mind killing them if they were to try anything. Xun Qiu quickly organized her thoughts, responding to Li Yang''s questions and sending a short nod at Liang Chun


    "My group has done nothing to the people of the Liang tribe, you can even ask the girl herself. I don''t know what we are searching for, I only know that the clan posted a mission to investigate a strange occurrence in the Cloud Wilderness. The guides suggested we look for what caused the sudden rain of fire a year ago, but as they don''t know what truly caused it, we can only search around for anything. I am merely an outer circle disciple, I don''t have the right to know anything about the sect leader. If anyone is going to know, it would be Senior Brother Fan Long."


    Li Yang found it rather strange that Xun Qiu did not know who the current leader of Heaven''s Gate was. Back when he was at his peak, it had been common for even normal people to know about the names of the leaders of the strong sects and clans. Had something changed since then? He sent a short glance at Liang Chun, who nodded her head to indicate that Xun Qiu had spoken the truth, before turning back to Xun Qiu.


    "Where will I find this Fan Long?"


    Xun Qiu did not know, but at least he had gotten a clue as to who knew the information he was curious about. Of course, if she did not know where this Fan Long was, or if he was too far away, there was nothing Li Yang could do. Luckily, it seemed that his luck was rather good, as the answer that Xun Qiu gave was favorable.


    "He is currently within the village of the Shentu tribe, resting after his most recent search."


    Xun Qiu could not resist Li Yang, so there was no point in resisting or lying. She had been given the duty of bringing the members of her group back home alive, lying could very easily lead to the death of everyone in the group, the worst possible outcome. Li Yang gave a short nod of his head, his gaze landing on the other members of the group as he spoke out.


    "Quick answers, good. Hand over your interspatial rings, all of you."


    He stretched out his other hand, waiting for the others to throw their interspatial rings to him. They wanted to say something, to keep their rings, but facing Li Yang, there was nothing they could do. They quickly took off their rings and threw them to Li Yang, who quickly caught them, sifting through them. He also took off Xun Qiu''s interspatial ring, sifting through it as he had with the others. Seeing the expressions that they were wearing, he let out a slight chuckle.


    "Don''t look so worried, I can''t be bothered to rob the lot of you."


    Li Yang was not above robbing others, but he did not rob just anyone. These people had done nothing to him or those he cared about, and they had also complied with his orders, so he would not bother robbing them. He quickly found what he was looking for, taking out a white jade talisman from each of the interspatial rings, quickly shattering them. The expressions of the Heaven''s Gate people sunk a little when they saw his actions, so Li Yang let out a light chuckle.


    "What, did you think I would let you report to your superiors? Fuck off, I don''t want to see you in my Cloud Wilderness again."


    The talismans he had broken were used to communicate with other people. without these talismans, it would be impossible for this group to report what had happened here to the other groups, giving Li Yang the element of surprise.


    He let go of Xun Qiu''s throat, removing the electricity he had inserted into her body. He handed her the interspatial rings he had taken, ignoring her aggrieved expression. But as she was weaker than Li Yang, there was nothing she could do about having her interspatial ring, something many cultivators considered their second most private thing, stolen and searched through. She quickly brought the four other members of Heaven''s Gate and left, rapidly moving away, fleeing, from Li Yang. Once he was certain that they were gone, Li Yang turned towards Liang Chun, beckoning her over.


    "Liang Chun, follow me back to the tribe. The two of you, return to wherever you came from."


    Liang Chun was still shocked at the sudden appearance, and the great strength, of Li Yang, but she quickly stood up and walked over to him. The two other guides could only put on bitter smiles. They wanted to tag along with Li Yang, but it was clear that he did not care about them.


    Returning to the tribe was much faster than leaving it had been, as Li Yang was not stalking around for other groups. He simply lifted Liang Chun up, carrying her under his arm as he dashed through the wilderness at full speed. She was unsatisfied with being carried like that, but she knew when it was best to not say anything. Once they reached the outskirts of the village, Li Yang stopped running and let go of Liang Chun, handing her an interspatial ring.


    "Hand this to Liang Zhou, he''ll know what to do with it."


    The interspatial ring was filled with the Demonic beast corpses that Li Yang had picked up while searching for other groups. After handing her the ring, Li Yang did not bother to stay around any longer, dashing into the wilderness again, leaving behind a slightly confused Liang Chun.


    After leaving Liang Chun at the edge of Wildbourne, the village of the Liang tribe, Li Yang quickly started making his way towards the village of the Shentu tribe. Since the Liang tribe had to pay some taxes to the Shentu tribe, Li Yang knew where the Shentu tribe was located, he had simply never been there before.


    Li Yang still moved through the trees, but with a target in mind, he moved much faster than when he was just following Jinwu''s directions. Thanks to that, it only took him a few minutes to reach the outskirts of the Shentu tribe village, Cloudsink.


    The entire tribe was surrounded by a tall wooden wall made out of logs, the top of the logs sharpened into thick spikes. The buildings in the village were all made out of white stones and were rather curvy in shape, as if they were trying to imitate clouds. The buildings were much larger than the ones in the Liang tribe, the building at the center of the village five floors tall. The ground in the village was also paved, covered with flat grey bricks.


    The area around the village was completely devoid of trees, so Li Yang could only enter the village from the front entrance, a tall gate made out of metal bars, something that was very rare here in the outskirts of the wilderness. Before Li Yang approached the village, he activated the fusion with Jinwu and Shenlong, reaching his strongest state. He was only going to ask about the sect leader of Heaven''s Gate, but there was no telling what the Fan Long might choose to do.


    There was a tense silence hanging over the entire village when Li Yang entered it, with almost no one walking out and about. There were some traces that showed that there had been some fighting in the village, so Li Yang guessed that some of the warriors of the tribe had put up a futile resistance when the sects and clans arrived.


    Li Yang quickly made his way through the empty streets, heading towards the center of the village, to the place where Fan Long was most likely to be. Besides the five-floored building shaped like a pagoda, there was a large plaza at the center of the village. Placed in the plaza was a wooden scaffolding, two clear crystals placed on top of the scaffolding, most likely where they performed their affinity ceremony.


    There were also 7 people sitting at the top of the scaffolding, quietly cultivating. The person sitting at the center of the 7 was a tall and rather muscular man, his head clean shaven and polished, with six brown dots lined up in two orderly rows going along the top of his head. With Li Yang approaching, the tall man opened his eyes, his black eyes calmly gazing at Li Yang as he spoke up.


    "Golden Dragon Prince, I was wondering if you would show up here."

 62 Golden Dragon Prince.

    Li Yang stopped a short distance away from the scaffolding, his eyes landing on the bald Fan Long. After hearing his words, he could not help but tilt his head slightly, a somewhat curious expression on his face.


    "Oh, it seems you were expecting me?"


    He had made sure that Xun Qiu or her group had been unable to send any messages, and he could not think of anyone else that might have sent a message about his presence. There was also the matter of what Fan Long called him, Golden Dragon Prince. Was he confusing him with someone else? Fan Long stood up, his body like an iron tower as he looked at Li Yang with a calm and composed gaze, slowly starting to talk.


    "A little over a day ago, I got a short message from one of the group leaders, a male youth who went by the name of Cai Xuegang. Nice kid, always followed his elder sisters advice. The message was very short, only containing a quick description of a person, as well as the words ''Unknown enemy''. That was the last we heard of him and his group. Half a day later, we suddenly lost contact with the group of Xun Qiu."


    Li Yang had no idea who Cai Xuegang was, but thanks to the timing, he could guess that he was most likely the leader of the group that contained a member of the Abyss Eye race. Seems like he had managed to send a message immediately after surviving Li Yang''s first attack, truly commendable reflexes. Fan Long continued to talk calmly, slowly walking forwards, dropping down from the scaffolding.


    "Losing contact with two of my groups within half a day, I would be a fool if I didn''t realize that something was wrong. Using the description given by Cai Xuegang, I could easily guess at your identity. And since you dealt with two of our groups, I figured that there was a good chance you would come to look for me, as it would be easier to finish off all of us like that."


    Li Yang listened with a rather interested expression. The description Cai Xuegang sent was most likely of how Li Yang looked when he had fused with Jinwu and Shenlong, could it be that there was someone rather famous that closely resembled that look? Fan Long swiped his interspatial ring, a thick iron pole appearing in his hand. His expression sunk as he pointed it at Li Yang, his voice growing sharp.


    "I don''t know why someone like you left the depths of the Cloud Wilderness, but as it was my duty as commander to make sure that all the members of the sect made it back home, I cannot forgive you for your actions. Even if you are the youngest son of the Demon Emperor, I must seek vengeance for those lost disciples."


    Li Yang finally understood. it seemed like the youngest son of the Demon Emperor, the true ruler of the Cloud Wilderness, was someone who looked a lot like Li Yang after he fused with his Demonic beasts. Li Yang could not be bothered to clear up the misunderstanding, so he merely shrugged his shoulders and stated his stance.


    "I really don''t care about any of that, I just came here to ask who the current leader of your sect is."


    Li Yang just wanted to know if the current leader of Heaven''s Gate was someone that he knew, he could not be bothered with Fan Long''s sense of duty. But it seemed like Fan Long had no interest in answering, his lips curling into a slightly mocking smile.


    "Oh, so the Golden Dragon Prince is interested in the Sect Leader? And here I thought you had nearly no interest in the outside world. But it matters not, I will not answer the questions of a monster like you."


    It was a well-known fact that the royal family of the Cloud Wilderness had barely any interest in the outside world. Had it not been for the fact that they did a fair amount of trading with the clans and sects, it was likely that they would cut off all contact with the outside world. While Fan Long was a bit curious about why Li Yang was asking about their sect leader, he was not in the mood to respond.


    Li Yang wanted to say more, but Fan Long did not even wait for him to open his mouth again, dashing forward. The earth shook as he dashed, cracking and rising up, forming sharp fragments. Fan Long was not so heavy that his weight would result in such destruction, so it was clear that he cultivated in the laws of earth or stone.


    Li Yang was calm, but not overconfident. Fan Long had a cultivation at the early stage of the Ascending Foundation realm, quite a bit higher than Li Yang''s. The moment Fan Long started dashing, Li Yang activated both of his other strengthening techniques, his own lightning technique to increase his speed, and Jing Yimu''s fire technique to increase his strength.


    Fan Long raised his staff and smashed it down at Li Yang''s head, attempting to smash it like an overripe melon. Li Yang was not so foolish that he would block it with his own body, as it clearly contained a great amount of force. The sword he bought in Cloud''s End appeared in his hand, his body taking half a step forward.


    He raised the sword, slashing at the side of the staff, diverting its course enough that it would miss him. At the same time, his other hand sent out a punch, aiming for the pit of Fan Long''s stomach. He also kept an eye on the other disciples that were waiting on the scaffolding, but it seemed like they had been given an order to not interfere, as neither of them moved. Just like he thought, Fan Long had given the others the order to not interfere, as he feared that they would simply die a pointless death if they did so.


    Li Yang''s punch approached Fan Long''s stomach, lightning crackling around it as he prepared to knock out Fan Long. But as it got closer, the staff that he had deflected started to wriggle and change. The part of the staff that was in contact with his sword turned soft, coiling around the weapon, while the rest of the staff grew long and thin spikes that sought to pierce Li Yang.


    Li Yang raised an eyebrow in surprise, letting go of his weapon and aborting his attack, taking a step to the side to dodge the spikes. But as he moved, the wind at his side suddenly grew sharp, turning into blades that flew at him. The earth beneath him also changed, turning soft and muddy, his feet sinking into it and slowing his movements.


    Fan Long had changed his attack fast, but Li Yang reacted just as fast. Ice gathered at his feet, freezing the earth and preventing his feet from sinking into it and ending up trapped. With his feet not in danger of being trapped, he flapped the wings on his back and took off, soaring up above the blades of wind. But they were clearly under the complete control of Fan Long, so they quickly curved and followed after him.


    Fan Long also launched more attacks, kicking up fragments of earth and hitting them with his staff, launching them at Li Yang. Golden flames appeared around Li Yang, melting the shards of earth that Fan Long launched at him. His right arm pointed out, misty ice gathering around the blades of wind, freezing the Qi that was used to sustain them, resulting in the blades of wind turning solid and falling to the ground, shattering. Li Yang gave a short nod of his head and could not help but comment.


    "You are able to control the laws of earth, metal, and wind. Even if you have high talent, to be able to do that at such a young age, you can be considered to be highly skilled. With some more grooming, you will be able to achieve great things."


    Fan Long looked like he was only in his twenties, to be able to smoothly control three elements at that age was amazing. Not even Li Yang had been able to do that in his past life, only having had an affinity for the laws of lightning, and then later the laws of destruction. But to Fan Long, Li Yang''s praise only seemed like mockery, as he had dodged all his surprise attacks so easily.


    Fan Long grabbed onto Li Yang''s sword, holding it in his left hand, his metal staff in his right. The staff shrunk slightly, turning into a more manageable size. After preparing both weapons, Fan Long''s body actually started to rise up from the ground, wind gathering around him and lifting him up, allowing him to soar up to the same height as Li Yang. Once again, Li Yang could not help but comment.


    "You can even use the wind to simulate flight? Not only is your talent enviable, but it seems that you have worked very hard on your training. No wonder you were made the captain of the groups that came here."


    It was one thing to control wind to attack, using it to fly was a completely different thing, it could not be done without extensive training. But no matter how talented he was, he was currently an enemy, so Li Yang would beat him. His wings flapped, lightning dancing around him ashis body turned into a blur and shot at Fan Long, spears of fire, ice, and lightning appearing in the air all around the area, shooting at Fan Long.


    But even with Li Yang''s blurring speed, Fan Long was able to react, reading his direction thanks to the wind he produced. Fan Long released the wind around him, rapidly dropping down to the ground. The earth trembled and rose into waves when his feet touched it, large waves of dense earth rising up around him and blocking the myriad of spears. Whenever the waves froze or melted under the spears, Fan Long would raise up more and more waves of earth to take the place of the ruined waves.


    He also didn''t neglect his attacks, wind gathering into a tornado around Li Yang, not only blocking his vision but also draining all the air from around him, slowly suffocating him. At the same time, he flung out his staff and Li Yang''s sword, the staff splitting apart and turning into several smaller spears that aimed for the currently blind Li Yang.


    Fan Long put up a valiant effort and truly showed off his strength and laws, but there was after all quite a difference in experience. A blast of golden flames exploded out from Li Yang''s body, tearing apart the tornado around him. It would be a shame to lose the sword he had just bought, so he used his ice to freeze the weapons, causing them to whizz past him, Fan Long no longer able to control them since the Qi within them was frozen.


    Fan Long wanted to launch more attacks but suddenly felt his feet grow extremely cold. He quickly lowered his head, seeing a layer of ice covering his feet and freezing him to the ground. Chains of lightning shot out from the earth, coiling around him and robbing him of his control over his body. Without knowing what had truly happened, the ice around his feet vanished, his body falling powerlessly forward and onto the ground. Li Yang slowly landed on the ground in front of him, calmly speaking.


    "It''s not enough to just control the laws and elements, you have to feel them, sense them as if they were a part of you. Had you done that, you would have quickly noticed that my ice and lightning had already infiltrated the earth around us the moment the battle started."


    Earth itself did not conduct electricity that well, but as long as Li Yang mixed his ice into the earth first, it would do a good enough job of conducting his lightning. Li Yang stepped forward, sitting down on Fan Long''s back as he spoke up.


    "Now, are you going to answer my earlier question?"


    Fan Long regained a bit of control over his body, just enough to allow him to talk. He felt humiliated at Li Yang sitting on his back, but as he was weaker, there was nothing he could do. He let out a weak chuckle, his expression dignified as he tried to hold onto a small shred of pride.


    "I guess you really are the son of the Demon Emperor, you absolute monster. Kill me, I have already lost."


    Fan Long could not imagine how Li Yang was so powerful. He looked quite a bit younger but could control fire, ice, and lightning to such an extent. He had also heard that the Golden Dragon Prince was famous for having a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon as a companion beast, but he had not even brought it out during this battle. Hearing his reply, Li Yang could only let out a sigh and shake his head.


    "If I wanted to kill you, I would have already done so. Just answer my question and stop wasting my time."


    Was it so hard to answer a simple question, was there really a need to waste so much time? But Fan Long completely ignored Li Yang, looking at him with determined eyes as he showed his stance, death before submission. Li Yang could only sigh and shake his head again, his gaze landing on the six other disciples that remained on the scaffolding.


    "Fine, if that is how you want to be."


    The six other disciples were trembling as they looked at the scene in front of them. Their leader had been defeated that easily, unable to even put a scratch on his enemy? Li Yang raised his arm and pointed at them, chains of golden lightning shooting out from his finger and tying them up. Once they were unable to move, spears of golden flames spawned above them, slowly moving closer. Seeing the scene, Fan Long could only let out a loud shout.


    "STOP! They have nothing to do with this!"


    Fan Long had lost the battle, so he was fine with paying for it with his life, but the other disciples had done nothing. He was hoping that Li Yang would be satisfied with taking his life, sparing the other disciples. Li Yang stopped the spears, glancing at Fan Long as he spoke, his voice cold and merciless.


    "You said you were responsible for bringing them all home, didn''t you? Every ten seconds you spend in silence, not answering my question, I will kill one. I will turn their bodies to ash, leaving behind nothing to be buried."


    After he spoke, his eyes returned to the six disciples, one of the spears starting to slowly approach the throat of a female disciple. Seeing Li Yang''s actions, Fan Long could not help but let out a curse.


    "You moterhfuc...!"


    Li Yang cut Fan Long''s curse short, his calm voice counting down as if he was doing something as normal as picking out groceries at the market.


    "Five seconds have passed."


    Fan Long''s entire face paled, his body shivering. He did not doubt for a single second that Li Yang would do as he said, if he hesitated further, there truly would be nothing left to bury of that young disciple.


    "I''LL TALK! I''ll talk, just please leave them be. The current leader of our sect is Fang Xiulan, but most people just call her the Ice Phoenix Queen!"


    Fan Long was talented, but he was still only a very junior disciple, the amount of things he knew about someone like their sect leader was very limited. But the golden spear stopped, pulling back and vanishing into thin air. While he was wondering what he was going to do now, Li Yang''s rather surprised voice rang out.


    "Xiulan is the sect leader? What about Fang Yazhu?"


    Li Yang''s eyebrows were furrowed somewhat as he questioned. If it was just the one name and title, it might be a coincidence, but if it turned out that both were there, he refused to believe it to be a coincidence. Fan Long raced to search his memories, digging up anything he might know about someone called Fang Yazhu.


    "I don''t know if it''s the same person, but the sect leader of the Roaring Soul sect is known as Fang Yazhu, also titled as the Fire Phoenix queen. Heaven''s Gate doesn''t have the best relationship with the Roaring Soul sect, so that is all I know."


    The relationship between the two sect leaders was not the best, but there was no one that actually knew why they had a bad relationship. Li Yang fell into a short silence after hearing the response. With both names and both titles, he refused to believe that it was a coincidence, a soft sigh escaping his lips.


    "Those little crybabies have really grown up, huh?"


    Li Yang''s gaze was a bit distant as memories of the past flooded into his mind. A forest filled with colorful leaves, the slight chill that showed that winter was approaching, that small and rundown hut. He quickly shook his head, throwing the memories to the back of his mind. He stood up from Fan Long, returning control over his body to him.


    "Alright, I won''t kill you, you can take your soldiers and leave the Cloud Wilderness. Xun Qiu should probably have already left."


    Li Yang had gotten the information he wanted, so there was no longer a need for him to stay here, he still had to deal with the groups from the other clans as well. But now it seemed like he couldn''t freely kill the people of Heaven''s Gate and the Roaring Soul sect. Once again able to control his body, Fan Long could not help but let out a confused voice.


    "We...can leave?"


    He had already prepared himself for death, certain that he would die without a burial here. But now he was told that they could just leave? and Xun Qiu was still alive? Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders as he responded.


    "Yeah, if do anything to you, Little Lan will yell at me until I feel like I am going deaf. But I don''t want to see you or your people set foot inside the Cloud Wilderness ever again."


    Despite shrugging his shoulders, Li Yang''s eyes grew sharp as he finished his sentence, letting Fan Long know that he would not tolerate their return. Fan Long did not hesitate, quickly sending out a retreat message to the remaining groups of Heaven''s Gate. As they were leaving the village, Li Yang seemed to remember something, as he called out to Fan Long.


    "Right, you can also send a message to your sect leader. Tell her that I still remember those crying children who were too picky to eat their mushrooms. Also, tell her that this is my territory, she will know that none of her people should ever come here again."


    Fan Long did not understand the meaning of the message, but Li Yang was certain that Fang Xiulan would understand the meaning of the message. The reason he didn''t want people from Heaven''s Gate to return to the Cloud Wilderness was simply because of the corpse of Jinwu''s mother. Fan Long quickly noted down the message and promised Li Yang that he would do his best to deliver the message, before quickly fleeing with the other disciples. As they left, Li Yang could not help but let out a light chuckle, a rare soft and gentle smile on his face.


    "The times have really changed, huh? Even those two brats have reached such a position, just makes me feel old, honestly. But I am glad, at least some of my old friends are still alive and easy to find."


    Li Yang almost lost himself in his memories again, so he quickly shook his head. Now the groups from Heaven''s Gate were likely going to leave the Cloud Wilderness, but there were still several more groups that Li Yang had to deal with.

 63 Gathering the groups.

    Li Yang checked the entire city, but other than the members of the Shentu tribe, there were no other people in the city. He guessed that the people that were taken from the Liang tribe were currently traveling with the groups that were searching the Cloud Wilderness. Since there were no members of the Liang tribe in the city, there was no longer a reason for him to stay around, so he quickly left the city.


    But as he made his way through the Cloud Wilderness, looking for any tracks that would lead him to the other groups. Because so much time had passed since Jinwu''s scouting, his directions were no longer all that useful, which meant that Li Yang had to use a different way of searching.


    But searching blindly was timewasting and highly unlikely to produce any favorable results. As Li Yang continued to make his way through the wilderness, his brows furrowed while he thought about different ways to cut down the time needed to find the other groups. An idea quickly struck him, his lips curling into a faint smile. He quickly turned his body and rapidly made his way towards the Demon Plains, a slight chuckle sounding out as he explained his plan to the confused looking Jinwu and Shenlong.


    "Why bother blindly searching for them? They want something suspicious, I will give them something suspicious that will cause them to come running like good little dogs."


    Li Yang continued to rush towards the Demon Plain, jumping from tree to tree as he perfectly hid himself to make sure he was not accidentally discovered by anyone. Since there were barely any trees on the Demon Plains, Li Yang could no longer hide in the trees once he reached the Demon Plains.


    He did not stop at the outskirts of the Demon Plains, swiftly making his way towards the depths. As he moved, he would occasionally stop by some hills or smaller mountains, but he found no place that suited his plans, so he continued to make his way deeper into the Demon Plains.


    In the end, he had to travel for a little over half a day before he managed to find a place that suited his needs. The place he found was the remains of a mountain, with half of the mountainside dugout, as if massive claws had torn off part of the mountain. The front was open, while the sides and rear were blocked off by the tall mountain, it was perfect for what Li Yang had in mind.


    Li Yang swiped his interspatial ring, taking out several Demonic beasts corpses he had kept as food for Jinwu and Shenlong, quickly draining their blood. He also took out several herbs and Spirit Stones, crushing them up and mixing them with the blood, creating a thick crimson paste. He drew up several strange symbols with the thick paste, explaining his actions to Shenlong and Jinwu.


    "Even though we are able to beat them head-on, there is no need to be stupid and risk it. They''ll be coming to us, so we would be dumb if we don''t prepare a little something for them."


    Li Yang spent a few hours covering the dugout part of the mountain in strange runes. After everything was covered in runes, he covered the symbols with a thin layer of ice, and then covered the ice with dirt, perfectly hiding the runes. While he was working on writing down the runes, he had also gotten a report from Huanglong, telling him that some of the Liang tribe people had returned to the village. Clearly, the people taken to serve as guides for the Heaven''s Gate Sect had returned. With the preparations complete, Li Yang set his plan into motion.


    He walked to the center of the dugout mountain, fusing with Jinwu and Shenlong. He gathered all his Qi between his palms, an orb of golden flames slowly forming. The orb quickly grew as Li Yang fed it more Qi, even throwing in some Spirit Stones to let it grow even larger. After a few minutes, the orb was even larger than Li Yang, so he stopped feeding it Qi, throwing the orb into the sky.


    The ball of flames flew high into the sky, quickly exploding and expanding, forming a second sun that floated high in the sky. After creating the sun, Li Yang sat down on the ground and closed his eyes in quiet cultivation, waiting for the people that would surely be attracted by the second sun.


    It was only after waiting for almost an entire day that Li Yang''s actions showed their results. A large number of people had gathered in front of the dugout part of the mountain, looking at Li Yang and the golden sun with a mixture of suspicion and excitement. The people seemed to have come to an agreement, as they waited for the others to show up before they actually entered the dugout part of the mountain.


    Once they stepped closer to Li Yang, the golden sun that was still hanging in the sky dissipated, Li Yang standing up and stopping his cultivation. His lips curved into a smile as he surveyed the groups that had entered his grasp.


    "You all came here quite fast, you must be eager to find results. I wonder, which of you belong to the Roaring Soul sect?"


    There were a large number of people that had arrived, but they were all clearly divided into nine separate groups, keeping a slight distance from the others. Li Yang gave them a quick count, and the numbers mostly matched what Huo Bo had originally told him, only the Puppet God Sect missing a few people. While Li Yang was surveying the nine groups with a calm gaze, a female youth clad in the robes of the Puppet God Sect stepped forward and spoke up.


    "Who are you? Are you the one who released those golden flames?"


    Li Yang''s eyes turned towards the female youth, Zhu Caishi, who had long black hair, tanned skin, and green eyes. He swept his eyes over the people that had gathered behind her, quickly scanning them. Not only were there people from the Puppet God Sect standing behind her, but there were also a few people who were clearly from some of the surrounding tribes.


    Li Yang recognized a few of the people standing behind her as members of the Liang tribe, his eyes landing on a somewhat older woman that was standing next to Zhu Caishi. He scanned the woman, his eyes narrowing slightly as he gave a slight nod of his head.


    "You are quite skilled in the law of puppets. You managed to turn her into a puppet without killing her and tinkering with her spine and bones."


    Turning a human into a puppet required you to mess around with their spine and bones, sometimes even their brains. To do so while a person was alive meant that the one who would become a puppet had to endure horrendous torment. While it was rather inhumane, it was quite useful for gathering information. Zhu Caishi could not help but raise an eyebrow after hearing Li Yang''s praise, not noticing that the other groups around her were strangely quiet.


    "You could tell?"


    Zhu Caishi was rather proud over her achievements in the law of puppets. When she made a puppet, unless one knew what to look for, it would be hard to tell it was a puppet. Could it be that the golden youth in front of her was someone specialized in the law of puppets? Li Yang simply gave a light shrug of his shoulders, not giving a proper explanation.


    "When someone like you, someone with a limited cultivation, creates a puppet, there are some tells that can be used to determine when a person has been turned into a puppet."


    No matter how lifelike Zhu Caishi could make a puppet, it would still end up being a puppet, its movements somewhat jerky and clearly controlled by someone else. Only when she reached a higher cultivation would she be able to make living puppets. Before Zhu Caishi got to say anything else, Li Yang''s eyes turned sharp, his voice calm, but cold.


    "Turning them into puppets makes it easier to control them, so normally it would be considered a good idea. But that is only normally, today it can only be considered a bad idea."


    The woman she had turned into a puppet was called Liang Hengwei, someone who had once been a warrior for the Liang tribe. Her fate would make Liang Zhou sad, so the death of Zhu Caishi was already set in stone. Li Yang no longer bothered with Zhu Caishi, his narrowed eyes sweeping over the remaining groups as he gave them an ultimatum.


    "Everyone but the Huo clan, the Tian clan, and the Puppet God sect can leave, but I never want to see you enter the Cloud Wilderness again. If you refuse to leave, don''t blame me for being merciless."


    The three groups he had mentioned all contained people from the Liang clan, so Li Yang first had to make sure that they were all unharmed before he let any of those three groups leave. The rest of the groups he did not really care about, so if they were to leave immediately, he could not be bothered to kill them. The remaining groups shook slightly after hearing his words, a burly man clad in the skin of a tiger opening his mouth.


    "Heaven''s Gate isn''t here. I guess that would be thanks to you?"


    The burly man, Tao Yanzhen, had brown skin and a muscular body that was covered in scars. He had black hair that was shaven short and clear blue eyes. The tiger skin robe he was wearing was embroidered with the image of a roaring lion, an image that the other people behind him also had on their clothing. Li Yang turned his head towards Tao Yanzhen, giving a slight nod.


    "Yup. Fan Long and his men have already been forced to leave the Cloud Wilderness. Well, he and the survivors of his men at least."


    Tao Yanzhen did not look too surprised at Li Yang''s words, as if he had already expected the result. He swept the surrounding area for a short second, his eyes quivering slightly. In the end, he gave a nod of his head and took a step back.


    "Very well. The Myriad Beast Sect will retreat and deliver your message to our superiors. Would you mind giving us a name that we can report?"


    Zhu Caishi looked at Tao Yanzhen with a surprised expression, uncertain why he would agree to simply leave. But Tao Yazhen paid no attention to her, his men already starting to turn around and leave. Li Yang had no interest in giving them his own name, so he used the title Fan Long had called him by.


    "You can tell them that the Golden Dragon Prince does not want outsiders in his wilderness. Anybody else who wants to do the smart thing?"


    After Li Yang''s question rang out, the expressions of the remaining groups distorted slightly, their faces somewhat pale as they swept the surroundings with fear in their eyes. In the end, they could only nod their heads, turning around and leaving. the dugout part of the mountain quickly emptied, only the groups of the Tian clan, the Huo clan, the Puppet God Sect, and the Roaring Soul sect remaining. Li Yang smiled at the remaining groups, his smile sending a slight shiver down their spines.


    "And just like that, only you guys remain."

 64 Finishing the job.

    After Li Yang''s words sounded out, Zhu Caishi noticed the air around her group shimmering and trembling, the surroundings growing indistinct. The three other groups quickly vanished from her sight, leaving behind only her group and Li Yang. She could tell that things had taken a turn for the worse, but she forced herself to stay calm, glaring at the still smiling Li Yang.


    "What have you done?!"


    She had not noticed any Qi gathering in the surroundings, so just what had Li Yang done to the other groups? Li Yang pointed at the surroundings, the cover he had placed over the runes slowly vanishing as he gave a very simple explanation.


    "Just a small array I set up as I waited for you. Mu cultivation is too weak to set up a proper killing array, but this trapping array is more than enough to deal with the likes of you."


    Creating an array that had any actual killing power required not only specific ingredients but also a certain level of cultivation. An array like the one he had set up here, one focused on trapping, confusing, and weakening groups of people, was far simpler to set up, as it required less energy to function. The moment the groups entered the dugout part of the mountain, they had stepped right into the array.


    While Li Yang had been talking to Zhu Caishi, he had also shown the remaining groups the array they had been trapped in. Just from seeing the array, the leaders of the groups could clearly tell that they were no match for Li Yang, which was the reason they so simply agreed to leave.


    After telling Zhu Caishi about the array, Li Yang''s figure turned blurry as he vanished into the array. The ones trapped within the array would find themselves only moving around in place, but as the one who had set it up, Li Yang could move around freely within it. He quickly made his way to the group that came from the Roaring Soul Sect, appearing in front of them. The leader of the group, Ren Jiaodai, quickly pulled out an axe, grasping it tightly as he looked at Li Yang.


    "What are you going to do?!"


    They had seen how the other groups had been allowed to leave, so why were they still trapped here? Li Yang looked at Ren Jiaodai, a male youth with shoulder-length brown hair that had a somewhat lanky body, his black eyes carrying a determined expression. Li Yang did not even glance at the large axe he was holding, shrugging his shoulders.


    "No need to look so tense, I just want to tell you to deliver a message for me. Take your men, all of them, and leave the Cloud Wilderness. Once you get back, tell Fang Yazhu that I still remember that crybaby who was scared of the colored leaves. If you refuse to listen, then I can only kill you and apologize to Little Ya in the future."


    He had only kept the Roaring Soul Sect from leaving because he wanted to deliver a message to Fang Yazhu. After all, because of their connection to her, it was a bit hard for Li Yang to just kill them. Ren Jiaodai looked a bit shocked at Li Yang''s statement, but he quickly nodded his head, rapidly agreeing.


    "We''ll leave, we''ll leave! I swear that I will do my best to deliver the message."


    After Ren Jiaodai swore, Li Yang allowed them to leave the array, watching them as they vanished into the distance. The other groups had already left, fleeing at full speed. Some of the weaker members had suggested staying in the surroundings and ambushing Li Yang once he left the array, but the leaders of the groups had quickly scolded the members for coming up with such a foolish idea.


    Li Yang had managed to set up an array that not only created illusions by distorting the light within it, but the array also created chains of Qi that entwined the prisoners, slowly draining their Qi. Since he could set up such an elaborate array, it was clear that he had a strength that was at least equal to theirs. Even if they faced him outside the array, they had no confidence in winning, much less inside the array.


    Once Ren Jiaodai and his group vanished into the distance, Li Yang started to walk through the array again, quickly reaching the groups that belonged to the Huo and Tian clan. He had not split up the two groups, so they had gathered together and were discussing what to do next. Once Li Yang appeared in front of them, the two leaders of the groups stepped forward, standing guard in front of the weaker disciples.


    "It seems you prepared quite a bit for our arrival."


    The leaders of the two groups were Tian Zhenya, an elegant man with short black hair, and Huo Yazhu, a seductive woman with a curvaceous figure and long crimson hair. The two of them wore bitter smiles as they looked at Li Yang, who responded with a faint smile.


    "I knew you all would come to right to me, so why wouldn''t I?"


    Li Yang was not someone who was above sneak attacks or setting up ambushes, as long as he won the battle, he was fine with using almost any tactic. Tian Zhenya was about to open his mouth and say something, but Li Yang stopped him before he even managed to say a word.


    "There is no need for all of you to die here. As long as you have done nothing to the people of the Liang tribe, I am fine with letting all of you leave here alive."


    Whether these people lived or died meant nothing to Li Yang, but if he did not have to spend the effort to kill them, he would prefer that. As long as they agreed to leave, and had not done anything to the Liang tribe, Li Yang did not mind letting them leave alive. The two leaders locked eyes, swiftly and silently communicating with each other. In the end, they both nodded at Li Yang.


    "Go right ahead, we have nothing to fear."


    Li Yang did not even wait for the two leaders to finish their words, lightning surging out from his body and surrounding everyone that was part of the two groups in front of him. Tian Zhenya and Huo Yazhu could just barely feel the might hidden within the golden lightning, terror filling their hearts. Li Yang scanned the bodies of the Liang tribe members, checking for even the smallest injuries. He also stepped forward and questioned them in silence, but the end result was that he had found nothing. He separated the members of the Liang tribe from the two groups, waving his hand at the two leaders.


    "Truly members of the great clans, you didn''t lower yourself and lay a hand on those weaker. All right, you can leave but you have to leave the Liang tribe people behind. But if you don''t leave the Cloud Wilderness, don''t blame me for hunting you down and murdering you all."


    None of the Liang tribe members had any wounds, nor had anything been done to them. One of the Liang tribe members that Li Yang checked was given a bit more care than the others, and that was Liang Xinyi. She looked at Li Yang with a suspicious gaze, so he guessed that she had some idea about his identity. But she didn''t speak her suspicions out loud, so Li Yang didn''t say anything either.


    The Huo clan and Tian clan groups promised to leave the Cloud Wilderness and deliver Li Yang''s message to their higher-ups, quickly leaving the array and fleeing. The golden lightning Li Yang had showcased filled the two leaders with terror, so they did not even try to entertain the idea of sticking around.


    Li Yang left behind the members of the Liang tribe, once again wandering through the array, quickly arriving in front of the last group, the Puppet God Sect group. When he appeared in front of them, Zhu Caishi calmly looked at him, slightly tilting her head.


    "I was wondering when you would come for us. I take it the other groups have already been dealt with?"


    She swept the surroundings with her eyes but was still not able to make out anything, so she had no idea what state the other groups were in. Li Yang did not bother giving her a response, as her death was already set in stone. He took a step forward and started to raise his arm, but before he could take another step forward and fully raise his arm, Zhu Caishi spoke out once again.


    "I wouldn''t move any closer. Take one step closer, and I will kill not only this woman but also the entire Liang tribe."


    Zhu Caishi raised her arm, placing the side of her palm against Liang Hengwei''s throat. At the same time, a few other members of the Puppet God Sect grabbed onto the other people they had from the Liang tribe. Seeing Li Yang raise an eyebrow in slight surprise, Zhu Caishi spoke out, a hint of pride in her voice.


    "You are not the only one who can prepare ahead of time. Seeing how you reacted to this woman being turned into a puppet, it is easy to guess that you have some ties with the Liang tribe. I have already sent an order to the squad that was too far away to join us here, they should have already reached the Liang tribe."


    Zhu Caishi''s lips curved into a smile as she looked at Li Yang. She could guess at why the other groups had agreed to leave, but she was not willing to simply give in that easily. But contrary to what she expected, Li Yang''s lips formed a smile as he gave a nod of his head.


    "Is that so? Well, send them the order then."


    Zhu Caishi''s expression sank slightly, had she been wrong in her assessment? She took out a blue crystal from her interspatial ring, barking a quick order into it. But even after waiting for a short while, there was no response from the crystal. All that came out from the crystal was a hoarse groaning sound that was occasionally interrupted by a slight bubbling sound. Zhu Caishi''s expression quickly turned ugly, her eyes glaring daggers at Li Yang, who was still smiling at her.


    "What have you done to them?! What has happened to my men!?"


    The group that entered the Liang tribe was one of the weaker groups under her command, but it was still one of her groups. It was filled with her junior disciples, people she was supposed to protect and teach. Li Yang did not give her a proper answer, slowly walking closer.


    "Didn''t you want them to kill the people of the Liang tribe? If you are prepared to kill, you must also be prepared to die."


    It was exactly in case of something like this happening that Li Yang had left Huanglong in the Liang tribe. Among the Puppet God Sect group, only Zhu Caishi was strong enough to somewhat resist the poison of Huanglong, the other disciples could only dissolve and die upon coming in contact with the poison.


    Zhu Caishi wanted to use Liang Hengwei as a hostage, but the array released several chains that tied up her arms and prevented her from moving, tying up the rest of the Puppet God Sect at the same time. Li Yang stopped in front of Zhu Caishi, pointing at Liang Hengwei as he spoke calmly.


    "You harming her is going to sadden someone that I call a friend, so I will use your blood to send her off and ease his sadness."


    After he finished his words, Li Yang delivered a quick punch to Zhu Caishi''s elbow, shattering it and twisting her arm into an unnatural shape. He then delivered a kick to her chest, kicking her down to the ground, onto her back. He placed his foot on her throat, starting to slowly apply more pressure, Zhu Caishi gasping for breath as she struggled to get out any words.


    "You...What are you?! What is your name?! At least tell me that much!"


    If she could at least get his name, she could send the information to her sect. That way, it would be far easier for them to avenge her in the future. But Li Yang quickly dashed her hopes, tilting his head.


    "Why would I bother telling any of that to a dead person?"


    Zhu Caishi''s eyes opened wide. He refused to even give his own name as he was killing her? She wanted to say more, but Li Yang cut her words short by increasing the force in his foot, swiftly crushing her foot and causing her to vomit up blood as she died.


    After killing Zhu Caishi, Li Yang checked the other people of the Liang tribe that served as guides for the Puppet God Sect, scanning for any wounds. A few of them had some wounds, so Li Yang had them quickly point out the ones that had inflicted the wounds. The fingers of the Liang tribe people turned into the beckon of the death god, anyone they pointed at ending up dead.


    In the end, only three people from the Puppet God Sect were left alive. They shivered as they looked at Li Yang, but since they had done nothing, he could not be bothered to kill them. He could also see the fear in their eyes, how they shivered and wet their pants. Even if he let them live, they would be too terrified of him to ever try anything against him. He merely waved them away, letting them flee as fast as they could.


    With the last of the people from the sects and clans leaving, Li Yang undid the array, the surroundings returning to normal. The members of the Liang tribe quickly gathered together, gazing at Li Yang with curiosity as they waited for him to decide what to do next.


    "Alright, all the troublemakers have been dealt with, so you can follow me back to the Liang tribe. Liang Zhou will fill you in on the things that have changed while you were gone."


    Li Yang had to prepare for the contest that the Huo clan would host in about two years time, so his plan was to leave the Cloud Wilderness not long after he delivered these people to Liang Zhou. While Li Yang was preparing to head towards the Liang tribe, the somewhat uncertain voice of Liang Xinyi rang out.


    "...Brother Yang, it''s you, isn''t it?"


    Li Yang stopped his steps, turning towards Liang Xinyi. He had guessed that she might have figured out his identity, but now it seemed that she had not been completely certain. He undid his fusion with Jinwu and Shenlong, returning to his normal looks as he gave a nod of his head.


    "Hoh, so you really did manage to recognize me?"


    The Liang tribe members that had not managed to figure out his identity could not help but be shocked when they saw that the one that had saved them was Li Yang, the boy who had left their tribe a year ago. Liang Xinyi''s face broke into a bright smile as she dashed forward, burying her face into Li Yang''s chest.


    "Brother Yang!"


    Liang Xinyi tightly hugged Li Yang, quietly sobbing, her tears wetting his robes. The entire time she had served as a guide, she had feared for not only her own life but also the lives of the other Liang tribe members. Now that they were safe, she could no longer hold back her tears. Li Yang allowed her to cry for a bit before he pat her head and comforted her.


    "If you hug me any longer, Big Brother Zhou will end up jealous once he learns of it, so it is about time you let go."


    Liang Xinyi ignored his words, hugging him and crying for a bit longer. Only after a few more minutes passed did she separate from Li Yang and take a few steps backward, gathering up with the other Liang Tribe members again. Li Yang used a bit of fire to dry his robe, glancing at the Liang tribe members and making sure that they were ready.


    "Alright, let''s return to the Liang tribe."

 65 At the peak.

    With Li Yang leading the members of the Liang tribe, they had no need to fear the Demonic beasts that roamed the Demon Plains. They had seen how easily he had dealt with the people from the clans, so they thought that there was not much more Li Yang could show them to shock them, but they quickly found out how wrong they were.


    On the entire way back through the Demon Plains, Li Yang did not make a single move against any attacking Demonic beasts. The ones who did all the fighting were the crow that was perched on his left shoulder and the golden serpent that was coiled around his neck. In front of these two beasts, none of the Demonic beasts were able to resist more than two attacks, often perishing to the first attack.


    Li Yang had no intention of letting the members of the Liang tribe know the truth about Jinwu and Shenlong, so he had already made preparations. Jinwu was fine, as he already looked like a normal crow, so he only had to make Shenlong hide some of his features, mainly his limbs. He was a wingless dragon, so once he hid his limbs and altered his head just a little, he looked no different from a golden snake.


    The villagers were quite a bit slower than Li Yang''s own speed, but they did their best to not be a burden on Li Yang, pushing themselves to move as fast as possible. It had only taken Li Yang around half a day to reach the dugout mountain, but even with the villagers pushing themselves, the journey back took a little over a day.


    Once out of the Demon Plains, the journey back to the village did not take too long. Upon seeing the familiar village before them, the people from the Liang tribe could not help but burst into tears. Despite their tears, none of them dared to run to the village without getting permission from Li Yang. Li Yang could somewhat guess at what they were thinking, so he gave a slight wave of his hand.


    "Alright, run along now, I''m gonna go look for Liang Zhou."


    The villagers gave Li Yang a quick bow before dashing into the village, looking for their other family members. Li Yang walked through the village with slow steps, sweeping the surroundings with his gaze. A purple light flashed through the village, Huanglong quietly fusing back into Shenlong.


    Li Yang quickly noticed that something in the village wasn''t quite right, it was far too quiet, a solemn atmosphere hanging over the entire place. Li Yang activated his tracking technique, quickly finding Liang Zhou hiding inside Li Yang''s home.


    Li Yang turned his body and headed for his own home, quietly opening the door and entering. Liang Zhou was sitting at the small table that was located at the center of the room, his face pale as he drank what seemed to be cold tea. Li Yang walked to the kitchen corner and picked up a cup for himself, sitting down in front of Liang Zhou and pouring himself a cup of tea.


    "The atmosphere in the city is quite dreary, did something happen?"


    Thanks to his tracking technique, Li Yang was able to tell that there was one villager missing, so something had clearly happened while he was gone. Liang Zhou raised his head somewhat, allowing Li Yang to see that his eyes were quite bloodshot. Liang Zhou put on a thin and weak smile, glancing towards the outskirts of the village.


    "There were a few presences outside the village a while ago, but they suddenly vanished after a purple light flashed. I take it that was because of you?"


    The presences Liang Zhou was talking about were the people from the Puppet God Sect that had tried to take the people in the village hostage. Thanks to being strengthened by the Demon Warrior technique he was able to just barely sense them, but they vanished as quickly as they appeared. Li Yang did not affirm or deny, merely putting on a slight smile as he sipped the cold tea.


    "You didn''t answer my question."


    Since Liang Zhou seemed unwilling to answer, it was easy to guess that he was part of the reason behind the dreary atmosphere. Liang Zhou looked at Li Yang in silence for a bit, but in the end, he lowered his head somewhat, responding in a disheartened voice.


    "Liang Youten died. I performed the procedure, but I made a mistake and he died. They are burying him now, but I couldn''t face his family so I am hiding here."


    Liang Zhou closed his eyes, waiting for any condemning or comforting words from Li Yang. But the words he expected never came. Instead, Li Yang''s voice was calm as he questioned.


    "I see. And what did you learn from it?"


    Liang Zhou could not help but open his eyes and raise his head after hearing Li Yang''s question, his head involuntarily tilting in confusion as a slight sound leaked out from his mouth.


    "Huh?"


    Was he not going to ask what mistake he had made, was he not going to try and comfort him? Faced with the confused Liang Zhou, Li Yang placed down his cup, once again questioning him.


    "What did you learn from the mistake you made? As long as you learned something and manage to improve, then it wasn''t in vain."


    Mistakes weren''t good, but they were only terrible if one was unable to learn from them. If one was able to learn from the mistakes they had made, mistakes could even become opportunities. Liang Zhou lowered his eyes somewhat, quietly looking at his tea for a few moments before he responded.


    "What I learned, huh? When you deconstruct the bones to extract them, you have to make sure that you deconstruct not only the entire bone, but also sever all the connections the bone has. If you don''t, you will pull out everything connected to the bone when you finish the procedure. I thought that there was no need to do that, I thought that all the connections would automatically sever with the deconstruction of the bone."


    Liang Zhou had tried to exchange the spine of Liang Youten with the spine of a Demonic beast, but he failed to completely sever the connection that Liang Youten''s spine had with his ribs, resulting in everything getting torn out as he tried to extract the spine. There were also unseen connections he had not taken into account, such as the Qi that connected the spine to the rest of the body. Li Yang gave a nod after hearing Liang Zhou''s response, sipping a bit more tea as he pointed towards the center of the village.


    "Good, you learned something important, Liang Youten''s death wasn''t in vain. Now go and watch his funeral, apologize to his family. Assure them that you will never repeat the mistake, assure them that his death was worth something. As the leader of this tribe, that is your duty."


    Liang Zhou turned his head, gazing in the direction of the village center. He finished the rest of his tea, placing down the cup and standing up with a nod of his head.


    "...You''re right. We all have our duties, and this is mine."


    Li Yang had not said any comforting words, but he had allowed Liang Zhou to realize that the death of Liang Youten was not in vain. His words had also helped Liang Zhou realize that he could not let himself be depressed like this. He was the leader of the tribe, everyone would look to him for guidance and help, he had to be an example to them, he had to be strong. He stopped just as he was about to leave the door, turning his head slightly, looking at Li Yang who was still calmly drinking his tea.


    "Brother Yang, thank you."


    Li Yang raised his cup a little, giving a slight nod of his head. He did not leave the house after Liang Zhou''s departure, he simply finished the tea and then closed his eyes in quiet cultivation, waiting for Liang Zhou to return.


    Liang Zhou returned half a day later, bringing Liang Xinyi with him as he entered the house again. The two walked hand in hand, Liang Xinyi leaning against Liang Zhou as they walked. Some color had returned to Liang Zhou''s face, his eyes regaining some of their previous determination. Li Yang opened his eyes as they entered the building, not wasting any time.


    "You have to move the village deeper into the Cloud Wilderness. There is a good spot in the Demon Plains, well hidden and easy to defend."


    The spot he was talking about was one he had discovered while searching for a place he could take on the clans. Liang Zhou and Xinyi sat down in front of Li Yang, their faces growing more serious.


    "To defend against future retaliation, right?"


    Liang Zhou and Xinyi did not know exactly what Li Yang had done to the people of the clans, as the array had prevented them from seeing too much, but they both knew that all of the survivors had been forced to leave the Cloud Wilderness. With the pride of the clans, would they be willing to take this without retaliating? Li Yang gave a short nod, quickly explaining the situation.


    "I let most of the people leave, but there were still some that died, there is no telling how the sects of the killed people will react. I told them to never return, but that is unlikely to work. There is also the fact that you guys are now Demon Warriors. If they learn about it, they will never allow you to exist. Only once you have become so strong that no one will dare fight against you can you say that your journey has ended, only then can you show yourselves again."


    Liang Xinyi looked a bit unwilling to leave the village where she was born and raised, but Liang Zhou fondled his chin with a pensive expression, trying to figure out how to convince the other villagers. At the same time, he found himself somewhat curious, looking directly at Li Yang as he questioned.


    "And what about you? Where will you go, where does your journey end?"


    Li Yang said that their journey would end once they became strong enough to protect themselves from the clans, at that point in time, the tribe would no longer have anything to fear. But that was the journey of the tribe, not Li Yang''s. Li Yang gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders, giving a short explanation.


    "I will lead you to the place I found, I will also draw up an array that will keep the village safe. After that, I will immediately head out again, there is a tournament I have to figure out how to join."


    The Huo clan competition was coming closer and closer, so Li Yang had to quickly find out how to join the competition. At the same time, he was wondering whether he should join one of the sects, as it would give him access to better resources. But despite his answer, Liang Zhou seemed somewhat unsatisfied, pressing further.


    "You didn''t answer my question, where does your journey end?"


    After his return, Liang Zhou found himself completely unable to see through this friend of his. What did he see, what did he aim for, where did he wish to go? Liang Zhou found himself unable to even imagine the answer to any of these questions. A slight, yet confident smile appeared on Li Yang''s lips, his hand raising, his finger pointing at the sky.


    "At the peak of all existence."


    Li Yang had tasted the feeling of losing that which he held dear, it was a feeling he never wanted to feel again. The only way he could ensure that he would never feel something like that was if he stood atop everything, was stronger than everyone else. And because of that, only if he stood at the peak would his journey end.

 66 Three ways

    Liang Zhou did not waste any time after having the talk with Li Yang, the villagers already prepared to move out the very next day. There were some that were a bit unwilling to leave the place where their ancestors had lived for several hundred years, but they all knew that staying meant that they would likely die, so they could only swallow their unwillingness.


    Li Yang took out several interspatial rings, storing the houses and belongings of the villagers before handing the ring over to Liang Zhou. They could likely build better houses now that their strength had increased, but they would still need some lodging that they could use right after arriving at the plot of land Li Yang had chosen.


    Li Yang led the villagers, Shenlong and Huanglong kept an eye on both sides, while Jinwu brought up the rear, making sure that nothing could sneak up on them. As they moved, Li Yang spotted a group that seemed to belong to the Shentu tribe heading towards the Demon Plains, but he did not let anyone from the Liang tribe make contact with the group, walking around and avoiding them. The Liang tribe was to completely disappear from the face of the earth as if they had been completely wiped out. The faster they were forgotten, the better.


    They quickly reached the spot Li Yang had chosen, one of the many tall mountains that could be found on the Demon Plains. The mountain resembled a thick spiraling pillar that stretched towards the sky, exceedingly steep and hard to climb. This mountain was the new home Li Yang had chosen for the Liang tribe, and the reason was that while the bottom half was completely solid, the top half of the mountain was completely hollow.


    There were no paths up the mountain, so only those who could fly or had good strength were able to ascend the mountain. Liang Zhou and the two other Demon Warriors helped the rest of the villagers ascend the mountain, reaching a small cave after spending a bit of time climbing. After following the cave for a short distance, it quickly widened, a massive empty cavern spreading out in front of the group. There were several holes in the top of the mountain, allowing the light from the sun to shine down into the cavern, some light greenery growing inside the cavern.


    Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi helped the villagers set up their houses, while the two Demon Warriors surveyed the area, checking for anything dangerous or useful. While they prepared and checked out their new home, Li Yang started setting up a large array around the cavern, covering every single possible entrance.


    The array he used this time was a weaker version of the one he had used against the clans, as he did not have enough resources to set up the same array once more. This array only had a single function, and that was to use illusions to confuse anyone who entered it, causing them to walk in circles.


    After completing the array, Li Yang handed over control of it to Liang Zhou and his father, allowing them to choose who could freely move around within the array. Li Yang did not stay around after completing the array, bidding Liang Zhou and Liang Xinyi farewell, before quietly leaving the cavern and making his way out of the Demon Plains.


    Li Yang quickly left the Demon Plains and made for the road that would lead him to Cloud''s End City. He slowed down once he got closer to the road, lest he was spotted by anyone. He wasn''t certain if everyone from the clans had been able to leave the Cloud Wilderness already, so he switched into a more ragged robe that made him look like a villager, slowly making his way down the long road.


    He kept up his slow pace for over half a day before he heard the sound of carriages coming from behind him. He stealthily took a deep breath, putting on an innocent and curious expression, acting the part of a young child once more. He quickly turned around, spotting a caravan coming towards him.


    The carriages at the front of the caravan were rather simple, basically just boxes on wheels. But the carriages at the back of the caravan were much more luxurious, practically moving houses, they even had a small chimney that released a constant stream of smoke. Carved on the side of these carriages was a symbol that Li Yang recognized, the symbol of the Tian clan.


    Li Yang resisted the urge to break into a faint smile. Just like he had guessed, the clans and sects had yet to completely leave the Cloud Wilderness. They had likely moved slowly, waiting for orders from their superiors before they decided on what to do. Since the people from the Tian clan were now leaving, it was clear that the higher-ups of the clans were not willing to go against the Demon Race over something unknown.


    Li Yang quickly gave the caravan several energetic waves, even jumping around a little. The carriage at the front of the caravan did not come to a stop, but it slowed down enough for Li Yang to jog next to it, giving him the chance to speak to the driver.


    "Excuse me, are you leaving the Cloud Wilderness? Can I hitch a ride with you?"


    Li Yang''s eyes were glimmering with excitement and curiosity as he for a third time took advantage of his young age. He had grown taller over this last year, but thanks to not having access to much nutrition during the earlier years of his life, he was still considered rather short.


    The driver of the carriage looked Li Yang up and down, but Li Yang had once again hidden his cultivation, so it looked like he had only recently opened his dantian. After a short while, the man gave a nod of his head and pointed to the back of the carriage, which was filled with dried hay for the horses.


    "...Sure, hop on, kiddo. We can only take you to Cloud''s End City, but I guess that might be far enough for you. I am Tian Donghu, you can just call me Elder Brother Donghu."


    Tian Donghu was a middle-aged man with short, chestnut colored hair. His face was a bit wrinkly, a somewhat gray stubble decorating his chin. His cultivation had only reached the early stage of the Mortal Rune realm, even weaker than some of the Liang tribe members. Li Yang had not seen him when he chased away the rest of the Tian clan people, so he guessed that they had kept him behind, finding him too weak to be useful. But even if the others of the Tian tribe were to see Li Yang, they would be unable to recognize him. Not only were his looks different, but the entire air around him was also different from how it was when he had faced them.


    Tian Donghu slowed down the carriage a bit more, giving Li Yang the chance to grab onto it and jump onto the back, sitting down on a bale of hay. He was from the Tian clan, but he was one of the weakest members, so he did not discriminate against tribe members like most others from the clans. After sitting down on the hay, Li Yang glanced at the more luxurious carriages, exclaiming with curiosity and wonder.


    "Wow, are you all from one of the larger tribes?"


    Tian Donghu sped up the carriage, turning his head to glance at Li Yang. He let out a slight chuckle when he saw the child-like wonder in his eyes, giving a short shake of his head.


    "Not from one of the tribes, but we come from a pretty big clan."


    Tian Donghu didn''t expect Li Yang to know about the Tian clan, so he did not bother giving the name of the clan, keeping it vague. Li Yang continued to inspect the caravan with excitement, Tian Donghu leading the caravan in silence. They passed two other caravans as they moved, but they were both merchant caravans, one having just picked up wares from a tribe, while the other was carrying merchandise that was to be delivered to a tribe. After a few hours passing in silence, Tian Donghu decided to break the silence.


    "So, kiddo, why are you looking to leave the Cloud Wilderness? Tired of working as a farmer, hoping to make it big as a member of the Royal Dragon Pavilion?"


    Tian Donghu was weak, but even he could tell that Li Yang was weaker than him. For such a young and weak child to leave the tribe he was born in, Tian Donghu could only guess that he had likely already lost his parents. Li Yang put on a bright and excited smile, nodding his head rapidly as he answered.


    "I heard that a place called the Huo clan was going to hold a grand competition soon, so I am hoping to join it."


    Tian Donghu was quite taken aback by Li Yang''s answer, his brows furrowing as he looked Li Yang up and down one more time. In the end, he let out a sigh and shook his head.


    "You, join the Huo clan competition? You better give up, kiddo. That world is not a nice one, if you try to join, you are more likely to needlessly lose your life. You should focus on quietly cultivating and raising your strength."


    Tian Donghu knew what it was like to be weak, he knew what it was like to have large ambitions. But he also knew that it was unlikely for people like them to ever achieve their ambitions. The way he saw it, it was better for Li Yang to completely give up on the competition. But contrary to what he expected, Li Yang''s face lit up as he leaned forward and pressed on.


    "You know about the competition?! Do you know how I can join?!"


    This was exactly what Li Yang was looking for, information on how he could join the competition. He guessed that even if Tian Donghu was one of the lowest ranking members in the Tian clan, he likely knew more about the competition than Li Yang did. Tian Donghu gave a short wave of his hand, shaking his head once more.


    "Did you not listen, kiddo? You will only lose your life if you try it."


    Since Li Yang was somewhat similar to him, both of them being the smallest fish in the pond, Tian Donghu felt a little unwilling to simply let Li Yang walk to his death. But even after warning him twice, he saw that Li Yang was still looking at him with childlike curiosity and excitement, so he could only put on a bitter smile and respond in exasperation.


    "Fine, fine, I''ll tell you, just stop looking at me like that."


    Li Yang''s face became even brighter after Tian Donghu let out his exasperated answer. He waited quietly while Tian Donghu organized his thoughts, steering the wagon with his right hand and raising his left, stretching out three fingers.


    "There are three ways to join the competition. The first one requires you to be part of either a clan or sect and have them vouch for your strength. The second way is to participate in one of the frequent contests that are being held in the various cities owned by the Huo clan, reaching the top 10 in one of those contests will allow you to join the grand competition. The last way is to show up a little before the start of the competition and show off your strength to a few judges chosen by the Huo clan, if they give the clear signal, you can join the competition."


    The Huo clan competition was supposed to be fairly open, allowing almost anyone above a certain level of strength to join it, which was why they had so many different ways of joining it. Li Yang quickly memorized the different ways of joining the competition, mulling over which one was best suited to him. The two last ones were rather suitable, but as the competition was still two years away, and he was looking to join one of the great powers anyway, he settled on the first way of joining the competition.


    "How does one go about joining one of these clans or sects, do you know?!"


    Li Yang doubted that joining any of the great powers was as easy as simply walking up to the gates and asking if he could join. Tian Donghu furrowed his brows slightly, but seeing the innocent expression on Li Yang''s face, he could only put on another bitter smile.


    "kiddo...Haah, fine, fine. The best ways to join a sect or clan is by participating in one of the yearly entrance exams, or by having someone else recommend you. But if you have no one to recommend you, or are unwilling to wait until the next entrance exam, there is another way. The contests that are held in the cities of the Huo clan are watched by scouts of all the clans and sects, show enough strength or potential and they might reach out to you."


    The clans and sects needed fresh blood to continue their growth, so every year they had a set of tests that people could take, the winners getting the privilege to join. But those tests had already taken place for this year, so if Li Yang wanted to join in that way, he would have to wait for a year. After getting such a helpful response, Li Yang gave several rapid nods of his head, a bright smile on his face.


    "Thank you very much! Father said that a man must always reward those who help him, so here, take this!"


    He put his arm into his robe, pretending to search for something, but in reality, he took out a Spirit Stone from his interspatial ring. The Spirit Stone he took out was of the very lowest quality, even worse than low quality. He presented it to Tian Donghu, acting like it was a great treasure he had saved up. Tian Donghu looked at the Spirit Stone with a somewhat awkward smile, but in the end, he accepted it.


    "This...Thanks, kiddo."


    Even though he was one of the weakest members of the Tian clan, he was still someone who had the blood of the Tian clan flowing in his veins. The Spirit Stones he had access to were far better than the one Li Yang was presenting to him. The two continued to chat, Li Yang trying to figure out how much strength he had to show during one of the contests to be accepted into one of the great powers.

 67 Fire Cloud City.

    While hitching a ride to Cloud''s End city, Li Yang spent most of his time chatting with Tian Donghu and the other lower ranked members of the Tian clan, talking about everything beneath the sky. Li Yang wanted to see if he could get any information about the Tian clan out of him, but Tian Donghu was quite tight-lipped when it came to the Tian clan, so Li Yang was unable to learn anything.


    The other members of the Tian clan rarely left their wagons, at most coming out once a day to take a breath of fresh air and check their current position. Even when they saw Li Yang, none of them bothered to start a conversation with him, assuming him to simply be a vagabond that was hitching a ride out of the Cloud Wilderness, quickly taking their eyes off him.


    When he first spotted the caravan, Li Yang had assumed that the carriages were drawn by normal horses, but it seemed like he had been wrong about that. The caravan never stopped, the horses never getting to take a break and get some food, yet they were still perfectly fine once they reached Cloud''s End city five days later. For them to be able to manage that, they certainly had some Demonic beast blood within them.


    Upon arriving at Cloud''s End city, Li Yang faced a small inconvenience, and that was the fact that he was too rich. People who weren''t part of the Royal Dragon Pavilion or one of the larger clans would have to pay a small fee whenever they wanted to enter the city, if they could not pay, they could not enter. Li Yang was a member of the Royal Dragon Pavilion, so if he wanted to, he could easily enter without paying.


    But doing so would cause suspicion in Tian Donghu and the other people of the Tian clan that Li Yang had been talking with over these last five days, so he had to avoid that, lest they start asking too many questions. But the problem was that the entry fee was so small that Li Yang simply didn''t have any change that was that small, he mostly only had Spirit Stones and a few higher value coins. Paying the fee with any of those would also cause suspicion in the people of the Tian clan, so he could not do that either.


    In the end, he could only put on an awkward smile, scratch his cheek and ask Tian Donghu to pay for his entry into the city. Faced with Li Yang''s awkward smile, Tian Donghu merely let out a chuckle and put in a good word for him with the guards, allowing him to enter the city for free alongside the rest of the caravan. The caravan was heading the same direction as Li Yang, the Royal Dragon Pavilion, so he hitched a ride with them a bit longer, reminiscing about his past life.


    He had not always been the Thunder Monarch, the start of his cultivation life had actually been quite similar to how it was now, with him forced to run around and hide or lie. Despite going through it once more, he did not find it annoying, he found it surprisingly refreshing, even nostalgic.


    The caravan stopped outside the branch of the Royal Dragon Pavilion, with some of the lower ranked members of the clan packing up everything and carrying it into the building. Tian Donghu did not join the others immediately, turning towards Li Yang and pointing at a circular building that stood a fair distance away from them.


    "Listen, Kiddo, I know that you want to join the Royal Dragon Pavilion and make a name for yourself, but I implore you, wait until your strength has grown. That building over there is a library, if you want, I can write a recommendation for you, you should be able to get a job there with that. Just quietly work and cultivate, once you have reached the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm, then you can think about joining up with the Royal Dragon Pavilion."


    Tian Donghu truly did not want Li Yang to sign up with the Royal Dragon Pavilion, as he knew that Li Yang would not even be able to finish the entry mission, he would simply die an unnecessary death. Li Yang had to wait for the members of the Tian tribe to finish whatever they were doing in the Royal Dragon Pavilion anyway, so he pretended to give a reluctant nod of his head.


    "Alright, since Elder Brother Donghu is so insistent, I will listen to you."


    Tian Donghu''s face lit up with a bright smile as he gave several rapid nods of his head. He quickly took out a piece of paper, writing down a few sentences on it. Once he had finished writing, he cut a small wound in his thumb and used the blood to draw a symbol on the note, folding it up and handing it to Li Yang.


    "That''s good, Kiddo. In the future, I am certain that you will thank me."


    Li Yang thanked Tian Donghu for the note, and the two split up. Tian Donghu joined up with the rest of the Tian clan people, packing up their items and carrying them into the building, while Li Yang started heading towards the library that had been pointed out.


    Once he put some distance between them, Li Yang sent a slight glance behind him, making sure that no one from the Tian clan was looking in his direction, he then vanished into the crowd. He turned away from the library, making his way through the crowd as he headed towards the cheap inn he had used the first time he came to this city.


    His plan was to wait for a bit of time, giving the people of the Tian clan enough time to leave the city before he made his move. He rented a room at the inn, letting them know that there was no need to deliver food to him. He then sat down on the bed in his room and closed his eyes, quietly cultivating as he waited for time to pass.


    The evening two days later, he felt that enough time had passed, so he opened his eyes and left the inn. He quietly moved through the city, vigilantly scouring the area for anyone from the Tian clan. He had not spotted anyone, even when he reached the Royal Dragon Pavilion, so he guessed that they had likely left.


    Just to make sure, he waited around outside the Royal Dragon Pavilion for another hour, but there were still no signs of them. He let out a slight breath and entered the building, giving it a quick sweep to make sure that they weren''t waiting around inside. There were a few people sitting at the bar and drinking, but no one from the Tian clan, so it seemed that they had truly left. Li Yang''s eyes landed on the counter where one could accept missions, quickly heading over. The receptionist, a young black-haired man who seemed like he had just reached his twenties, gave Li Yang a polite greeting.


    "Good evening, what can we help you with today? Are you here to sign up as a new member?"


    Li Yang gave the youth a quick greeting, bringing out the jade tablet that functioned as his identification and quickly stating what he had come for.


    "I want to know which of the closest cities is hosting one of the contests that will let people earn a spot for the upcoming Huo clan competition. I am also looking to buy a map of the continent, the price is not really a problem."


    Many years had passed since Li Yang had roamed the universe as he pleased, so there was a good chance that quite a few things had changed since then. Buying a map of the continent would allow Li Yang to at least be aware of some of the changes. The youth accepted the tablet, his expression growing a bit more respectful when he realized that Li Yang was already a One-Clawed Dragon despite his young age.


    He handed the tablet back to Li Yang after checking it, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out a thin book bound in a scaly hide. He opened the book and placed his finger on one of the pages, turning his gaze back onto Li Yang.


    "Very well. How detailed do you wish this map to be?"


    Detailed maps were hard to make, as they not only listed cities and roads but also useful information about clans and people, as well as dangerous areas. Li Yang was clear on what he wanted, so he did not need to think about his answer.


    "As detailed and updated as possible."


    Because of the great power cultivators had, they could change the landscape with very little effort, so maps would have to be updated very often, which was one of the reasons they were so expensive. The youth could not help but raise an eyebrow after hearing Li Yang''s quick reply, it seemed like he was quite wealthy. He turned his gaze back to the book, quickly finding the information he was looking for.


    "The most up-to-date map we have, which is also one of the most detailed ones, was updated five years. As for the price, it will be 1 Earth grade Spirit Stones."


    Now it was Li Yang''s turn to raise an eyebrow. Even for a very detailed map, 1 Earth Grade Spirit Stone was extremely expensive. Spirit Stones were ranked much like weapons, with the grades being Mortal, Spiritual, Earth, and Heaven. 1 Spiritual grade stone was worth an entire 10 000 Mortal Grade, and the growth continued like that, with 1 Earth grade stone being worth 10 000 Spiritual grade! Li Yang had received quite a bit of resource from Jing Yimu, as well as the people he had killed in the Cloud Wilderness, but even then, 1 Earth Grade Spirit Stone was over half of all the wealth he had. But he needed the map, so he could only hand over an interspatial ring, the face of the youth lighting up after he checked the contents.


    "Thank you very much. We will quickly create a copy of the map, so please wait a few minutes."


    The youth stepped away from the table, walking through the door that was located just behind the counter. Li Yang quietly waited, glancing at the other people in the room. The youth had been professional and spoke quietly, so none of the others had heard that Li Yang had just spent 1 Earth Grade spirit Stone. After about 10 minutes, the youth came through the door again, presenting a small white jade orb. He placed the orb on the counter, putting some Qi into it and causing a highly detailed map of an oval continent to appear in the air above it. He controlled the map with his mind, zooming in on a particular part of the map as he started talking.


    "Here you go, I advise you to do your best to keep the map safe. As for the answer to your question, the closest city that fits your criteria is this one, Fire Cloud city. By foot, it should take about 15 days to reach, but if you are willing to wait a bit, we are going to send a caravan with wares to the city in two days. If you hitch a ride with them, it will only take eight days to reach the city."


    Li Yang looked at the map in front of him with some wonder. The shape of the continent had actually changed greatly since the time when he was still alive! Back then it had been triangular in shape, not even close to this oval. He quickly threw the thought to the back of his mind, giving the proposition a bit of thought before he responded.


    "I see. Alright, sign me up for the caravan."


    Hitching a ride with the caravan would save him five days, so there was no reason for him to reject the offer. He might have to work as a guard or help load up the wares, but that was fine with him. The youth handed the orb with the map to Li Yang, producing another book from his interspatial ring as he gave a slight nod, writing down some information.


    "Wonderful! Please arrive at the eastern exit of the city at dawn in two days."


    Li Yang noted the time and date before leaving the building, returning to the inn where he rented a room. He ordered a few large meals that he could eat with Jinwu and Shenlong and then proceeded to quietly cultivate as he waited for the two days to pass.


    Once the agreed upon time arrived, Li Yang left the inn and made his way to the eastern exit of the city, sweeping the area for any caravans. There was one group of wagons that was currently loading thick metal plates onto their reinforced carriages. The one who seemed to be the leader of this caravan, a curvaceous woman clad in leather armor and who had long brown hair and a large scar over her left eye, waved at Li Yang once she spotted him.


    "Are you Li Yang?"


    Li Yang made his way over to the woman, who was currently carrying two large straw sacks over her shoulder, giving a quick nod of his head. Once she got confirmation, she tossed the two sacks to Li Yang, introducing herself.


    "Good. I am Situ Yanyu, follow me and help me load up the wagons."


    Li Yang had expected something like this, so he was not shocked at her words. He followed her orders, carrying the straw sacks, that seemed to be filled with potatoes, and hoisting them onto one of the wagons, which was already half-filled with similar sacks. The wagons were quickly fully stocked with crates and sacks, Situ Yanyu giving everything one last look over before giving the order to set off for Fire Cloud city.

 68 Future rulers.

    The sun had just barely risen over the headquarters of the Tian clan as Tian Gong slowly made his way towards a certain building. The building he was heading to was a one-story, one room house made out of stone that was a deep gray in color. Once he reached the door to the house, he stopped and took a deep breath, putting a pleasant smile on his face and pushing open the door, speaking out with a cheerful and admiring voice.


    "Good morning, Junior Sister Ying. I see that you are already diligently training, truly a role model one should aspire to follow."


    Tian Gong closed the door behind him and took a step to the side, politely standing there and waiting for a response. The inside of the house was far larger than it looked from the outside, a powerful array compressing space inside the building, much like an interspatial ring. Even though it was called a room, it was, in fact, a wide-open plain, tall trees and several stones of varying colors spread around.


    Fang Ying was currently clad in a pair of white tight-fitting shirt and pants which were drenched in sweat, causing them to stick to her skin and accentuate her curves. She was in the midst of doing push-ups, a black rock the size of a human head placed on her back. The black rock was a special type of material simply called a Gravity Stone, and it weighed tens of times more than any rock its size. Fang Ying turned towards Tian Gong, the black rock sliding off her back as she moved. Langshen was curled up on the ground at her side, glaring at Tian Gong, but it calmed down as she pat it on the head and spoke up.


    "Senior Brother Gong, to what do I owe the pleasure of your unannounced visit?"


    Her voice was calm, but it contained a tinge of anger that Tian Gong immediately detected. Very few women liked being seen when they were covered in sweat, their clothing sticking to their skin. Tian Gong stealthily swept his eyes over Fang Ying''s body, swallowing a bit of saliva as he quickly responded.


    "What else but Elder Brother Zeng? The people we sent to the Cloud Wilderness have returned, so Elder Brother Zeng is having a meeting with some of the people from the clans and sects to discuss the results. He would like to extend an invitation to you, hoping that you would grace them with your delightful presence. What do..."


    Before Tian Gong was able to finish his sentence, the door to the building was flung open once again, an adorable 10-year-old brown-haired girl clad in a light pink robe running in, waving a piece of paper as she called out in an excited voice.


    "Big Sis! Another letter has arrived for you!"


    Tian Gong was standing very close to the door, so in her excitement, the girl could not avoid bumping into him and interrupting his sentence. Tian Gong glanced at the girl, his eyebrows scrunched up slightly as he acted on instinct, slapping out with his hand and scolding the girl.


    "Do not interrupt me."


    The girl was a bastard, a child born between someone from the Tian clan and an outsider. If she had good talent, that would not matter, she would be considered a true Tian clan member. But her talent was only ordinary, so she was lower than even the weakest Tian clan member. If it was anywhere else, no one would pay any mind to his slap, considering it completely normal. But Tian Gong had completely forgotten exactly where he was. Before his slap managed to hit the girl, Xuegang, his arm stopped mid-air. The veins on his arm protruded, wriggling like snakes as his arm was forced back, the calm voice of Fang Ying sounding out.


    "Elder Brother Gong, I do believe you should already know how I feel about violence against my aides?"


    Tian Gong''s entire face paled, pain flooding his arm as it refused to listen to his orders, his own blood revolting against him. He turned his head back to Fang Ying, whose calm gaze seemed to drill into his very soul. He quickly swallowed some saliva, giving her a deep bow.


    "Please...Please forgive me... It was a mere moment of forgetfulness."


    Only when his arm had returned to hanging at his side did he regain control over it, stealthily heaving a sigh of relief. When he regained control over his arm, he suddenly noticed a slight burning pain on his throat, a thin red line having appeared on it without him noticing it. His eyes landed on Langshen, who was still glaring at him with narrowed eyes. He once again swallowed a deep breath, his gaze returning to Fang Ying as she spoke up.


    "Please do not repeat it in the future. You can tell Senior Brother Zheng that I will certainly accept his invitation, but first I must take a shower."


    Fang Ying waved her hand, showing Tian Gong that it was time for him to leave. He quickly gave her a bow and thanked her, hurrying out of the building, leaving only Fang Ying and Xuegang. Fang Ying quickly stood up, bringing out a towel from her interspatial ring and wiping her sweat as she moved towards Xue Gang.


    "Little Xue, you said that a new letter arrived?"


    Fang Ying''s voice was filled with joy as she questioned because she knew that Xuegang would only be this rushed to bring her the letter if it came from the sender she had told Xuegang about. Just like she thought, Xuegang quickly nodded her small head, handing Fang Ying the small piece of paper.


    "Yes, we received it from the Royal Dragon Pavilion not too long ago. The letter was signed with the same name as the previous one, so I did as you said and got it to you as quickly as possible!"


    Fang Ying grabbed the paper, which seemed to only contain two short lines of text. She put on a sweet smile, patting Xuegang on the head and ruffling her hair.


    "I see, thank you."


    Xuegang rubbed her head against Fang Ying''s hand, letting out a cute giggle as she enjoyed the sensation. When she got assigned as Fang Ying''s aide, she had resigned herself to spending her life as a Tian clan slave, but Fang Ying had always been good to her, treating her like a friend.


    Fang Ying quickly read the letter, which indeed only contained two short lines of text. ''You won''t believe the surprise I have for you, Li Yang.'' After reading the very short message, she could not help but let out a cute snort, puffing out her cheeks slightly.


    "Trying to surprise me, so you won''t say where you are? Just you wait and see how I am going to bully you once we finally do meet up again, don''t think that it will end like it used to."


    Fang Ying grumbled slightly, as she had hoped Li Yang would at least tell her where he was so that they could meet up ahead of time. But she also knew that while he usually didn''t act like it, he still had his own pride as a man. If he was too weak, he would not meet up with Fang Ying, as he would only be a burden on her. Seeing Fang Ying mumbling like this, Xuegang could not help but speak out in a slightly uncertain voice.


    "Big Sis..."


    Fang Ying quickly stopped her mumbling, her face blooming into a smile as she grabbed Xuegang''s small hand, dragging her along as she left the building.


    "It''s nothing to worry about. Come, Little Xue, help me take a shower before meeting Senior Brother Zheng."


    Fang Ying returned to her own home and took a quick shower, changing into a delicate and exquisite robe that was light green in color. She had Xuegang braid her hair into a neat braided ponytail, and then brought along Langshen and headed towards the place where she was to meet with Tian Zheng.


    The place where she was going to meet Tian Zheng was one of the nine spires that surrounded the headquarters, the tower known as the Ascended Jade Tower. The tower was constructed entirely out of white jade that automatically absorbed the Qi from the sky, using it as fertilizer for the rare plants that served as decorations inside the tower.


    When she arrived outside the tower, Tian Zheng was already standing outside the door that was engraved with the emblem of the Tian clan, a tall mountain that pierced a lone cloud. Tian Zheng looked like a youth in his twenties, but he was already over 200 years old, his high cultivation having preserved his youth.


    He had silky hair that was emerald green in color, it was tied into a neat ponytail that stretched out behind him, swaying in the wind. He had skin as smooth as a woman''s, and light brown eyes that contained a warm light. His nose was a bit short, emphasizing his delicate features. He was clad in an emerald robe, his face blooming into a bright smile when he spotted Fang Ying.


    "Junior Sister Ying! It is wonderful that you have decided to grace us with your presence!"


    He bent his body slightly, trying to grab onto her hand so that he could give it a kiss, but Fang Ying pulled it back slightly just before he could get a hold of it. He quickly straightened up his back, acting like nothing as he pushed open the door and speaking casually.


    "I heard that you have received a letter today. Is it perhaps from someone I know?"


    Tian Zheng was the future patriarch of the Tian clan, so he had no shortage of loyal subordinates that constantly fed him information. The moment Fang Ying, one of the women he had settled on as one of his future wives, received a letter from an unknown sender, he was immediately informed. Fang Ying stepped into the tower, letting out a light laughter and giving a slight shake of her head.


    "Senior Brother Zheng, are you trying to pry into the privacy of a fair maiden?"


    She had no interest in telling Tian Zheng about Li Yang, nor did she have a reason to, so she simply refused to answer. Tian Zheng followed her into the tower, letting out a calm chuckle as he waved his hand in an unconcerned manner.


    "Forgive my rude words, it was simply a moment of curiosity. Sister Liuxian, Brother Hanying, Brother Peng, Sister Xiuying and Brother Xieren have already arrived, they are waiting for us inside. Sister Qing and Brother Zemin will also arrive shortly, but I am uncertain whether or not Sister Jingyi and Brother Yunshi will join us. But you know how those two are, so please don''t hold it against them."


    The inside of the tower that they stepped into was filled with colorful plants and flowers, each one releasing a sweet and calming fragrance, Qi radiating from them and showing how valuable they were. This was only the first room in the tower, the waiting room, so the only pieces of furniture were two crystal tables and four silk couches.


    Fang Ying could not help but be slightly surprised after hearing all the names that Tian Zheng listed, as each of the listed people was the future leader of their respective clan or sect. It was exceedingly rare for all of them to gather together. The two walked towards the door that was located at the other end of the room, Langshen calmly following at Fang Ying''s side as she let out a casual laugh.


    "Of course not, they are certainly very busy with their respective sects."


    Fang Ying did not really have any interest in the meeting that was taking place here, or in Tian Zheng for that matter. But the Tian clan had adopted her before she had regained all her memories, so she had already been living here for quite a while already. Because of that, she had to at least humor Tian Zheng slightly and pretend that she was interested.


    The two passed through the door, entering the room where meetings were supposed to take place. The room was surprisingly simple, a long jade table placed at the center of the room, carved crystal chairs surrounding the table.There were multicolored lotuses lined up against the walls, filling the room with their intoxicating fragrance.


    The jade table was covered with various tables filled with food as well as several porcelain kettles filled with fragrant tea. Sitting around the table were five youths, three men and two women. When Tian Zheng and Fang Ying entered the room, the five youths stood up and cupped their fists in greeting, one of the men speaking out in a loud voice.


    "Fairy Ying, Brother Zheng said that you would delight us with your presence, but I assumed him to merely be boasting!"


    The man who spoke was Yuan Peng, the future patriarch of the Yuan clan. He had a bald head that was polished until it shone, a tattoo of a crimson eagle covering the left side of his face. He was a bit short, but his body was very rugged and burly, rippling with muscles. Unlike normal people, his eyes were two different colors, his left blue, and his right crimson. Fang Ying cupped her hands in greeting, taking a seat at the table.


    "Greetings Elder Brother Peng. Please do not mind me, I will do my best to not disturb your pleasant mood."


    A light laughter sounded out after she spoke up, another one of the men speaking out as he chuckled.


    "Nonsense, how could you possibly disturb our mood, you even serve to raise it!"


    The one who spoke out this time was Xiong Xieren, the future patriarch of the Puppet God Sect. He had a body that was a little over two meters tall and had shoulder-length black hair that hung down freely. He had pitch black eyes, a slight stubble of white hair decorating his chin. Shortly after Fang Ying and Tian Zheng sat down at the table, the door to the room opened once more, a man and a woman entering, cupping their hands as they spoke out, their voices slightly apologetic.


    "It seems we are the last ones to arrive, please forgive our tardiness."


    The people who had just sat down stood up once again, cupping their hands in greeting. Tian Zheng stepped forward, beckoning towards two empty chairs with one hand and casually waving his other.


    "Sister Qing, Brother Zemin. Do not pay it too much attention, times are very busy right now after all."


    The ones who arrived now were Zhong Qing, the future matriarch of the Zhong Clan, and Hao Zemin, the future patriarch of the Endless Horizon Sect.


    Zhong Qing had loose orange hair that hung down all the way to her knees, her features somewhat sharp and dignified. Because of a fight she had gotten into as a child, her nose was a bit crooked. Her emerald green eyes were constantly slightly narrowed, giving her a perpetually vigilant appearance.


    Hao Zemin had blonde hair that was shaved shorter at the sides of his head, while the longer middle portion was combed to the right. He had two large scars on his face, one that split his mouth down the middle and one that went diagonally across his entire face. His light brown eyes seemed to constantly have a curious light in them, sweeping the surroundings as he moved.


    The two quickly sat down at the table, the others following suit. Tian Zheng waited for a few more minutes, checking if the last two were going to arrive. But when they did not show up after a few more minutes passed, he decided that it was time to start the discussion.


    "It is quite rare for all of us to gather together, but while I would love for us to have a pleasant chat over a cup of tea, I believe that all of you have decided to show up because of the topic of our discussion, the reports we received from our subordinates."


    The atmosphere around the table quickly grew a bit more solemn after Tian Zhen spoke out. After a short moment of silence, one of the women around the table asked the question they were all wondering about.


    "Have you managed to confirm that the one they met was indeed the Golden Dragon Prince?"


    The girl who spoke was Duan Liuxian, the future matriarch of the Duan clan. She had deep blue hair that was tied into a long ponytail, similar to the one Tian Zheng had. Her skin was a bit rough because it was constantly battered by the coastal winds, her black eyes hiding away her emotions. In response to her question, Tian Zheng gave a slight shake of his head.


    "It is still uncertain. His appearance fit the description we have of the Prince, but I have never received a report that the Prince is adept in using arrays. There is also that special golden lightning and strange ice that he used, I have never heard about anyone from the Demon Emperor''s family using anything like it."


    Even though the royal family of the Demon Race did not associate much with the outside world, how could the rulers of the continent not know a thing or two about them? Hearing the words golden lightning, Fang Ying''s interested was piqued, her eyes lighting up slightly. Seeing her reaction, Tian Zheng assumed it to be curiosity, so he quickly explained.


    "Ah, I forgot that you haven''t heard about this. Some time ago, we sent a few people to the Cloud Wilderness to investigate a slight disturbance. But strangely enough, not too long ago, everyone we sent was either killed or forced to leave the Cloud Wilderness, all by a single youth. He fit the physical description of the Golden Dragon Prince, he also used the golden flames that the prince is known for, but he also used an unknown type of ice and golden lightning, as well as a strange trapping array that could utilize illusions and sap the strength of anyone within it. We have never heard about the royal family of the Demon Race specializing in any of these things, so there is a chance that he is a mere impostor."


    Only Fan Long and the survivors of the Puppet God Sect had seen Li Yang use his three elements, but as they had shared all the information they had acquired about Li Yang, the information had also reached the other clans and sects.


    Fang Ying''s eyes grew even brighter after Tian Zheng explained everything, especially when she heard about the array that was used. She forced her excitement down, acting calm yet somewhat interested as she spoke up.


    "Sounds interesting. Do you have a description of his looks?"


    Tian Zheng was more than willing to take any chance he could get to talk more with Fang Ying, and this was the most interested in something he had ever seen her, so he did not think much about it as he responded.


    "According to the reports we received, it should be something like this."


    He stretched out his arm, strands of Qi flying out of his fingertips and quickly forming an image. The image was of Li Yang after he had fused with Shenlong and Jinwu, and thanks to being drawn with Qi, it was very lifelike. Seeing those familiar features, a sweet smile appeared on Fang Ying''s face as she grew certain that this ''Golden Dragon Prince'' was, in fact, Li Yang. No matter how much time passed, no matter how many things she went through, that was the one face she would never forget. She gazed at the image a little longer before turning back towards Tian Zheng.


    "I see, I see. How do you plan on dealing with him?"


    Tian Zheng could not quite put his finger on why, but he did not like the smile that had appeared on Fang Ying''s face when she saw the image. The smile was beautiful, but seeing it made his chest feel stifled. He quickly swallowed the uncomfortable feeling, putting on the same calm and casual smile he always wore.


    "The rulers do not wish to risk anything, as he might truly be the Golden Dragon Prince, so we have been ordered to stay out of the Cloud Wilderness for now. But what do you think, Fairy Ying?"


    Fang Ying''s eyes returned to the image that floated in the air, a light chuckle escaping her lips as she spoke out in a mysterious voice.


    "What I think? I think that the Cloud Wilderness should truly be feared. After all, one never knows what sort of monsters can be born there, hidden from the eyes of the world."


    No one else in the room understood the hidden meaning behind her words, understood the true terror that was Li Yang. In their past life, he had only been able to use the elements of lightning and destruction, but now he seemed to have also gained the ability to control both fire and ice. This was simply adding wings onto a tiger! Of course, since no one understood the true meaning of her words, Tian Zheng could only nod his head with a smile.


    "Your words are quite wise, the unknown should be feared."


    Tian Zheng dissipated the image that was floating in the air, feeling an inexplicable sense of uncomfortableness whenever he looked at it. He was just about to continue the discussion when the door to the room was suddenly thrown open, two people entering and interrupting Tian Zheng.


    "Is Fairy Ying here?"


    The two people that entered were a man and a woman, a few servants with panicked expressions rushing in after them. One of the servants quickly bowed to Tian Zheng, nodding his head at the two people.


    "Forgive us, Elder Brother Zheng, they ignored our words and simply barged in."


    Tian Zheng and the others stood up from their seats upon seeing the two people. He waved his hand at the servants, indicating for them to leave before he cupped his hands at the two newcomers.


    "Don''t worry about it, there is nothing you could have done to stop them. Brother Yunshi, Sister Jingyi, I am glad that you have decided to join us today."


    The two people that had arrived were Quan Yunshi and Mao Jingyi, the future patriarch of the Heaven''s Gate sect and the future matriarch of the Roaring Soul Sect. With the two of them arriving, all future leaders of the ten great powers had gathered in the room.


    Quan Yunshi looked exceedingly normal, his body somewhat slim, his black hair hanging down to his ears and slightly covering his brown eyes. But his entire body radiated an overbearing pressure that pushed down on the surroundings, making it clear to all that he was a strong person.


    Mao Jingyi had a tall body that lacked the normal softness that one would expect from a woman, rippling with slender muscles filled with explosive power. Her violet hair was just as long as Quan Yunshi''s, hanging down to her hair, but not covering her emerald eyes.


    The two of them completely ignored Tian Zheng, their eyes landing on Fang Ying. They both gave her a slight bow, cupping their hands as they spoke out.


    "We greet you, Fairy Ying. Our masters, Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu, asked us to come here today so that we could ask you a question. What does the evening sun shine upon?"


    Quan Yunshi and Mao Jingyi were actually rather confused about this current situation. Their two sects had always had a rival-like relationship, the sect matriarchs seeming to have some feud with each other. But after their people returned from the Cloud Wilderness with a message, the two matriarchs had met in person, ending all hostilities and entering an alliance.


    Fang Ying was also a bit surprised at the turn of events, but the moment she heard their question, her face lit up with a smile, quickly and naturally responding.


    "The evening sun shines upon the lonely monarch scavenging for food."


    This was a saying from her past life, a saying that very few people in the world knew, a saying known only to Li Yang''s closest friends. Quan Yunshi and Mao Jingyi matched eyes, nodding their heads and pulling out two interspatial rings, handing them to Fang Ying.


    "It seems you are the person they hoped you would be. Please take these, they asked us to hand them over if you gave the correct answer."


    The interspatial rings were handed to them by their masters, the matriarchs of their sects, so out of respect, they had not checked the contents. But even if they wanted to, the rings were sealed with a special method, preventing them from being opened by those who didn''t know how to undo the seal. The two cupped their hands once more to Fang Ying, bidding her a quick farewell.


    "Sadly, we must leave now, as there are still many things we need to handle. May you have a pleasant day, Sister Ying."


    With the two sects now entering an alliance, as the future rulers, there were a lot of things that the two of them had to handle. The two left the room, not having looked at Tian Zheng or the others even once. Tian Zheng''s mouth twitched slightly at being ignored like that, even after he went out of his way to greet them, but his face quickly returned to its normal smile as he turned towards Fang Ying.


    "What a surprise, Junior Sister Ying. I was unaware that you knew the matriarchs of the Roaring Soul Sect and the Heaven''s Gate Sect. Would you perhaps regale us with the tale of how you met?"


    His eyes narrowed slightly after he spoke. He had never heard about Fang Ying having met anyone from the Roaring Soul or Heaven''s Gate sect, much less the matriarchs. First, it was those two letters, then the sweet smile when she saw the image, and now this. Tian Zheng felt that he was slowly losing the control he had over Fang Ying, filling him with a sense of unease.


    Fang Ying looked at the two rings, her lips curling into a reminiscing smile when she saw the seal within the rings. So despite the long passage of years, those two jealous crybabies had managed to survive? She quickly put away the rings, cupping her hands at Tian Zheng and the others.


    "It is a very dull story, so as to not spoil the mood, I won''t bore you all with it. Please forgive me, but something that requires my immediate attention has popped up, so I will take my leave now."


    She did not bother waiting for any response after speaking, immediately leaving the room. Tian Zheng wore an ugly expression, something that the servants outside the room saw after Fang Ying opened the door. One of the servants stretched out his arm to say something, but a silver line flashed through the air, slicing open the hand of the servant. He quickly pulled back his arm, looking at the now growling Langshen with an aghast expression. In the end, no one stopped Fang Ying from leaving the tower and returning to her own house to undo the seal on the two rings.

 69 Village hopes.

    The caravan that Li Yang was hitching a ride with was stocked with various crops or live animals. The area around Fire Cloud city had apparently just suffered through a rather lengthy period of drought and famine, leaving several of the smaller villages around the city in dire need of not only food and water but also replacements for the lost farm animals. A drought and famine was no problem for cultivators, but for normal people, it was a horrific catastrophe.


    Of course, the crops and animals that were being sent over by the Royal Dragon Pavilion were not sent out for free. The city lord of Fire Cloud city was the one who had ordered the shipment of wares, even paying for them out of his own pocket.


    The caravan was heading straight towards Fire Cloud city to deliver the wares, leaving the task of handing them out to the city lord and his men. But even though they headed straight towards Fire Cloud city, the caravan still stopped at some of the smaller villages that were located along the way, picking up other people that had the same goal as Li Yang, taking part in the contest.


    On the fifth day of the journey, the caravan reached the third village they were going to stop at, picking up a further 10 people that were looking to hitch a ride. Including the two villages they had stopped at earlier, they had now picked up an additional 45 people, most of them being youths between the ages 15 to 30.


    They were all just villagers, so their cultivations were rather limited, with the strongest and oldest ones only having reached the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm. But as Li Yang sat on one of the wagons, guarding the sacks of potatoes, he couldn''t help but notice that the youths in the village were all training incredibly hard, some even going as far as training until their hands and feet bled.


    The village they were at right now was quite small, only housing a few thousand people, so Li Yang was able to see that someone had built a small arena at the center of the village. The arena was currently occupied, various weaker youths having a contest between each other. The contest even had an audience and judges, the youths ranked based on their performance.


    Li Yang found it a bit curious that all the youths in the villages he had seen so far were training so hard, so he turned towards a male youth that had joined the caravan during the first stop, a boy called Cao Taizhi, asking if he knew why they were all training so hard. Cao Taizhi hadn''t spoken with Li Yang past a short introduction, but he still quickly answered, his eyes gleaming with excitement.


    "Isn''t it obvious? If we manage to stand out during the contest, we can join a sect or clan. Even if we fail to join one of the great ones, as long as we join any sect or clan, we can bring pride and prosperity to not only our family but even our village."


    Tao Caizhi was approaching his late twenties, had short and needle-like brown hair, large green eyes, and a somewhat square face. From what Li Yang had seen of him during the time he had spent with the caravan, he was a typical village boy, cheerful and bright, but also quite naive about how the world actually worked.


    Even though he had never talked with Li Yang before, he saw nothing wrong with talking freely with him. After all, thanks to the clothing Li Yang was wearing, it was easy to see that he also originated from a small village. Tao Caizhi turned his head, looking at the battle taking place on the arena, his voice dripping with respect and admiration.


    "And if just one of us manages to reach the height of Senior Teng Lingmu, then all the villages in the area where we were born will be protected for years to come. That is why there are so many of us, and why we are so eager. We carry not only our own hopes but the hopes of everyone in our villages."


    To Tao Caizhi and the other people from the villages, their villages and family was everything to them. For them, they did not mind any hardships they had to go through, any pain was worth bearing. To be able to ensure the safety and prosperity of their family and village was the greatest calling for them. Li Yang tilted his head slightly, a bit curious about the person who Tao Caizhi had mentioned.


    "Teng Lingmu, who is that?"


    Since even a village boy like Tao Caizhi knows about him, it either meant that he was incredibly famous, or that he originated from the same village. Tao Caizhi completely froze after hearing Li Yang''s question, gazing at him with his mouth agape. He quickly closed his mouth and shook his head, grabbing onto Li Yang''s shoulders and pulling him closer, nearly deafening him as he shouted.


    "You don''t know about Senior Teng Lingmu?! He has become a legend in the villages on the continent, a great source of motivation for people like you and me! How can you not know about him?!"


    Tao Caizhi''s eyes nearly turned bloodshot and crazy, so it was clear that Teng Lingmu was quite a bit more popular than he had first assumed. Li Yang brushed away Tao Caizhi''s hands and put a bit more distance between the two. While the caravan resumed its journey, Li Yang shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly answered.


    "I never really paid attention when the others talked about the various legends. Would you mind telling me?"


    Even though Li Yang did not mind cultivating, and could do so for years on end at times, it did not mean that he loved doing so every chance he got. Now that he had a chance to get a break and even gather some information, he did not mind doing so. Despite falling backward and hitting his head on the side of the wagon after the caravan abruptly started its journey, Tao Caizhi still excitedly talked about Teng Lingmu.


    "Senior Teng Lingmu was someone just like you and me, a youth from a small village. He took part in one of these contests that took place about 100 years ago, and his prowess got him noticed by one of the smaller sects. That alone was enough to bring great pride to his village, which had its name changed to Dragon''s Gate village. But he didn''t stop there, he continued to improve, eventually getting noticed by the Endless Horizon sect and accepted as a disciple! We haven''t heard anything more from him since then, but his village and all the surrounding villages are still being protected by the Endless Horizon sect! Our villages hope that we can produce a similar result in the contest, so we all work hard to not disappoint them."


    Tao Caizhi''s eyes gleamed with so much excitement that it seemed like they were going to pop out, his breathing speeding up as he talked. But Li Yang was easily able to understand why he was so excited. For someone from a small village, it was incredibly hard to reach a point where the largest sects would notice them, so there was no telling how hard this Teng Lingmu had to work to reach his position. Even Li Yang was not above respecting people like this Teng Lingmu and his hard work. After taking a few deep breaths and calming himself, it was Tao Caizhi''s turn to ask Li Yang a question.


    "What about you, what village are you from, and how many people did you send?"


    Li Yang was clad in the violet wolf robes he had gotten custom made. While they were more luxurious than the clothing of most villagers, it was still clearly inspired by the clothing style of a village. Tao Caizhi guessed that Li Yang came from a village that was close to the Cloud Wilderness, but rather than just guessing and assuming, it was better to ask. Li Yang simply gave a light shrug of his shoulders, not seeing a reason to come up with a lie.


    "I come from the village of Wildbourne, but we haven''t sent anyone to take part in the competition. I am taking part in the contest, but it''s not because of the village, it''s because it would make it easier for me to achieve my goals."


    Joining the competition would allow him to get noticed by one of the larger clans and sects, joining them so that he could acquire more resources. It would also secure him a spot in the upcoming Huo clan competition, which was another reason he decided to join the competition. Tao Caizhi tilted his head, his eyes narrowing in confusion as he seemed to not understand Li Yang.


    "You''re not fighting for your village? What other goals could you possibly have? Is it revenge?"


    Tao Caizhi was a village boy through and through, to him, the only things in the world that mattered were his family and his village. That ideology was so deep-rooted that he failed to understand that people could have other goals, other than getting revenge for their village getting destroyed. Li Yang was not bothered by the way Tao Caizhi looked at him, shrugging his shoulders, his eyes narrowing slightly.


    "There are some people that I have to reunite with and protect. I failed last time I tried, but I won''t fail this time, no matter what."


    Li Yang had already made up his mind. This time, if he and Fang Ying were to be surrounded once more, he would not have the same reservations as he had last time. If he had to, he would draw out all the power from his true destruction rune and use it to either flee or drag everyone else around them with him into the grave.


    The only reason he hadn''t done so the first time around was because of the fact that Zhao Feng and the others were still alive, as well as the memories he had made with Fang Ying. But this time, he was not willing to do nothing and then lose her again.


    After hearing his response, Tao Caizhi''s shoulders loosened somewhat, a smile appearing on his face as he shook his head and let out an understanding chuckle.


    "Isn''t that basically the same goal, just at a smaller scale?"


    Tao Caizhi was a simple person who had a thought process that was just as simple. Fighting to protect someone close to you was just the same as fighting to protect your village, it was only that there was a slight difference in scale. Tao Caizhi looked towards the distance, in the direction of Fire Cloud city, raising his fists at Li Yang and putting on a tough front.


    "Hehe. Those who fight to protect something can''t be bad people, so I hope you manage to protect the people you want to protect. But don''t think that I''ll take it easy on you if we meet in the contest! I''ll beat you down with everything I have."


    Li Yang put on a smile and gave a nod of his head, but he did not bother to correct Tao Caizhi. Fighting to protect others did not mean that you were a good person, it could sometimes even mean the exact opposite. It all depended on who you were trying to protect, as well as what you considered good and evil.


    The caravan continued its journey, stopping at one last village on the evening of the sixth day. After picking up another 15 people, there were no more stops for the remaining duration of the journey, the caravan reaching Fire Cloud city during the afternoon of the eighth day. Looking at the distant city, even Li Yang could not help but raise his eyebrow and let out a slight remark.


    "So that''s Fire Cloud city, huh. I can see how it got its name."


    The city could only be considered massive, even larger than Cloud''s End city. If one were to tell Li Yang that the number of citizens numbered in the tens of millions, he would not be too surprised. The city also had a very distinct architectural style, all the buildings having very rounded shapes, as if they were trying to mimic clouds. The buildings were also rather colorful, most of them being either orange, blue, or a light purple. Hearing his remark, Tao Caizhi quickly chimed in with what he himself had been told.


    "Ah, the city didn''t get the name because of how it looks. It got its looks and name from the city lord, Lord Fire Cloud. The village elder said that Lord Fire Cloud is a direct descendant of the Huo clan and has unparalleled control over the fire element. The elder said that he got his name from how he fought, filling the sky with clouds of violet flames."


    Tao Caizhi sighed with admiration as he spoke. His voice contained less admiration than when he had talked about Teng Lingmu, but it was still filled with deep adoration. Li Yang slightly raised on his eyebrows, letting out a light breath in surprise as he questioned.


    "Your village elder seems to know quite a bit. Is Fire Cloud famous?"


    For a mere elder of a village to know this type of information about Fire Cloud, he must have been a rather famous person. Li Yang had to admit that he knew very little about the various famous people in the world, most of his knowledge heavily outdated. Tao Caizhi gave a few nods of his head, pointing at the other people around them that were hitching a ride with the caravan.


    "Lord Fire Cloud is very popular among the villagers that live in the surrounding area, so information about him spreads fast. He has been very good to us, even ignoring it when we have been unable to pay tax because of a bad harvest, paying out of his own pocket. He is a good person with a kind heart."


    The village that these people came from were quite far away, but they still fell under the jurisdiction of Fire Cloud city, even the ones closest to Cloud''s End city. This was because Cloud''s End city was not controlled by any of the great clans or sects, but was considered neutral grounds, operated by all of them together as the first line of defense against the Cloud Wilderness. Li Yang''s eyes swept over Fire cloud city, a slight mutter escaping from his lips.


    "A good person with a kind heart, huh..."


    Li Yang did not have a good track record when it came to kind people with good hearts. After all, all the people who had surrounded and killed him and Fang Ying were good people with kind hearts, people who had thought about what was best for the world. To those types of people, the selfish Li Yang and the seemingly unstable Fang Ying were considered evil, people that had to be killed.


    The caravan stopped outside the gates of the city, Situ Yanyu stepping forward and handing the inventory list to the guards. At the same time, she also pointed at Li Yang and the others, explaining what they were here for. One of the guards, a female clad in flexible orange armor decorated with the emblem of Fire Cloud city, a cloud of violet fire, nodded her head and walked over to the villagers.


    "You are the ones that have come to take part in the next contest?"


    The woman had reached the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, the Ascending Gate stage, so the slight pressure that radiated from her was enough to frighten the villagers into silence. Tao Caizhi took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, quickly speaking out with several deep nods.


    "Yup! Where do we sign up? And also... where is the cheapest inn where we can rent a room?"


    If he let himself look bad here, it would reflect poorly on his village, something Tao Caizhi would not allow, so he forced himself to look casual. The guard paid no attention to the nervous villagers, simply nodding her head and beckoning for them to follow her.


    "No need to rent a room, lodgings have already been prepared for everyone who wishes to showcase their prowess. Please follow me, I will take you to sign up for the contest and then take you to the lodgings where you can rest and adjust your conditions. The next contest will start in half a month, so please make sure to not leave the city before then."


    The villagers quickly dismounted from the wagon, walking past Situ Yanyu and the other guards, entering the massive city, their mouths agape at the scenery. Li Yang was considered one of the villagers, so he, of course, followed them into the city, casually walking at the back and sweeping the surroundings with his gaze. Now he would just have to wait for half a month for the contest to start, and then he could show enough strength to be picked up by a clan or sect.

 70 Start of the contest.

    The guard brought them through the city and over to an orange nine-floored pagoda located close to the center of the city. The central room inside of the pagoda was decorated rather sparsely, with only some blooming flowers and normal couches spread around. But to the people from the villages, this was still considered rather good, as these couches were not covered in beast hide, but delicate fabric. There was a spiral staircase that led to the upper floors, doors lining the walls of the pagoda. The guard stopped after entering the pagoda, giving Li Yang and the others a bow as she beckoned towards the various doors.


    "Please rest up here. In half a month, we will come to escort you to the location where the contest will take place. Until then, you are free to wander the city as you like, but please do not cause any disturbances, as the punishment for that is rather severe."


    After delivering the warning, the guard left the pagoda, leaving behind the excited villagers to inspect the central room of the pagoda. After giving the couches and flowers a quick check, Tao Caizhi and the other villagers all gathered together, Tao Caizhi quickly extending an invitation to Li Yang.


    "Brother Yang, me and some of the others are going to go sightseeing, would you like to join us?"


    They were all people who had come from the surrounding villages, so even if they were to face each other in the upcoming contest, they felt that it was only right that they all stick together. Li Yang responded to the invitation by shaking his head, glancing at one of the many doors.


    "I''m sorry, but I plan on quietly cultivating until the start of the contest, so I can''t join you."


    Despite having used 1 Earth-Grade Spirit Stone to buy a map, Li Yang still had quite a few resources in his interspatial ring, so he was planning on taking this chance to quickly carve his sixth rune now that he had some time alone. Tao Caizhi was not perturbed by Li Yang''s answer, giving him a few pats on the shoulder.


    "A shame. But it is good to focus on your cultivation while young, I slacked a bit when I was your age, so I never got to take advantage of the period of time where I had the most potential. Once the contest is over, let us all go out and get some drinks to celebrate!"


    Tao Caizhi and the other villagers left to check out the city, while Li Yang randomly picked a door and entered the room behind it. The room was just as sparsely decorated as the central room of the pagoda, containing only a single bed, a closet, as well as a desk filled with writing utensils.


    Li Yang took out some food from his interspatial ring, placing it on the desk so that Jinwu and Shenlong could eat whenever they got hungry. After that, he sat down on the bed and closed his eyes, periodically taking out some crystals from his interspatial ring as he worked on carving a sixth rune for all his elements. Carving the sixth rune was easy for Li Yang, so by the time half a month had passed and the voice of the guard rang out within the pagoda, he had already finished the process.


    "Please follow me, the contest will start shortly."


    Li Yang and the other villagers quickly left their rooms after the voice of the guard sounded out, gathering in the central room of the pagoda. Li Yang brought Jinwu and Shenlong, but they were not going to follow him into the battles, waiting outside the arena while he fought. Standing behind the female guard was a group of 15 other guards, each clad in the same armor as her.


    The guards did not say anything else to the villagers, quietly turning around and leaving the pagoda. Tao Caizhi and the others quickly followed the guards, heading toward the center of the city. The closer to the center of the city they got, the more people they saw in the streets and on top of the roofs of their homes, each one bubbling with excitement at the upcoming contest.


    They quickly reached the center of the city, which was a large and empty circular plaza, the ground covered in a thin layer of violet stones that released a faint heat. At the center of the plaza stood five circular stages, each one a few hundred meters in diameter. Of the five stages, four were placed in a circle, with the fifth located at the center of the four other stages. The five stages were surrounded by a large seating area, with the seats closer to the stages being more luxurious than those further away.


    By the time they arrived, the seating area was almost fully occupied, with more and more people squeezing into the empty seats, with others standing wherever there was space. But even with people squeezing together like this, there was one particular part of the seating area that no one dared get close to, the place where the people of the sects and clans sat. It seemed like each clan and sect had sent three people to keep an eye on the contest, with the strongest person being someone at the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, the Spiritual Rebirth stage, so Li Yang guessed that the clans viewed these contests as a fairly good place to scout for talents.


    The group of guards quickly let the villagers to a separate seating area placed close to the five stages. Even this seating area was almost stuffed full, but not by spectators, but by contestants. Even if he just gave a quick count, Li Yang easily spotted several hundred people, far more people than he had expected to take part in this contest. If just this contest had so many participants, just how many would take part in the competition hosted by the Huo clan? The group of guards took out several jade tokens shaped like green clouds, handing one to each of the villagers as they spoke.


    "Hold onto these tokens, as they are what will be used to identify you as a contestant. Please take your seats over there, the judges will soon explain how this will take place."


    After handing over the tokens and pointing at the seating area, the group of guards turned around and left to make sure that there was no one disturbing the peace during the contest. Despite the guards saying that the judges soon would explain, it was only five hours later than a hunchbacked old man who was clad in a light green robe and had a head covered in white hair walked onto the center stage, using Qi to increase the volume of his voice, allowing everyone to hear his words.


    "Thank you all for coming today, I am the main judge for today''s competition, Yan Li. For those who are participating for the first time or those who have only arrived today, please allow me to explain how this contest will proceed."


    The plaza instantly quieted down after Yan Li spoke up, both spectators and contestants turning towards Yan Li with excited and expectant gazes. Yan Li cleared his throat and pointed at the five stages, which each had a number carved into the side.


    "As you can see, there are five stages placed around me, four outer and one inner. The inner one is for the most anticipated battles, while the outer ones are where the other contestants will battle. But do not be discouraged if your battles take place in the outer arenas, as long as you display your prowess, you can be moved to the inner arena."


    The purpose of the inner arena was very simple, it was supposed to make it easier for the clans and sects to pick out the most talented contestants. In comparison, the outer stages were barely ever looked at by them. After pointing at the arenas, Yan Li turned his head towards the seating area where the participants sat, raising both hands and stretching out his fingers.


    "The battles will take place over a ten-day period, with the final battles being held on the dawn of the tenth day. The actual process of the battles is quite simple, as long as you don''t intentionally kill or cripple your opponent, anything is legal. The first battles taking place today will be between random contestants, but all battles past the first one will be between people who have won and lost an equal amount of battles."


    While they said intentionally crippling or killing was forbidden, accidents always happened during hectic combat, so even if you killed or crippled your opponent, as long as it wasn''t too obvious, you would rarely get punished. Being looked at by Yan Li, the contestants felt their blood slowly start to boil, so Yan Li gave a nod of his head, giving the audience a quick bow before he spoke up and left the stage.


    "Now then, I am certain all of you didn''t come here to listen to little old me talking, so without further ado, let us begin the contest. If your token lights up, please head onto the specified arena."


    After Yan Li left the stage, several of the tokens amongst the contestants started to light up, with Li Yang''s token being one of those that lit up. The number 3 appeared on his token, so he stood up and headed towards the stage marked with the same number. His opponent quickly arrived, a youthful girl who had a cultivation at the same level as his, having carved six runes. She had emerald eyes,a curvaceous body, silky brown hair, smooth skin, and delicate features, quite a charming girl. The girl cupped her hands at Li Yang, sending him a smile as she introduced herself.


    "Jia Xinyue, pleased to meet you."


    Facing this girl, Li Yang could feel quite a few stares land on their stage, the spectators attracted by the beauty of his opponent. Li Yang simply ignored the stares, cupping his hands and returning the greeting in a calm fashion.


    "Li Yang, greetings."


    After he returned the greeting, his body tensed up slightly as he raised his fists and took up his stance. The moment both of them had entered the stage, the battle had officially started, so they could attack whenever they pleased. Just as Li Yang was planning on how to attack, the voice of Jia Xinyue was sent into his ear through the use of Qi, sending a secretive message.


    "Please forfeit this battle, I will make sure to reward you handsomely afterward."


    After the voice reached him, Jia Xinyue sent him a stealthy and seductive wink, implying what one of the possible rewards was. She was quite confident in her beauty and charm, so the completely flat reply from Li Yang could not help but shock her slightly.


    "Not happening. Prepare to fight."


    Even if she was a thousand times more beautiful and seductive, she was not his Fang Ying, so he would not be tempted by her in the slightest. After giving his warning, he was going to launch his attack, but the voice of Jia Xunyue was sent to his ears once more.


    "Wait just a sec...!"


    This time, Li Yang did not even give her the chance to finish what she wanted to say, turning into a blur as he dashed forward, the muffled sound of thunder ringing out. Before she even had the chance to react, Li Yang had reached her front, his fist crashing into her abdomen and causing her to collapse to the ground and throw up the breakfast she had eaten not too long ago. With her lying on the ground and heavily vomiting, it was clear who had won this battle, so one of the judges quickly called the result, Li Yang giving Jia Xunyue a quick reminder before he left the stage.


    "I said it''s not happening, so any further talking is not only a waste of time, it leaves you completely open for attacks."


    Jia Xunyue only had a cultivation that was at the same stage as Li Yang, so he was not worried about anyone being shocked by him defeating her so easily, as something like this was rather common amongst the clans and sects. As he stepped off the stage, there were quite a few spectators that started booing at Li Yang, scolding him for acting so heavy-handed against a beauty who hadn''t prepared herself. Facing the booing of the crowd, Li Yang merely let out a quiet little chuckle.


    "Really, beauties always attract trouble."


    He found it amazing how little people cared about the circumstances of things when a beauty was involved. Was it his fault that Jia Xunyue hadn''t prepared for battle the moment she stepped into the arena? The way he saw it, if she was going to try and rely on underhanded tricks the moment the contest started, she shouldn''t have participated in the first place.


    After returning to his seat, Li Yang ignored the somewhat shocked gazes of Tao Caizhi and the others, casting a slight glance at the people from the clans and sects, checking their reactions as he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders.


    "Oh well, as long as I get to show off enough."

 71 Interesting laws one after another.

    Since all the first battles were random, some of the contestants got lucky and faced enemies far weaker than them, while others had terrible luck and faced enemies they had no chance of beating. But complaints were useless, they could only blame their own bad luck, surrendering before their battles even began.


    Li Yang was not the only person who finished his battle in one hit, but he was the only one who left a young beauty vomiting on the ground, so by the time the first day ended, he had been the only one who had gotten booed at. Li Yang had taken part in another three battles during the first day, but none of his enemies had reached a level of strength where he had to exert much strength to beat them.


    Even after the day ended, there was no one that left the plaza. The contestants and judges were cultivators, so going 10 days without food, sleep, or drinks was not much of a problem for them. As for the normal mortals in the audience, they could buy food or drinks from the various peddlers that wandered around the area. It was a bit tougher for them to go without sleep, but most simply chose to sleep in their seats, rather than miss the spectacle.


    The second day was more exciting than the first day, as the battles would only get tougher and more exciting the more days passed. It was also during the second day that they started fully using the inner arena, showcasing all those that had a chance at reaching the top 10.


    During the second day, Li Yang only fought in two battles, both of which he finished in 10 moves or less, giving him plenty of time to observe the other contestants as well as the judges. Thanks to his observation, he managed to notice a few things that he found somewhat interesting.


    The first thing was that the number of contestants had increased by a little, almost 50 new people sneaking in, unnoticed by the audience. These newcomers all had one thing in common, and that was the fact that they were hiding their actual strength. His current strength was still low, so he was unable to properly see through the technique they used to hide their cultivation. But from what little he could see, he guessed that they were all at around the Immortal Rebirth realm, quite a bit stronger than any of the other contestants.


    Of course, since Li Yang was able to see through the fact that they were hiding their cultivation, the judges were clearly also able to do the same. But none of the judges spoke up about the newcomers, even keeping a closer eye on the fights that the newcomers were taking part in. Their inaction caused Li Yang to hazard a guess that these newcomers were probably members of the clans and sects who had been chosen to take part in this contest, making it easier for the clans and sects to accurately judge the strength of the contestants they were interested in.


    Another interesting thing he had found was that there were quite a few people here who used some very interesting laws. There was one contestant that used the law of blood to force his opponents to mimic his own movements, one that used the laws of sound to disturb his opponent''s brain, and even one that used a rudimentary version of the laws of motion, changing the directions of the attacks that were launched at her.


    But even among the interesting laws he observed, there was one that stood above them all, the law that one of his two opponents had used. Not only did the opponent move strangely fast, at times he would make Li Yang''s movements slow down so that he could land his attacks easier. At first, Li Yang thought that he was using the laws of speed to alter the speed of the two, but after exchanging a few moves, he discovered the truth.


    It was the laws of time! A teenager from some small village was able to use a basic form of the laws of time, speeding up time around his fist, or slowing down time around Li Yang. The law of time was one of the peak laws, only below his own law of destruction or Fang Ying''s law of creation, to be born with an affinity for this law meant that the villager had excellent luck.


    Li Yang still managed to easily beat the opponent, but just as he guessed, once the third day of the contest rolled around, the kid was no longer participating. It was not hard to guess that the sects had also figured out his laws, starting a small battle over who would get to take the kid in.


    But Li Yang was able to perfectly understand their actions. Even when he was at his peak and wandered the universe, he had only ever known five people who used the laws of time, each of them horrifyingly strong. Of those five, Dai Shu was a friend of his, the second and third were people he had only met shortly, while the fourth and fifth had both been killed by him after what could only be described as an apocalyptic battle that he only managed to survive since he was supported by Fang Ying and the others.


    During the third day of the contest, Li Yang fought six battles, winning four and pretending to lose the other two. The opponents he faced in those two battles both had a cultivation that had reached the early stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, the Ascending Foundation stage. While it was possible for Li Yang to beat them, it would require that he show off his fusion with Jinwu and Shenlong, something he had no intention of doing.


    For a brief period, he had thought about activating the Burning Hope technique taught to him by Jing Yimu, checking if it would give him enough strength to beat the two. But in the end, he decided that there was no point in doing that, so he just pretended to put up a good fight before surrendering.


    The fourth and fifth day passed in a very similar fashion, with Li Yang losing a few fights and winning the rest. When the sixth day rolled around, Li Yang noticed that the girl who used the laws of motion had stopped participating, so he guessed that she had been sneakily snapped up by one of the sects or clans.


    It was halfway through the seventh day of the competition that a change finally happened in the usual pattern. His token lit up with the number 1, meaning that he had been called onto the central stage. And not only had he been called onto the central stage, but his opponent was also one of the newcomers that he guessed were used to gauge the actual strength of the contestants.


    The opponent he was facing this time was another girl that could only be described as an enchanting beauty. She had cyan hair that was tied into a neat ponytail, an oval and cute face, smooth and unblemished skin, and crystal clear black eyes. She was clad in a loose robe that was deep blue in color. When the two stepped onto the stage, the girl ignored the loud cheers that were calling her name, cupping her hands and giving Li Yang a polite greeting.


    "Qing Luoyang. please be careful once the battle starts."


    Qing Luoyang had hidden her cultivation so that it looked like she had only reached the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm, a point where it was unlikely that her opponents would immediately surrender. Li Yang had beaten a few such people during the contest so far, so the audience was expecting to see a nice battle. Of course, there were also quite a few that remembered his actions against Jia Xinyue during the first day, so they quickly booed him, yelling at him not to do the same to Qing Luoyang. Li Yang could only ignore the crowd, returning a polite greeting.


    "Li Yang. I will do my best."


    With the greetings over, they both immediately launched their attacks. Li Yang dashed forward like a bolt of lightning, Qing Luoyang waving her hand in response. Nothing happened when she waved her hand, making it seem like she hadn''t even bothered to put up a defense, but Li Yang knew better.


    He threw his body forward, landing on the ground with his shoulder first. When he threw himself to the ground, there was a faint breeze that passed by the back of his head, a few of his hairs getting cut loose and drifting to the ground. As he landed on the ground Li Yang froze a part of the arena and used the momentum of his previous dash to slide forward on the ice, not giving up on his attack.


    Qing Luoyang waved her hand again, forcing Yao Jun to push himself up from the ice and launch himself into the sky. Just as he left the ice, hair-thin cuts appeared in the ice, slicing it into tiny pieces. He had seen Qing Luoyang fight before so he knew that she used the law of strings and the law of wind, giving her extremely great slicing power, almost on par with the law of slicing or the law of dividing.


    Li Yang was not someone who was fond of playing passive, so after he launched himself into the air, he sent out an explosive burst of fire from beneath his feet, pushing his body forward.


    Qing Luoyang sent out several more threads at Li Yang, but he quickly clapped his hands and used another explosive burst of flames to push away the threads. He was almost within arms reach of her so he didn''t want to be forced to put distance between them again.


    When his body started to lose speed and drop down he caused several pillars of ice to rise up from the ground of the arena, using them as support. Qing Luoyang sliced them apart with her strings, but Li Yang was able to simply freeze them again, covering the arena in strangely shaped pillars.


    With a kick on one of the pillars, he was able to launch himself forward and arrive within arm''s reach of Qing Luoyang. Li Yang was well suited to close combat, while Qing Luoyang was more suited to mid-range combat, so the moment he got close, things took a bad turn for her.


    She pushed out with both her arms, forming a wave of wind to push Li Yang away, but Li Yang simply raised up a quick wall of ice to block the wind. He didn''t even lower the wall of ice to launch his attack, he simply coated his fist in crimson flames and azure lightning, punching directly through the ice and landing a hit on Qing Luoyang''s face.


    His fire and lightning scorched the side of her face, burning away half of her hair and leaving a mark on her cheek. She would be able to easily heal the mark and even regrow her hair, but as a girl who cared greatly about her appearance, having her face scarred and her hair ruined was infuriating, so she could not help but glare at Li Yang in a short outburst of rage.


    "You!"


    Her quick outburst of rage made her momentarily lost sight of what she had come here to do, swinging her arm at Li Yang to punish him for hitting her face and ruining her hair. With the arm approaching, Li Yang felt a strong sense of danger, so it was clear that Qing Luoyang had her actual strength in the attack. She quickly regained her calm and realized what she was doing, pulling back most of the strength within the attack, but it was too late to cancel the attack.


    Faced with the attack, Li Yang could only disregard the fact that he didn''t want to show too much strength, acting on instinct. He activated both his own lightning based strengthening technique as well as the Burning Hope technique taught to him but Jing Yimu, pushing him to his second strongest state. He quickly pulled back his right arm, punched upwards with his left arm, and kicked out with his right leg. His left fist made contact with the underside of Qing Luoyang''s arm, Li Yang''s law of destruction flooding into it and attacking the Qi that was prepared for her attack, eroding and disintegrating parts of it. Meanwhile, his kick landed on the wall of ice he had created, shattering the wall of ice and pushing him backward, away from Qing Luoyang''s approaching arm. The shattered wall of ice turned into shards that flew at her, but Qing Luoyang completely ignored them, looking at Li Yang and her arm with a confused expression.


    "Wha...?"


    She was certain that the amount of strength left within her arm was more than enough to kill Li Yang, he shouldn''t even have time to react properly. Yet he had not only managed to dodge the attack, but he also seemed to have weakened it during that short moment where their two arms made contact. She wanted to question further, as she was uncertain if he had actually weakened her attack, but Li Yang quickly spoke up before she got the chance.


    "Seems like I must train even harder if I wish to be able to beat you. This is my loss, I surrender."


    Li Yang cupped his fists and quickly left the arena, returning to his seat and letting out a sigh. Not only had he been forced to briefly activate his two strengthening techniques, he was even forced to use a bit of his law of destruction. Had Qing Luoyang not pulled back most of the strength in her attack, he might have been forced to even show his fusion technique if he wanted to survive the attack. In the end, he could only let out another sigh and mutter to himself.


    "Haah, let''s hope they just think it was a fluke."


    There were very few explanations that could be used to explain how Li Yang had managed to block an attack like that, one that should instantly kill him. He could only hope that the sect people believed that it was Qing Luoyang who had pulled back at the last second, giving Li Yang the chance.

 72 Joining a clan.

    The seventh day of the contest quickly ended, Li Yang breathing a quiet sigh of relief when he noticed that no one from the sects came to talk to him, it seemed like they ended up believing that it was only through Qing Luoyang''s interference that he managed to block the final attack.


    The contest quickly continued, Li Yang battling another four people who came from the sects. He made sure to put on a good show before amiably surrendering. With him keeping his head low, the last days of the contest quickly passed, the final day quickly arriving. Once dawn of the 10th day arrived, the judge that had spoken up the first day, the hunchbacked Yan Li, once again stepped onto the center stage and spoke out in a loud voice.


    "Now, the day you have all been waiting for, the finals have arrived!"


    The crowd quickly started buzzing after Yan Li spoke out. The final day was the one that featured the best battles, the fights between the strongest contestants. Yan Li waved his hand to have the audience settle down, his lips curling into a smile as he continued to talk.


    "The first battle of the day will be between the contenders for the 10th place, and then we''ll slowly make our way up from there!"


    There would only be 10 battles taking place today, the battles to determine who would take which spot within the top 10. And of course, to build more suspense, they kept the final battle for the very end. Yan Li turned towards the seating area where the remaining contestants sat, opening his arms wide and stepping back down from the stage.


    "Without further ado, let''s get the two contenders onto the stage! Li Yang, Shao Yun, please prepare yourselves!"


    It had been quite difficult for Li Yang to make sure that he showed enough strength to become one of the top 10 contenders, but at the same time hid enough as to not look suspicious, but in the end, he had managed it.


    Li Yang and his opponent, who was a tall and brown-skinned male that seemed to have reached his 30''s, stepped onto the center stage. The black-haired Shao Yun cupped his hands and gave Li Yang a slight bow, giving the standard greeting.


    "Shao Yun, let''s have a good battle."


    Shao Yun''s solemn expression contained a mixture of graveness and resignation as he looked at Li Yang. He had seen all of Li Yang''s battles, and he was very clear on the fact that he would not be able to catch Li Yang, he was simply too slow. He could only hope that Li Yang was unable to break through his defenses, leading to a stalemate he would have a chance of winning. Li Yang quickly returned the greeting, completely calm.


    "Li Yang, pleased to meet you."


    Li Yang was completely calm about this battle, as there was no chance that he would lose it. Worst case scenario and Shao Yun''s defenses were tougher than he thought, he would create a stalemate that would end with Shao Yun running out of energy.


    After they both gave their greetings, they both immediately prepared for battle. Shao Yun caused the floor of the stage to rise up, coiling around his body and forming a thick layer of armor. He then supplemented this armor bu causing the ground outside the arena to fly towards him, forming another layer of armor around him. He could not catch Li Yang with any of his attacks, so he saw no need to even bother with anything other than standing perfectly still and focusing on his defense.


    Li Yang''s body turned into a blur as he shot forward, arcs of azure lightning streaking behind him as he vanished from Shao Yun''s sight. Right after he vanished from sight, Shao Yun felt a strong impact hit his waist on the left, a fist imprint appearing in his armor.


    He quickly used the stage and the earth around it to repair the imprint, but as he did so, several more attacks landed on his body, battering him all over. Imprint after imprint appeared in his armor, small cracks starting to appear and spread. They were all quickly repaired using the stage and the earth around it, but every instance of repairing cost him a bit of Qi.


    He continued to resist the pummeling for almost five minutes, gritting his teeth and keeping an eye out for any sigh of Li Yang''s getting tired. But even after five minutes passed, Li Yang''s attacks had not slowed down in the slightest, even growing a bit faster. In the end, Shao Yun could only accept the truth, raising his arms in defeat.


    "You cannot properly break my defenses, but neither can I catch up to you. If this battle continues, it will only end in me running out of energy and losing. I surrender."


    Shao Yun was unwilling, but there was nothing he could do. He was weaker than Li Yang, so continuing the battle would only end with him collapsing to the ground exhausted, showing a shameful display. Li Yang halted his attacks, appearing in front of Shao Yun with the sound of muffled thunder. He cupped his fists and gave a slight bow, showing proper etiquette.


    "Your defenses truly were something."


    Looking at Li Yang, Shao Yun felt like cursing at the difference between them. He had already started getting a bit tired from continuously repairing his armor, but Li Yang had not even broken a sweat, his breathing wasn''t rushed in the slightest, as if he had not just spent the last five minutes pummeling Shao Yun.


    Shao Yun''s cultivation was at the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm, he was just a single step away from breaking through to the Ascending Heaven realm. He had a higher cultivation than Li Yang, but Li Yang had an advantage in experience and elemental purity. While his own elements were currently still in their weakest stages, he could draw upon Shenlong and Jinwu''s greatly strengthened elements, using them to compress and purify his own Qi, making it both stronger and making it last longer.


    With Shao Yun declaring his surrender, the battle had obviously ended. Yan Li once again walked onto the stage, heading to Li Yang and raising his arm up high, letting out a slight sigh as he spoke to the audience.


    "A bit anticlimactic, but that''s the end of the first battle! The winner is Li Yang, and as the one who has taken the 10th spot, he has earned the right to take part in the grand competition that the Huo clan is setting up. Let''s give him a round of applause for the show he put on!"


    The crowd quickly started cheering, but as the battle had been quite dull to them, the cheering was rather subdued. After Shao Yun and Li Yang stepped down from the stage, Yan Li fished an orange cloud shaped tablet out from his interspatial ring, handing the table to Li Yang and explaining its use.


    "This is the emblem to prove that you have taken the 10th spot and have earned the right to take part in the competition. When the competition starts, take this emblem to the Broken Rapid''s city and hand it to Huo Guanting, he is in charge of accommodating people like you."


    The tablet was engraved with the image of the Huo clan, as well as several numbers. One of the numbers showed which of the contests he had taken part in, and the other number showed what rank he had gotten. As Broken Rapid''s was one of the largest cities owned by the Huo clan, the map he had bought spoke quite a bit about it, so he knew exactly where it was placed.


    Li Yang accepted the token, storing it into his interspatial ring and thanking Yan Li. After Yan Li returned to the stage to start the next battle, Li Yang left the plaza and returned to his lodgings. He took a warm shower and put on some fresh clothing, sharing a warm meal with Jinwu and Shenlong. He had done his part, now he only needed to wait for the people of the sects to come to him. And if none of the sects or clans wanted him, he had already earned the right to participate in the grand competition, so he would only have to find some other way to gather resources.


    Li Yang had to wait for a bit of time, five sect people coming to find him in the evening after all the other battles had taken place. Li Yang actually recognized all the people that had arrived, they had all been amongst the newcomers that had taken part in the contest. They didn''t even bother to knock on the door, simply entering the room where he was quietly cultivating, stating the conditions they were willing to offer him.


    The first one to speak up was a short, blonde haired man clad in a light green robe with the mark of the Tian clan, a tall mountain that pierced a lone cloud.


    "Li Yang, the Tian clan is willing to accept you as a provisional disciple."


    The second one to speak up was a somewhat chubby man with long black hair and round cheeks. He was clad in white robes marked with the emblem of the Endless Horizon Sect, a forest that seemed to continue into eternity.


    "Li Yang, the Endless Horizon sect is also willing to accept you as a provisional disciple."


    The third one that spoke up was a muscular woman with a bald head and the image of a bear tattooed onto her scalp. She was clad in a robe that seemed to be made out of the hide of a bear, leaving her collarbones exposed. Her collarbones bore a tattoo in the shape of the Myriad Beast sect mark, a roaring lion.


    "Li Yang, the Myriad Beast sect is willing to accept you as an outer disciple in charge of two provisional disciples."


    The fourth person that spoke up was a man with short azure hair and strangely amber eyes. He was clad in deep blue robes that bore the mark of the Duan clan, a massive waterfall that fell into a vast ocean.


    "Li Yang, the Duan clan is also willing to accept you as an outer disciple. If you join us, we will give you three servants."


    The last person to speak up was the one Li Yang was most familiar with, as he had fought her once before, the cyan-haired Qing Luoyang. But looking at her robes, which were a light yellow in color and bore the mark of a wolf howling at the distant moon, the mark of the Yuan clan, he guessed that her name might actually be Yuan Luoyang.


    "Li Yang, if you join the Yuan clan, you will immediately be accepted as an outer disciple, and in one year we will let you take the trial to become an inner disciple."


    The other people that had extended their offers to Li Yang were quite surprised at the generous conditions that Yuan Luoyang was offering. Most disciples had to spend quite some time in the clan, completing many missions and providing meritious deeds before they could get the chance to become an inner disciple. Yet the Yuan clan was willing to give Li Yang this chance almost instantly?


    But they did not know that it was Yuan Luoyang who had proposed this to her elders. The elders were confused at how insistent she was, but in the end, gave in to her demands. The reason she had done this was that the more she thought back to that last move Li Yang had used to defend against her attack, the more shocked, even slightly fearful, she became. That one instant where her attack had weakened kept replaying in her mind.


    At first, she had been uncertain if he had actually weakened her attack, but after going over the scene time and time again, carefully examining her arm, she became certain that he had indeed weakened her attack. And beyond that, she had also noticed a tiny mark on one of the veins within her arm, so small that they were almost unnoticeable. She was certain that the mark wasn''t there before, so it could only mean one thing. During the short instant where they had made contact, not only had Li Yang managed to weaken her attack, he had even created a tiny wound on one of her veins.


    For him to be able to do all that despite his young age, it was clear that he was hiding away quite a bit of his strength. Yuan Luoyang did not care about why Li Yang was hiding his strength, all she cared about was that he could be useful to the Yuan clan, maybe even one day allowing them to rise in the ranks amongst the clans and sects. After being given all the offers, Li Yang did not spend too much time thinking about his response, cupping his hands at Yuan Luoyang.


    "Alright, since the Yuan clan is willing to offer such conditions, it would be uncouth of me to not join."


    Li Yang didn''t even bother thinking about the offer of the Tian clan and the Endless Horizon sect. Disciples among the clans and sects were ranked into Provisional, Outer, Inner, Core, and Private disciples. Core disciples were the disciples of elders, while private disciples were the disciples of the current clan leaders, as well as the previous generations of leaders. Outer and inner disciples mostly didn''t have any single masters but were instead taught by several different ones.


    Provisional disciples, on the other hand, were basically servants that had to follow the whims of anyone within the clan. Even if they were killed or crippled, it was unlikely for the clan to do anything. Yet despite this, none of the clans lacked provisional disciples, as countless people dreamed of making their way up through the ranks of the clan and were willing to risk it.


    After Li Yang gave his answer, the rejected parties could only shrug their shoulders and leave. Li Yang was just a single youngster, so they didn''t care too much about his rejection. Yuan Luoyang''s lips curled into a smile, giving a light clap of her hands as she spoke up.


    "Wonderful! Once dawn arrives, you can meet me at the plaza, we will use a spatial array to head directly to the Yuan clan."


    After telling him where to meet her, Yuan Luoyang also left the room, likely to extend an invitation to a few other people. Li Yang simply returned to his quiet cultivation, waiting for the night to pass. Now he had managed to secure a spot in the grand competition, and he had also managed to join a clan that would give him a steady supply of resources, so he only had to wait for the competition to begin.


    Once dawn arrived, Li Yang left his room and returned to the plaza where the contest had taken place. There were several groups spread throughout the plaza, but Li Yang quickly spotted Yuan Luoyang, heading over to her. Standing around Yuan Luoyang were five other youths that were already members of the clan, as well as two elders and the three other newcomers that were going to join the clan.


    Li Yang recognized the three newcomers, one was the girl that used the rudimentary version of the law of motions, the other was the boy that used the law of sound, and the third one was a girl that used the law of wood and the law of plants. The law of plants wasn''t too useful in frontal combat, but it could allow one to easily grow various herbs that could be used to make poisons or medicines. Thanks to that, anyone who used the law of plants was a fearsome foe, always carrying some strange potions or medicines.


    Of the three other newcomers, the two girls were both accepted as outer disciples, while the boy was accepted as a provisional disciple. Li Yang seemed to be the last one that arrived, one of the two elders, a man who had hair that was half brown and half cyan, nodding his head and speaking up.


    "Good, you have all arrived. Follow me."


    The elder started walking towards a tall building located a short distance away from the plaza, a building that had a golden five-clawed dragon statue coiling around it, a building belonging to the Royal Dragon Pavilion.


    After entering the building, the elder showed a silver pendant in the shape of a crescent moon to the receptionist that greeted them. The receptionist quickly nodded his head, taking the group over to the stairs that led to the second floor. Rather than take the stairs up, the man led them behind the stairs, to a well-hidden door on the floor.


    The group entered the door, following a flight of stairs down into the earth, entering a simple square shaped room. The room was completely empty, the walls, floor, and ceiling covered in winding runes that formed a complex picture. The receptionist did not follow them down the stairs, so only the people of the Yuan clan were in the room.


    The elder brought out the silver pendant once again, holding it against the floor and channeling his Qi into it. The myriad of runes lit up with a silver light, space within the room stretching and twisting, coiling around everyone within the room as their vision turned gray and blurry.


    Space continued to twist and coil around the group for a few minutes before suddenly stopping. When space stopped twisting around them and they regained their vision, the group now found themselves standing atop a tall hill. Spreading out in front of them was a vast forest, a few lakes spread throughout the forest. Standing at the center of the forest was a massive mountain that stretched into the sky, the peak obscured by the clouds.


    The three other newcomers looked at the vast forest and the massive mountain with their mouths agape, continuously sweeping the area with their eyes. The elder with half brown and half cyan hair let out a light chuckle upon seeing their reactions, pointing at some of the log huts spread throughout the forest.


    "Spectacular, isn''t it? That is your future home, the headquarters of the Yuan clan."


    Not only were there huts spread throughout the forest, the closer one got to the massive mountain, the more luxurious the huts became. Li Yang could also tell that the Qi within the air here was far denser than it was in Fire Cloud city, so it was likely that the entire area was surrounded by at least one massive array. He also guessed that the closer you got to the mountain, the denser the Qi would become. The elder with the strange hair put on a serious face, giving the newcomers a solemn reminder.


    "From this day forward, the lot of you are members of the Yuan clan, with all the advantages and disadvantages that it brings with it. We won''t interfere in battles between the younger generation, but if someone from the older generation were to step forward, we would fight back with all our might. At the same time, should the Yuan clan face a calamity, you are all expected to lay your lives on the line and fight alongside us."


    The three newcomers quickly swallowed their saliva, deeply nodding their heads. Li Yang had already expected this, so he simply gave a quick nod to show that he understood. After making sure that the new disciples understood, the elder went on to explain a little about their duties, as well as their rewards.


    "Provisional disciples will have to clear one clan mission every month, as well as take up one job inside the clan, otherwise they will be kicked out. At the same time, you will receive 100 Mortal grade Spirit Stones every month. Every mission you complete will also earn you contribution points, points you can use to buy better lodgings, resources, weapons, or cultivation manuals."


    100 Mortal grade Spirit Stones was nothing to Li Yang, but to the three other newcomers, who were nothing but normal villagers, it was enough to be considered a fortune. After explaining about provisional disciples, the elder turned toward Li Yang and the two girls, explaining about outer disciples.


    "Outer disciples on the other hand only have to clear one clan mission ever six months, and they won''t have to take up any jobs within the clan. As long as you do not commit any crimes against the clan, you will not be kicked out. Every month you will receive 10 Spirit grade Spirit Stones, and once a year you will receive one bowl of spiritual fruits or other resources that can be used to purify your Qi and help with cultivation."


    Spiritual fruits were simply fruits that had been grown in an environment where Qi was abundant, causing them to absorb it and gain certain special effects. The two girls could not help but salivate slightly when they heard about the fruits they would get, while the boy could only look at them with envy. Since they had been told the most basic of information, it was time for them to be brought to their lodgings, so the elder pointed at two of the youths that were already disciples.


    "The provisional disciple can follow Yuan Meng, the outer disciples can follow Yuan Luoyang, they will take you to your lodgings. At dawn tomorrow, they will also come to pick you up and lead you to the place where you will officially join the clan."


    Yuan Meng, a male youth with short brown hair and cyan colored eyes, beckoned over the lone boy, bringing him into the forest and heading toward one of the log huts. Yuan Luoyang also beckoned Li Yang and the two girls to follow her, the two elders and the remaining disciples heading towards the massive mountain.


    Yuan Luoyang led the three people a bit into the forest, stopping at the shore of a small lake that was located about 20 kilometers into the forest. The lake was almost four kilometers across, 15 small houses located in the area around the southern half of the shore. The three people were assigned the three houses that were furthest away from the lake, making them neighbors in the future. After settling the two girls, which were called Cheng Xun and Qiao Ping, Yuan Luoyang brought Li Yang to his house. The two stopped outside the house, which was a few tens of meters in width and length, Yuan Luoyang shrugging her shoulders.


    "This will be your home for the future. After officially joining the clan, you can come to look for me in the inner disciple area if there is anything you need. I''d say you should come to look for me if someone is bullying you, but I doubt you need my help with that."


    For Li Yang to be able to leave a small wound on her vein, she guessed that he likely had the power to become an inner disciple. Compared to the inner disciples, the outer disciples here were quite a bit weaker. Li Yang simply cupped his hands and thanked Yuan Luoyang, not giving any sort of reply to her statement.


    The two split up, Yuan Luoyang heading towards the mountain, and Li Yang entering the house. The inside of the house was very simple, containing a well-stocked kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a living room where he could meet with guests. Li Yang let Jinwu and Shenlong explore the house and the area around the building, while he himself started working on making some food. With Jinwu and Shenlong exploring the surrounding area, he didn''t have to scout the surroundings, as they would do it for him. All he had to do now was wait for tomorrow, and after that, he could focus on gathering up resources to fuel his cultivation.

 73 Yuan clan

    Once dawn rolled around, Yuan Luoyang picked up Li Yang and the two girls that had become outer disciples alongside him, bringing them deeper into the forest. As cultivators, they were far faster than the average person, so they quickly reached the mountain located at the center of the forest, passing by some smaller mountains that were hidden using arrays, most likely training grounds.


    The foot of the mountain was paved with a thin layer of dark yellow stones that released a constant stream of faint warmth. There were a few small houses around the foot of the mountain, with more buildings appearing higher up the mountainside. The place where Yuan Luoyang brought them was one of the open areas located between the buildings, probably a small plaza where disciples could gather to sell some of their items.


    Li Yang could see a few disciples clad in the yellow robes of the Yuan clan, but they only sent a quick glance at Li Yang and the two girls, quickly returning to their own business, with only a select few sticking around to check out the new disciples.


    Standing in the middle of the small plaza was the elder with the half brown and half cyan hair, 10 other youths, as well as one unfamiliar elder that released a strong pressure. Yuan Luoyang brought them to the front of the elder with the strange hair, the elder giving her a nod and then addressing the new disciples, introducing the unfamiliar elder next to him.


    "Good, you have all arrived. This is Eighth Elder Yuan Qigang, he is the one who will officially initiate you into the clan."


    Yuan Qigang had a tall body, his back completely straight and upright. His hair was a bright white in color, but it looked like fine silk, swaying in the wind. He had long eyebrows that were as white as his hair, and deep brown eyes. Yuan Qigang nodded at Li Yang and the others, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out an orb made out of yellow jade.


    "Alright children, come up to me one by one, state your name, age, as well as your laws. I will then extract some of your blood and store it into a jade like this, allowing us to know if you were to perish. I will then mark you with the mark of our clan, allowing everyone from the other clans and sects to know that you are already members of the Yuan clan."


    Yuan Qigang released a mighty pressure, but Li Yang could tell that he was actually doing his best to hold the pressure back so as to not scare them. He simply didn''t seem to be used to hiding away the pressure that his cultivation brought about. After Yuan Qigang finished talking, Li Yang and the others quickly walked forward and did as they were ordered.


    "Cheng Xun, 26, the law of motion and the law of wind."


    "Qiao Ping, 21, the law of plants and the law of wood."


    "Li Yang, 14, the law of fire, the law of ice, and the law of lightning."


    Li Yang wasn''t quite 14 yet, but half a year or so made no difference to him. Yuan Qigang and the others were rather surprised at Li Yang''s age, especially Yuan Luoyang and the 10 other youths waiting behind Yuan Qigang. If it was someone who was diligently raised by a clan, it wouldn''t be much to have Li Yang''s strength at his age. But Li Yang was simply a child from some village, so it was quite shocking for him to have his achievements at his age.


    After they stated their information, Yuan Qigang tapped the air with his finger, a drop of blood pushing itself out from the fingers of Li Yang and the two girls. Two more orbs of yellow jade appeared within Yuan Qigang''s hand, each drop of blood dripping down on a different orb.


    Once the blood dripped onto the orbs, it sank into them, causing the jade to light up with a faint light. The orbs cracked down the middle, splitting into two parts. One part flew into the chests of Li Yang and the girls, while the other half stayed with Yuan Qigang. When the jade sank into his body, Li Yang felt a faint stream of energy seep out from the jade and into his head. With the energy settling in his head, he was now able to sense a similar energy within the other people around him, marking them as people from the same sect. After Li Yang and the two girls got used to the sensation of feeling the others around them, Yuan Qigang clapped his hands and spoke up.


    "Congratulations, you are all now official members of my Yuan clan. In the future, I hope that you will consider it a second home where you can lay down your burdens and ease your weary bodies. Teng, I will leave the dividing of the manpower to you."


    The Teng that Yuan Qigang spoke to was the elder with the strange hair, Yuan Teng. After Yuan Qigang tossed the remaining responsibility to Yuan Teng, he said his farewells to the disciples, flying into the air and toward the peak of the mountain. Once Yuan Qigang vanished from sight, Yuan Teng waved the 10 youths standing behind him over, introducing them.


    "Standing behind me are several provisional disciples as well as one other outer disciple, Jiang Chen. In the future, these provisional disciples will be considered your servants, so take good care of them. If you feel like it, you can also teach them a little about cultivation. Jiang Chen will guide you around the clan, as well as explain anything that you will need to know. He joined the clan before you, so you must refer to him as Senior Brother Chen."


    Jiang Chen had a bit of a short stature and was a bit chubby, but he had smooth and delicate skin, almost like a woman''s. He had black hair that hung down to his ears, the hair tied into a neat bun at the back of his head. After briefly introducing the 10 people behind him, Yuan Teng turned to Jiang Chen.


    "Junior Chen, I trust that you know your duties?"


    Jiang Chen had already expected all the responsibility to be dumped onto him so he quickly put on a smile, giving Yuan Teng a bow and assuring him.


    "Please don''t worry, Elder Teng, I will educate them well, so you can rest easy."


    Yuan Teng nodded his head in appreciation, giving Li Yang and the others one last quick glance before he flew into the air and vanished up the mountain. As an esteemed elder, he found it beneath him to guide around a bunch of outer disciples. Jiang Chen let out a loud sigh after Yuan Teng vanished from sight, rolling his shoulders and speaking up.


    "Alright, now it''s just us. Jeez, standing in front of the elders is always so suffocating. Rivergrass, Ji Shun, and Blackstone, the three of you can follow Junior Brother Yang in the future. Cloudfall, Shentu, Liang Su, the three of you can follow Junior Sister Ping. Riverflow, Rainsong, Fireheart, the three of you follow Junior Sister Xun. Listen to their orders and do your best to aid them."


    Jiang Chen swiftly divided up the nine provisional disciples, not even bothering to check what they or Li Yang and the others wanted. Of the three that were given to Li Yang, Rivergrass and Ji shun were women, while Blackstone was a man. Looking at the three that were handed to him, Li Yang could easily tell why they were only provisional disciples.


    Rivergrass seemed to be in her late thirties, had deep blue hair and graceful features, and light blue eyes. Ji Shun seemed to be in her early thirties, had smooth and somewhat pale skin, chestnut brown hair, and black eyes. Blackstone seemed to have already reached his forties, had pitch black hair, slightly scarred skin, and black eyes, perfectly fitting his name. Li Yang was unable to sense the clan energy from these three, so it seemed that provisional disciples weren''t counted as actual disciples.


    All three of them had reached the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm, only a small step away from the Ascending Heaven realm. Blackstone didn''t seem to be all that content with ending up under the care of Li Yang, but as a provisional disciple, he could only swallow his discontent. If he did end up becoming too rebellious, Li Yang would simply have to beat him into shape.


    After the provisional disciples lined up behind their future caretakers, Jiang Chen gave a nod of his head, giving Li Yang and the two girls a light reminder.


    "They are only provisional disciples but do your best to take good care of them, keep the abuse to a minimum. Just like Elder Teng said, I am Jiang Chen, or Senior Brother Chen to you. Let''s bring the provisional disciples to your houses, and then I can start the guiding."


    As newcomers, Li Yang and the two girls listened to Jiang Chen''s suggestion, all of them quickly heading through the forest and to their houses by the lake. After Li Yang let his three servants enter his house, Jiang Chen furrowed his brows slightly, pointing at Li Yang''s wolfskin robes.


    "Junior Brother Yang, I suggest you change clothing, otherwise you might attract some trouble."


    Li Yang slightly raised one of his eyebrows, glancing at his own robes. He still wore the custom ordered robes that looked like violet wolfskin, having gotten a bit attached to them. There was also the fact that Jinwu and Shenlong were used to these robes, so if he was to change robes, he wanted to at least be given a good reason.


    "Are robes like these against the rules of the clan?"


    Li Yang didn''t want to stir up too much trouble, he just wanted to acquire resources and raise his strength before the competition. Jiang Chen''s expression turned complex for a second, but he shook his head to Li Yang''s question, explaining the reason for his statement.


    "Not at all. It''s just the fact that the robes resemble the clothing that the Beast Lovers, disciples of the Myriad Beast sect, wear. The Myriad Beast sect is tied with the Yuan clan for the fourth spot in the sect rankings, so we often end up clashing. Over the course of all these clashes, quite a few disciples have died, so our relationship is currently at the bottom, with quite a few disciples growing to hate the Myriad Beast sect. We don''t currently have any ongoing battles, everyone saving their strength for the grand competition, so some disciples might end up unleashing some of their pent-up anger on you if they see you wearing robes like that."


    Wherever there was more than one great power, there would always be competition and ranking of their might. The Duan, Huo, and Tian clan held on tightly to the top three spots, but the fourth-ranked spot was shared between the Yuan clan and the Myriad Beast sect.


    To prevent the clans from starting any massive battles between each other, battles that might wipe out either of them, the higher-ups had decided to let the younger generation battle each other, using them to see who would hold onto the fourth-ranked year after year. After hearing the explanation, Li Yang gave a short nod of his head.


    "I see, thanks for the warning, I''ll go change before we continue."


    The reasoning was sound, and since LiYang did not want to attract too much trouble just for a robe, he entered his house and put on one of the Yuan clan robes that were already stored inside the house. After he switched robe, the group of four started to walk through the forest, Jiang Chen starting his explanation of the clan.


    "The area of the clan is divided up quite simply, with the outer 20 kilometers of the forest housing the provisional disciples, the rest of the forest housing the outer disciples, and the mountain itself housing all the other disciples. I suggest staying away from the provisional disciple area, as they might swarm you and beg you for the chance to become your servants, it''s quite a common thing for them to do."


    Even if it was shameful to beg for the chance to become a servant, the truth was that almost 90 % of the provisional disciples would never be able to become outer disciples. But if they managed to become the servant of an outer disciple, they might get the chance to get some leftover resources and guidance, drastically increasing their chances of becoming an outer disciple.


    "Except for the core and private disciples, each of the other grades of disciples all have five different leaders that have divided said grades into different groups, creating a total of 15 different miniature associations within the clan. The higher-ups know of this, but since it creates a bit of healthy competition, they have elected to quietly allow it."


    No matter how unified an organization was, different groups would always sprout up sooner or later, those with similar ideas gathering together. And not only did it create competition that would promote growth, but it would also make it easier to control everything. Rather than try to control all the disciples, they would only have to control the disciples that ruled the other disciples, saving them a lot of work.


    "I''m not gonna bother talking about the five leaders of the provisional disciples, as you will have next to nothing to do with them. But the five leaders of the outer disciples and the five leaders of the inner disciples are people you should know about."


    Unless an outer disciple truly messed up something, they would not get demoted to becoming a provisional disciple, so it was not wrong to say that they would have nothing to do with the provisional disciples. But there was one thing that would always exist side by side with rulers.


    "The outer disciples are led by Senior Brother Wuying, Senior Brother Huang, Senior Brother Tai, Senior Sister Yijun, and Senior Brother Fen. They are the five strongest outer disciples, with each of them ruling one part of the forest. If you want your life in the clan to be easier, I suggest you just quietly pay the tax they want you to pay. They should send some goons to collect the tax once the monthly Spirit Stones arrive, so in about three days."


    Wherever there were rulers, there were taxes. While killing and crippling other disciples was forbidden, causing them a bit of pain and making things difficult for them was very easy. Jiang Chen seemed to suddenly remember something, his expression a bit queer as he turned towards the two girls.


    "Looking at where your houses were located, you fall under the domain of Senio Sister Yijun, so I suggest that Junior Sister Ping and Junior Sister Xun request to be moved further to the east of the forest, out from her domain."


    Cheng Xun and Qiao Ping looked rather confused at the strange suggestion, Li Yang also growing a bit interested. Jiang Chen stopped walking and swept the surrounding forest with a quick gaze, leaning in a bit closer to whisper.


    "Senior Sister Yijun is usually a refined and gentle woman, if a bit of a drama queen at times. But she is quite fond of girls, especially fresh and young girls like the two of you. So for your chastities sake, I highly recommend you change housing, or just hide whenever Senior Sister Yijun is out and about."


    Cheng Xun''s and Qiao Ping''s expression changed a bit after hearing the truth about Yijun, but Li Yang didn''t find anything strange about it. He had met men who liked men, women who liked Demonic beasts, even men who only like normal animals. For someone''s sexual preferences to shock him, it would take quite a bit. After delivering the warning to the two girls, Jiang Chen continued with his explanation of the clan.


    "As for the five leaders of the inner disciples, they are Senior Sister Nuang, Senior Sister Jiao, Senior Sister Yong, Senior Brother Fang, and Senior Brother Long. As the top dogs of the inner disciples, they rarely interact with us outer disciples, but should someone come and mention any of those names, I suggest to just listen to their orders, don''t assume that they are lying and risk it, it''s not worth it."


    It was not completely out of the question that a goon working for one of the five inner disciple leaders could come out here and snatch up a disciple, forcing them to help with whatever task they were working on. After telling the newcomers about the most important people to keep in mind, Jiang Chen decided that it was time to start actually telling them about the various locations within the clan.


    "But enough about that, let''s talk about the various places within the clan that you should keep in mind! The most important places are the mission control building, the arena, the training grounds, and finally the storehouse."


    The ears of Li Yang and the two girls perked up, so as to not miss a word. Jiang Chen quickly brought them deeper into the forest, until they reached a location that was about 50 kilometers away from the central mountain. The trees here were very sparse, so it was easy to see everything in the surroundings, so when Jiang Chen pointed at a massive building, it was impossible to not see it.


    "See that house over there, the one that looks like a massive yellow dome? That is the mission control building, its where you can accept and deliver clan missions, earning contribution points based on the rank of the mission. Some disciples take on a bunch of missions to temper themselves and earn rewards, others, on the other hand, prefer to only take on the required missions, cultivating in peace."


    The mission control building looked like someone had buried a ball halfway into the ground, with only the top half visible. The entire dome was covered in runes that coiled around each other, looking like serpents that were trying to fight each other. After showing them the mission control building, he took them to the forest that was north of the central mountain, pointing at another mountain that had been cut in half horizontally.


    "The arena is located over there, it''s that mountain that has been shaved in half. The arena is the place where you can challenge the top-ranked disciples in an attempt to take over their spot, or if you have any feuds with other clan members that can only end when either of you dies, you will have to request for permission to use the arena for a death match. Other than these two purposes, the arena is mostly used for live combat training, as well as gambling matches, so you might be able to earn a pretty penny there."


    The arena was the perfect place for disciples to test how much their strength had improved, allowing them to challenge other disciples that they could use to gauge their own strength. After checking out the arena, Jiang Chen brought them back to the foot of the central mountain, pointing at a massive pagoda located a bit up the mountain


    "The storehouse is that pagoda over there, the black one that is located halfway up the central mountain. That is where you can go to exchange your contribution points or Spirit Stones for resources or cultivation manuals. The higher up the pagoda you go, the more valuable the items become."


    Li Yang made sure to get a good look at the pagoda, as this was where he would acquire the resources he was looking for. After giving them a good look at the pagoda, Jiang Chen didn''t lead them further into the forest. Instead, he pointed toward the distant mission control building that was still faintly visible.


    "And finally, the training grounds. They are a bit harder to guide you to, as they are spread all around the clan. We have training grounds for almost all types of laws, so I suggest you just head to mission control and have them direct you toward the training ground you are looking for, it''ll save you the searching."


    For a clan as large as the Yuan clan, it was not hard for them to create multiple training grounds filled with a wide variety of elements. And while this forest didn''t look like a good place for most of those training grounds, the Yuan clan was far larger than just this forest, this forest was merely the tip of the iceberg. After pointing at the mission control building, Jiang Chen clapped his hands and announced the end of the tour.


    "And that''s it, those were all the important places and information that you newbies needed to know. Should something pop up, or you rise in the ranks, you will probably be told about it then, but there is no point in confusing you with all that now. Just focus on cultivating and increasing your strength, make the clan proud."


    After speaking., Jiang Chen did not bother staying around any longer, swiftly vanishing into the forest. Li Yang and the two girls were only newcomers, as long as they knew the most essential information, it would count as Jiang Chen doing his job. Since he had now completed his job, he was free to return to his own house and servants, focusing on preparing for the upcoming Huo clan competition.


    The two girls were a bit caught off guard at Jiang Chen''s swift retreat, as his guiding tour had only lasted a few hours. They had just joined the clan, so they thought that they would be guided and led a bit more than that. Li Yang on the other hand simply bade the two girls farewell and returned to his own house. First, he would get a day of rest, then he would start accepting missions to gather up contribution points.

 74 Sect eradication mission.

    When Li Yang returned to his own house, the three provisional disciples that were assigned to him were still standing in the living-room, nervously waiting. Even though Jiang Chen said to keep the abuse to a minimum, it was still quite normal for the provisional disciples that worked as servants to be treated rather poorly, especially the beautiful women. Because of that, when Li Yang walked into the house, they rapidly gave him a nervous greeting.


    "Senior Brother Yang, welcome back."


    Li Yang glanced at the three servants, Rivergrass, Blackstone, and Ji Shun. In his past life, he had never had any servants or slaves, so he had no idea how he should treat them. In the end, he gave a nod of his head, deciding to treat them in a manner he felt that Fang Ying would find suitable.


    "Right, I should probably prepare something for you."


    After speaking, he swiped his interspatial ring, quickly rummaging through its contents for something suitable. He quickly found what he was looking for, transferring the items to an empty interspatial ring and tossing it to Rivergrass.


    "Take these, you can set them up somewhere close to this building."


    Rivergrass quickly checked the contents of the interspatial ring, her face turning shocked. She handed the ring to the two others and allowed them to see the contents, their expressions also turning rather shocked. Ji Shuren held the ring tightly, her voice a bit uncertain as she looked at Li Yang.


    "We... Can stay in this area?"


    Within the interspatial ring were three small wooden huts, portable homes prepared by some of the cultivators that Li Yang had killed before coming to this clan. The reason Ji Shuren and the others were shocked was that it was normal for the servants to stay in their own homes, forced to move between the provisional disciple area and the house of the disciple that they served.


    But compared to the provisional disciple area, the Qi within the outer disciple area was denser and more abundant, it was far better to live here than it was to live in the provisional disciple area. Li Yang ignored their shock, giving a light shrug of his shoulders.


    "Why shouldn''t you? You were assigned to me, so for the foreseeable future, you are my people. Having you nearby will make it easier for me to call upon you, or help you if there should ever be a need."


    Even if he wasn''t treating them in a manner he felt Fang Ying would find suitable, Li Yang still wouldn''t treat these servants poorly. He might not care too much about them, but that didn''t change the fact that they worked for him, they were his people. The three servants quickly gave Li Yang a deep bow upon hearing his casual response.


    "Thank you, Senior Brother Yang!"


    Their thoughts were moving rapidly as they bowed. If they got to live and cultivate here in the outer disciple area, perhaps a bit of abuse wasn''t too terrible. After they finished their bow, Li Yang seemed to think of something, glancing at the three of them.


    "Right, who among you knows how to cook?"


    Li Yang himself had lived for quite a long time in his past life, but he had always had Fang Ying by his side that could cook for him, so he wasn''t a great cook, only knowing the basics. After a short second of confusion, the black-haired and scarred Blackstone stepped forward, raising his right arm.


    "Of the three of us, I am a bit better at cooking."


    Li Yang gave a slight nod, once again rummaging through the items in his interspatial ring. He simply took a bunch of ingredients and tossed them into an empty interspatial ring, tossing it to Blackstone.


    "Alright, make some food for us out of this. Four normal portions and two large ones."


    Blackstone hurriedly caught the ring, checking the contents. After seeing the myriad number of ingredients, most of them being normal ones that could be found in any city, he couldn''t help but tilt his head.


    "You want to eat?"


    Cultivators needed much less food than others. Even Li Yang, who was only at the late stage of the Houtian Rune realm, could go for around half a year without food. And the moment you stepped into the Immortal Rebirth realm, there was no longer any need for food, you could sustain yourself on Qi alone. Because of that, cultivators either ate very rarely or only ate food that contained large amounts of Qi. Facing the confused Blackstone, Li Yang spoke up with a tone that seemed to imply that what he was saying was common sense.


    "Of course I want to eat, eating is one of the greatest joys us cultivators can have."


    Being a cultivator was nerve-wracking, especially for the ones that could live for many years. One was in constant danger of being attacked because of an old grudge or because someone wanted to steal your treasures. Because of that, it was important to find something that would help you relax. For Li Yang, those things were Fang Ying''s cooking and her music.


    Blackstone didn''t ask any more questions, quickly entering the kitchen to start cooking. While he did that, Rivergrass set the table, and Ji Shun set up the three small huts that Li Yang had given them. Li Yang had said to make four normal portions and two large ones, so Rivergrass assumed that he wanted them to eat with him, setting up plates for them as well.


    Blackstone quickly finished the cooking, carrying some stew, soup, roasted vegetables, and roasted meat to the table. He placed the two large portions of food on the floor, guessing that they were for Li Yang''s two pets. He thought he had done the right thing, but his heart skipped a beat when he saw that Li Yang''s eyebrows furrowed when he saw the two plates on the floor.


    Li Yang picked up the two plates and placed them on the table, one on the left of his plate, and the other on his right. Jinwu and Shenlong jumped onto the table, quickly digging into the food. Rivergrass and the others seemed to find this highly unusual, as Rivergrass seemed to want to say something.


    "Senior Brother Yang, your pe..."


    She knew that Li Yang came from some tribe somewhere, so she wanted to say that it was common for the pets to eat on the floor, allowing the table to stay clean. But before she got to finish her sentence, Li Yang cut her off.


    "They''re not pets, they are brothers, and they will be treated as such."


    Jinwu had been with him since he started his cultivation journey in this world, and Shenlong and Huanglong were born from his and Fang Ying''s blood. If anyone dared called them pets, he would immediately strike that person down. Rivergrass and the two others quickly nodded their heads to show their understanding, only sitting down at the table after Li Yang beckoned for them to do so.


    The group quickly finished eating, Ji Shun clearing the table and Rivergrass washing the dishes. They moved quite smoothly, so it seemed like they had some experience with working as servants or maids. Once the sun set and even came, there was a knock on the door of Li Yang''s house.


    "Is this the abode of Junior Brother Li Yang?"


    The voice that called out was unfamiliar, so Li Yang walked to the entrance and opened the door. Standing outside was a blonde-haired male youth clad in the yellow robes of the Yuan clan. The youth sent him a polite smile, so Li Yang gave him a slight nod.


    "That would be me."


    The blonde haired youth returned a polite nod, introducing himself and handing over a leather belt with a round piece of white jade embedded into it. Looking at it, it seemed to be a type of storage treasure, just like an interspatial ring.


    "Good evening, I am Geng Jiayin, your Senior Brother. Senior Sister Luoyang asked me to deliver these to you and the other newcomers. You weren''t supposed to get these for another three days, but Senior Sister Luoyang had them push it forward."


    Li Yang couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow at Geng Jiayin''s words. It seemed like Yuan Luoyang held him in a rather high regard, could it be that she had really sensed something during their last clash? Even if she did, it didn''t seem like she was interested in prying too deeply, looking to instead foster a good relationship. Li Yang accepted the belt, cupping his hands at Geng Jiayin.


    "I see, please tell her that I am grateful."


    Geng Jiayin was only supposed to deliver the items, so he politely cupped his hands and then headed toward the houses of Cheng Xun and Qiao Ping. Li Yang closed the door and returned to the bedroom, giving the contents of the belt a quick glance.


    Other than the 10 Spirit grade Spirit Stones that they would get each month, the annual basket of resources had also been sent over. The contents of the baskets were mostly herbs or medicines that one could use to purify their body, preparing it for the Immortal Rebirth stage. They were mostly used by cultivators at the Ascending Gate stage, but they were also very useful to the current Li Yang.


    Li Yang put the items into his own interspatial ring, returning to quietly resting and preparing for tomorrow. Once the light of the sun shone in through the window of his room, he opened his eyes and took a quick shower. He put on a fresh robe and left the house, a voice greeting him the moment he closed the door behind him.


    "Good morning, Junior Brother Yang."


    Li Yang glanced at the one that greeted him, finding two youths, one male and one female, waiting for him outside his home. The male was rather tall and had short brown hair, while the female was a more average height and had short black hair. Li Yang didn''t feel like wasting too much time right now, so he cut straight to the chase.


    "Can I help you with anything?"


    He had a slight hunch at who these two were, or at least who they worked for, but he wasn''t completely certain. The male youth cupped his hands in greeting, following Li Yang''s example and moving right on to business.


    "I am Long Jucai and this is Yuan Lanxia, we have come here under the orders of Senior Sister Yijun. She would like you to please hand over the monthly tax, a mere 5 Spirit grade Spirit Stones and a vial of Marrow-Washing Dew."


    Li Yang couldn''t help but let out a slight sound after hearing the demands. This ''tax'' was around half of everything he had received, it was little worse than straight up robbery. Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia quietly waited for Li Yang to hand over the items, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and started walking past them.


    "It seems your information network is quite excellent. You can return to Senior Sister Yijun and tell her that I can''t pay her, I need all the resources I can get."


    The more resources he had the better, he couldn''t afford to waste any on this tax. It might cause a slight amount of trouble if he didn''t pay the tax, but what could he do, he needed to increase his strength as fast as possible, the grand competition was getting closer and closer. And even if he ignored the grand competition, once he met up with Fang Ying again, he would need the strength to protect her and fight alongside her. Long Jucai''s eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn''t stop Li Yang using force, giving him a low reminder.


    "You don''t wish to pay? Are you certain, you can still reconsider. I do believe that Senior Brother Chen should have told you the rules."


    Rather than calling it a reminder, it was better suited to be called a threat. But Li Yang didn''t even bother turning around, simply shrugging his shoulders once more.


    "He did. But I still won''t pay. As I said, I need all the resources I can get."


    If it really did turn out that this ordeal with Yijun became too much trouble, he would either just pay the tax and hope that solved it, show some of his might to get a better position in the clan, or just leave the clan and find a better way to earn resources. Since Li Yang had affirmed his words, Long Jucai simply cupped his hands.


    "Very well, we will bring your words to Senior Sister Yijun."


    Li Yang was just about to leave the area when he remembered that he had forgotten to mention something, something that Fang Ying had told him several times in the past. Because of that, he turned around and gave Long Jucai a quick reminder.


    "Right, you can also tell her that I won''t stand for anyone laying a hand on the people assigned to me."


    Fang Ying despised it when people laid a hand on those that worked for her, so since Li Yang was trying to treat his servants in a way that Fang Ying would find suitable, he, of course, couldn''t forget that part. Long Jucai''s eyebrows twitched again, but he didn''t say anything, only giving a slight nod of his head.


    Li Yang headed directly for the massive yellow dome that was the mission control building. There was a massive golden gate that led into the building, the doors already pushed open. The inside of the mission control building was surprisingly simple, various counters and enclosed booths lining the sides of the dome. The central area of the dome was mainly dominated by small stands set up by other disciples, so it seemed like one could even accept missions from other disciples.


    Standing at the center of the room was a massive green jade pillar that stretched from the floor all the way to the ceiling that was several hundreds of meters above them, names covering the entire pillar. Around the jade pillar stood several tables covered in watermelon-sized orbs of white quartz.


    Right past the entrance stood a small sign with a quick explanation of the rating system used by the clan, as well as how to accept and deliver a mission. It was a rather simple rating system, with each mission given a rating that ranged from 0-5 stars. The more stars a mission had, the more dangerous it would be, and the more contribution points it would reward. 1-star missions required the strength of the Ascending Heaven realm, 2 and 3-star missions required the strength of an Immortal Rebirth realm cultivator, and 4 to 5-star missions required the strength of a Primordial Rune realm cultivator.


    Li Yang followed the instructions on the sign, walking over to one of the many orbs of quartz that were placed around the jade pillar. He placed his palms on an empty on, sinking his mind into it as if it was a jade slip or an interspatial ring. Once his mind entered it, countless lines of text floated into his mind, each one a different mission.


    Li Yang quickly sifted through the missions, removing those that were too dangerous or those that didn''t pay enough to be worth his time. After spending a bit of time searching, he found a mission that piqued his interest, mostly because it was a bit strange. He noted down the number of the mission, taking the number over to one of the numerous counters that lined the walls. He handed the number over to the yellow-robed female that stood behind the counter, asking his question.


    "This mission, why is its difficulty only set to half a star? Shouldn''t a mission that requires us to kill an Ascending Gate stage cultivator be ranked at around one star?"


    The mission was to take down a small sect that had engaged in a few slaughters in the territory of the Yuan clan. The reward was 100 contribution points and a Fireplum Blossom, a type of herb that was useful not only for Li Yang but also Jinwu. But the mission stated that the leader of the cult was a cultivator at the Ascending Gate stage, so how could the mission only have half a star difficulty?


    The female behind the counter checked the number, taking out a tablet made out of azure jade, sinking her mind into it. After making Li Yang wait a few minutes, the woman opened her eyes again and gave him a response.


    "Normally it would indeed be so. But as this is a group mission, and the leader has already been set as Xiang Wuying, the clan has decided to lower the difficulty grade to half a star."


    Xiang Wuying was one of the five leaders of the outer disciples, a man was half a step into the Immortal Rebirth realm. With him taking care of the leader of the evil sect, the other people were no problem. Li Yang gave it a bit more thought after getting the response, but in the end, he nodded his head.


    "I see, I''ll accept this mission then."


    He didn''t have the strength to take on someone at the Ascending Gate stage, but as long as Xiang Wuying was there to serve as his shield, he felt that the mission was a safe and profitable choice. The woman nodded her head, noting down Li Yang''s information, which she had gotten from the clan mark that had been placed on him when he joined the clan.


    "Very well. Your group will set out at dawn tomorrow, so please arrive at the Ascending Carp Staircase before the appointed time."


    The deadline for accepting the mission was midnight today, which was another one of the reasons that the mission had caught Li Yang''s eye. Li Yang didn''t stick around any longer after accepting the mission, returning to his own house. He had Blackstone cook up some more food once evening rolled around, eating a light dinner alongside his three servants and his beast companions.


    A bit before the dawn of the next day arrived, Li Yang had already arrived at the Ascending Carp Staircase, which was the name given to a long staircase that went from the foot of the main mountain, all the way to the top of the mountain. When he arrived, there were already four other people standing there and waiting. The eyes of the man who seemed to be the leader of the group landed on LiYang.


    "You are the last member of our group?"


    The leader, Xiang Wuying, had a surprisingly short body, even smaller than the still young LiYang, he couldn''t be over 1.40 in height. But his short body clearly held tremendous power, rippling with muscles that caused his yellow robe to bulge slightly. He had rough features, brown eyes, and golden hair that hung down a little past his ears. Li Yang cupped his hands in a quick greeting, introducing himself.


    "That would be me, Li Yang."


    Xiang Wuying and the three other people, two men and one woman, looked Li Yang up and down. The three other people had all entered the Ascending Heaven realm, leaving Li Yang as the only person who was still in the Human Rune realm. They frowned slightly but didn''t say anything, leaving it to Xiang Wuying to make a decision about the newcomer.


    "Since you were accepted as an outer disciple, you should have something special about you, so I won''t say anything against you joining. But if you end up dragging us down, I will send you back to the clan, understood?"


    The clan would not accept someone at the late stage of the Houtian Rune stage as an outer disciple if there wasn''t something special about him, so it was clear that Li Yang was not as simple as he looked. Li Yang nodded his head to show his understanding, so Xiang Wuying introduced the rest of the group.


    "I am Xiang Wuying, the leader for this mission. This is Yu Chao, Huang Yong, and this is Deng Guo."


    Yu Chao was a slim male youth with quite a beautiful face, silky black hair, lightly red lips, and crystal clear blue eyes. Huang Yong was a bit chubby, had unruly crimson hair that hung down to his shoulders, a burn scar that was faintly visible on his neck, and pitch black eyes. Deng Guo was a rather muscular woman with green eyes and azure hair that hung all the way down to her buttocks.


    Once the introductions were done, Xiang Wuying did not have the group waste any more time, immediately setting out to cleanse the territory of the Yuan clan, ridding it of the evil sect.

 75 Ghost Banner sect.

    Xiang Wuying brought the group with him and headed directly for the mission control building. Li Yang was curious why they didn''t just meet there from the start, but he didn''t give voice to his curiosity, as it didn''t matter too much. The group entered the yellow dome, Xiang Wuying heading directly for a counter located at the far end of the dome, almost hidden away in the shadows. There was a gray-haired old man clad in a black robe sitting behind the counter, his arms folded over his chest and his eyes closed. He didn''t even open his eyes when Xiang Wuying walked up, only asking a quick question.


    "The formation jade?"


    Xiang Wuying nodded his head, causing the black-robed elder to dig into the sleeve of his robe, pulling out a head-sized plate made out of green jade. Strange runes were carved into the surface of the plate, a faint trace of Qi lingering around them. The black-robed elder handed the plate to Xiang Wuying, giving the group one last reminder.


    "Make sure to proceed with caution, and do your best to not let anyone die."


    Right after the elder finished his words, he tapped the plate with his finger, causing a silver light to shoot out from it and surround Li Yang and the others. Li Yang felt space around them turn viscous, stretching out and completely encase them in a cocoon.


    The silver light quickly flashed once more before vanishing, the group now finding themselves standing on the flat peak of a mountain that was a few kilometers tall. There were several more mountains in front and around them, forming a circle with a large basin in the middle, a city located at the center of the basin. Li Yang glanced at the ground beneath them, seeing several runes similar to the ones on the jade plate carved into the dirt. Slightly curious, he decided to trace the runes with his finger as he questioned Xiang Wuying.


    "So there was a spatial formation here. Is it a temporary one?"


    The runes used to carve this spatial formation, a formation that could teleport people through space, were quite different from the ones Li Yang was used to. There was also the fact that they used a jade plate to teleport here, rather than a different spatial formation, which caused Li Yang to guess this formation was only carved recently for the sake of this mission.


    Temporary spatial formations did exist back when Li Yang was at his peak, but they were exceedingly rare and incredibly hard to create. Could the Yuan clan afford to create temporary spatial formations as they wished? Or had someone perfected the art of creating temporary spatial formations while Li Yang had been dead?


    Xiang Wuying stored the jade plate into his interspatial ring, casually shrugging his shoulders as he gave a quick explanation.


    "Yes, it was set up by one of our scouts a few days ago. It has enough energy for about 3-4 activations."


    Xiang Wuying explained it so nonchalantly, but Li Yang couldn''t help but be a bit shocked. It could be activated 3-4 times? Back when he had been alive, even the best temporary spatial formations could only be used once, maybe twice if the one who used them wasn''t worried about getting thrown through space haphazardly. It seemed like some things had truly changed quite a bit since he was last alive. Xiang Wuying stepped closer to the edge of the peak, pointing at the city below them as he started a more detailed briefing of the mission.


    "The city you see below us is known as Yeowang city, it''s the place where the Ghost Banner sect has settled down. The Ghost Banner sect cultivates by killing living beings and refining the souls of those beings into either their weapons or their bodies. They might have been sent by the Puppet God sect in an attempt to cause some of our cities to lose trust in us, so we will also look for any evidence that the two are connected."


    Yeowang city was completely round in shape, tall stone walls surrounding the entire city and protected it from any attacks. Most of the buildings in the city were made out of wood, but at the center of the city stood a large rectangular palace made out of orange stone, clearly of a higher quality than any other building in the city. This was their target, the Ghost Banner sect.


    Ghost Banners, flags or weapons that could hold human souls and use them to attack, had also existed when Li Yang was alive, but they weren''t too widespread, as the sheer amount of souls one needed to create a truly strong weapon like that was absolutely absurd.But from listening to Xiang Wuying''s words, it seemed like one could also cultivate like that? Had new cultivation methods popped up while Li Yang was dead?


    Li Yang was starting to grow a bit curious about exactly what had happened while he was dead, as well as how long he had actually been dead. This universe was very old, so billions of years could easily pass without any new cultivation techniques or other advancements being made. But now, not only had this continent completely changed shape, a new cultivation technique had popped up, and even temporary spatial formations had been perfected. If even one of those things happened within a few million years, it would be quite extraordinary. But now, all three had happened, so it turned from extraordinary to suspicious.


    Xiang Wuying and the three others didn''t notice Li Yang''s thoughts, Xiang Wuying pulling out a palm-sized crystal tablet from his interspatial ring. The faces of three men were projected above the tablet, Xiang Wuying''s expression turning serious.


    "These three are the sect leader and his vice-sect leaders. If any single one of them escapes alive, this mission will be considered an utter failure, understood?"


    The leader of the sect had a rather square, yet handsome face. He had a neatly groomed mustache that drooped slightly, brown hair tied into a neat bun, and clear blue eyes. The two vice-leaders seemed to be twins, both had the same green eyes, both had the same slicked-back black hair, and both had the same stubble on their chin. After making sure that everyone memorized the three faces, Xiang Wuying put away the tablet.


    "We have three things to focus on during this mission. The first is to make sure that as few of the citizens as possible are harmed, the second is the ensure that none of the sect members manage to escape, and the third is to look for evidence that the sect was sent by the Puppet God sect."


    The people living in the city were citizens that belonged to the Yuan clan, as disciples of the Yuan clan, it was their job to protect them from harm and ensure that they could live in peace. Xiang Wuying swiped his interspatial ring, several yellow flags embroidered with blue runes that formed a solitary cloud appearing in front of him.


    "To ensure that we can complete the first and second goal, all five of us will infiltrate the city incognito. Each of us will enter the city from a different point, and we will place these flags in certain key locations that I will inform you of as we enter. The flags will create an array that surrounds the entire sect, preventing anyone who doesn''t have a talisman like this from entering or leaving."


    Li Yang inspected the array flags, quite amazed at how high quality they were. It seemed like arrays and things tied to them had improved drastically in the time he was gone, so it seemed like he had to spend some time reading up on arrays again to catch up with the changes.


    Xiang Wuying handed each member of the group three flags and a pin made from yellow metal, pulling out a map of the city and giving them all detailed explanations on where to put them. He then took out several paper talismans, five white and wife green ones. The white ones were engraved with a shining star, while the green ones were engraved with a triangular shield.


    "We will then enter the sect from five different locations and sweep it completely clean. The only people you have to spare are the maids and other servants, but only as long as they had nothing to do with the sect activities. If you encounter the sect leader, use this white talisman, it will inform everyone else about your location and let us all rush over. Then you use this green talisman, it will create a shield around you that will defend you from the attacks of the sect leader. Don''t be arrogant or conceited and try to take on the sect leader alone, wait for everyone else to arrive so that we can take him on together."


    They could not fail this mission, and they weren''t completely certain what sort of tricks the sect leader might have, so to make sure that there was no chance of failure, not even Xiang Wuying would take on the sect leader alone. After handing everyone a talisman, Xiang Wuying gave them all a deep glance, putting out his hand.


    "Alright, let''s go and get the mission underway. May we all return to the sect alive."


    The others quickly put their hands on top of Xiang Wuying''s, with Li Yang lagging a bit behind since he had never seen a ritual like this before. Once everyone''s hands were placed on top of Xiang Wuying''s they raised them high and gave a low shout, spreading out and heading down the mountain to reach their designated positions.


    Li Yang switched robes before he entered the city, putting on the violet wolf-skin robes that he was more comfortable with. After he casually entered the city, Jinwu started to hop around on his shoulder, sending him pleading glances whenever they walked past any vendors that sold warm food. But rather than buy him any food, Li Yang disappointed him by giving him a mission instead.


    "Jinwu, could you fly above the city and keep an eye on everything? Make sure that no one gets to just sneak away during the chaos."


    Members of the sect might be within the city as the array goes up, so by having Jinwu keep an eye on the city from above, Li Yang could make sure that no one escaped, reducing the chance of their reward getting lowered. Jinwu immediately started to caw, letting out both complaints and worried words, but Li Yang quickly calmed him down by giving Shenlong a pat.


    "don''t worry, I''ll keep Shenlong and Huanglong by my side, so there won''t be any danger."


    Jinwu was worried that Li Yang would encounter the sect leader or one of the vice-leaders without him, leaving him vulnerable. But as long as Shenlong or Huanglong was around, he could still fuse with them to increase his strength. Jinwu still let out a few complaints, mostly because he was being left out from all the fun, so Li Yang bought him some grilled skewers of meat to soothe him.


    Jinwu ate the skewers and then took off, soaring above the city and vigilantly scanning it. Once Jinwu left, Li Yang started to do his part, moving through the city and placing down the three flags he had been given, preparing the array.


    A few minutes later, a thick fog started to appear in the midst of the city, surrounding the palace and the area around it. The citizens quickly found themselves unable to reach the palace, pushed away by a strange force in the fog. Li Yang had the pin that was given to them by Xiang Wuying, so he could freely enter the fog, drawing his sword and walking towards the eastern part of the palace, his designated position.


    Other than the three leaders of the sect, there was no one in the sect that could give Li Yang a proper fight, allowing him to easily massacre people as he entered the palace. His sword blazed with crimson flames and crackled with azure lightning, an icy cold mist coiling around his left arm. Thanks to his tracking technique, no one was able to escape his notice, burnt and frozen corpses littering his wake.


    He killed practically everyone he came across, even those that begged for mercy and swore to never practice their techniques ever again. The only ones he spared were the servants that had been forced to serve the sect. He directed the servants to leave the palace, as the entire place had already started burning from the battles that took place all over the area.


    He continued to slowly slaughter his way through the palace, the sound of screams and blazing flames ringing in his ears, the smell of blood and ash tickling his nose. This was the battlefield, this was his second home. After moving through the palace for a few minutes, Li Yang encountered a person dashing towards him, a smile appearing on Li Yang''s face as he waved at the person.


    "Hey, it seems like my luck is rather good, I managed to encounter one of the vice-leaders. Would you mind just spilling the beans on where your sect treasury is? I can''t let you leave, but I can make your death quick and painless."


    The person who was running towards him was one of the vice-leaders of the sect, Gao Gang, a cultivator who had half a foot into the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm. If Li Yang could receive not only the reward for this mission but also loot the treasury of this sect, he would be able to increase his strength by quite a bit. Gao Gang stopped in his tracks when he heard Li Yang, quickly pulling out a long and thick gray mace covered in spikes, clicking his tongue and letting out a somewhat insane laughter.


    "Tch, Yuan clan scum. Today your ''good'' might have beaten our ''evil'', but in the future, you too will all be crushed! Everyone will know that you are the same as us, mere murderers!"


    Gao Gang was already convinced that their sect would be crushed here today, they might not even be able to escape with their lives. But it didn''t matter, as long as they could spread a few lies about the heartless massacre that took place here today, their duty could be considered half-complete. But sadly, he was facing Li Yang, who wouldn''t even allow them to hold onto that slim hope of half-completing their mission.


    "I guess the five people you had escape the city right as the array was activated are what makes you so confident? Sorry, but they are already dead. But don''t worry, all of you will join them shortly."


    Gao Gang immediately turned pale when he heard Li Yang''s casual remark. How had he noticed the five members that were spread throughout the city? He didn''t doubt his words, as Li Yang had even stated their number and when they started to flee the city. Jinwu had been keeping a vigilant watch, so the moment the five people moved to flee the city, Jinwu gave them a quick scan, and judging that they belonged to the evil sect, he killed them and turned their bodies to ash.


    The corner''s of Gao Gang''s thin mouth twitched repeatedly. The five disciples he had chosen to stand ready in the city were all only around 14 years of age, so young that they were meant to evoke pity in the hearts of those seeking to kill them. But this youth in front of them had gotten them killed, and he didn''t even seem to bat an eye as he talked about it. He tightly grasped his mace, slowly stepping forward as he curled his mouth into an ugly sneer.


    "Heh, is this how the ''good'' side does things, killing fleeing people and those who have given up on the fight?"


    The Yuan clan was one of the great powers that ensured the lives of the citizens of this continent, they could indeed be considered to be the ''good'' guys. But facing the taunts of Gao Gang, Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders.


    "Good and evil are nothing but perspectives, everyone having their own definition. I am not killing you because you are evil, I am killing you because I don''t like you and the way you do things, it''s that simple."


    Jing Yimu considered himself to be good, judging Fang Ying to be evil. Li Yang, on the other hand, considered Jing Yimu to be evil, as he had sought to kill Li Yang''s wife. Li Yang had long ago stopped bothering with the more widespread definitions of good and evil. If he liked something, it was good, if he didn''t like it, it was evil. A very simple, and very selfish definition. Gao Gang didn''t respond to Li Yang''s words, slowly walking closer. Li Yang raised his sword, his lips curling into a very faint smile.


    "And from the very beginning, I have never been someone who could be considered ''good''."


    As he spoke, Shenlong and Huanglong turned into a stream of energy that sank into his body. His hair turned a deep golden in color, while his eyes turned a dark violet, his robe changing and turning into a loose robe that was golden and violet in color, decorated with the image of twin dragons.


    He did the fusion without Jinwu this time, so he didn''t grow two feathery wings. Instead, his pupils turned into slits, golden and violet scales growing on his neck and spreading up to his chin, a whip-like golden tail growing out behind him, ending in a sharp tip. There was no one else in the surrounding area, so he could freely use as much strength as he wished.

 76 The might of that one sword.

    The green-eyed and black-haired Gao Gang couldn''t help but take a step back in shock when he saw Li Yang''s ferocious transformation. Within a short few seconds, he had turned from a normal youth into something akin to a horrifying monster. Gao Gang could also tell that Li Yang''s strength had drastically increased, so he couldn''t help but call out in shock.


    "You!? What are you?!"


    Was it possible for humans to transform like this, did such techniques really exist? Or could this youth be someone from the Demon Race? It wasn''t strange for Gao Gang to be shocked like this. After all, how many humans had managed to form a blood bond with a Divine beast?


    Li Yang didn''t give Gao Gang a response, stomping the ground and shooting forward, his body turning into a golden blur. Gao Gang''s expression sank, but he quickly reacted, a thick gray saber appearing in his grasp. He swung the saber, a gray slash shooting out from the tip, a low howling sound coming from it as it shot towards Li Yang.


    The slash moved far faster than Li Yang had expected it to, somewhat surprising him, it seemed like this Gao Gang had the strength befitting of a vice sect-leader. Li Yang quickly raised his sword and slashed down on the gray line, a screeching sound ringing out as the two attacks collided.


    The gray line was very tenacious and sturdy, so Li Yang guessed that it would take him about two seconds to fully shatter it. So as to not waste those two seconds, Li Yang once again stomped the ground, sending a torrent of frozen energy into the ground and towards Gao Gang, the floor cracking as it froze. At the same time, the fire that was burning in the surroundings also seemed to receive an order, gathering together and turning into a flaming tornado that roared towards Gao Gang.


    Gao Gang''s expression sank even further. Just how had his luck been so shit that he ended up encountering this freak of nature? But Gao Gang had many years of experience and had traveled to many places, so he was still quick to react. He swiped his interspatial ring and pulled out two small jade orbs that were engraved with countless tiny runes. He tossed one orb towards Li Yang, who had just finished shattering the gray slash, and the other orb he threw at the ground, shattering it.


    The moment the orb hit the ground and shattered, the runes that had covered it spread out through the area, immediately forming an array that gathered together the surrounding Qi to form a defensive shield. The orb he threw at Li Yang was very similar, shattering mid-air and spreading its runes into the air around Li Yang. But rather than forming a defensive array, it formed a trapping array that turned the surrounding Qi into thick chains that sought to tie up Li Yang.


    Li Yang''s two-fold fire and ice attacks were blocked by the defensive array, while the chains coiled all around his body and tied him in place. But rather than look annoyed or anxious, his eyes lit up with glee and excitement.


    "Oh, what''s this? You can even shrink arrays like this? Things have really changed since I was around, everything is so new and exciting."


    There was nothing more boring than knowing everything, so the more Li Yang saw that the world had changed while he was gone, the more excited he got. There were so many new things to discover, so many new things to learn. Gao Gang was about to gloat in front of the tied up Li Yang, but then he saw a black light flash through the trapping array, the chains tying up Li Yang starting to twist and implode as if there was a tiny black hole located inside them, so he quickly changed his tune.


    "You want to know about this?! If you let me leave, I promise to tell you everything I know!"


    He was uncertain whether or not Li Yang had any more strength, nor did he know if any of Li Yang''s other allies were making their way here. The longer he was forced to stay here, the higher his chance of dying was, so it was better to bargain with Li Yang in hopes of surviving. But Li Yang quickly dashed his hopes, shrugging his shoulders.


    "Sorry, but I can''t do that. Besides, I can just ask someone else about that information, or I can just check the clan library."


    If this Gao Gang had access to knowledge about these miniature arrays, then how could the massive Yuan clan not have any information about it? Li Yang reached out with his arm and tapped onto the runes that shimmered in the air in front of him, a black light flashing at his fingertip. The energy of true destruction sank into the runes, twisting and crushing them as if they had entered a black hole.


    The array was quite powerful, so if he used any of his other elements to break it, he would need a few seconds to do so. But while it was strong, it was not so strong that it could resist his element of destruction.


    Watching one of the arrays fall so easily to Li Yang, Gao Gang''s heart couldn''t help but sink. But he had yet to give up all hope, so he quickly braced himself for more combat. He didn''t want to let Li Yang keep up his momentum, so he stepped forward before Li Yang got the chance to.


    The defensive array around him followed him as he moved, providing an extra layer of defense as he sent out three slashes with his saber. Three gray lines flashed through the air, connecting together and mutually strengthening each other. Li Yang could see that each of the three lines was filled with transparent faces that shrieked and howled in pain, these were the souls that Gao Gang had refined into his weapon.


    Li Yang grasped his sword, pushing it forward and sending out a sharp stab. The stab looked simple, but the moment Li Yang finished his stabbing motion, a loud booming sound rang out, a thin bolt of golden lightning shooting out from the tip of the sword.


    The bolt of lightning moved strangely straight for a bolt of lightning, spiraling rapidly as it moved. There was a small black dot, barely the size of a grain of dust, placed at the very tip of the bolt of lightning, space and light distorting around it as they were sucked into it and crushed.


    This was one of the most penetrative attacks that Li Yang was currently able to launch, a highly compressed bolt of lightning tipped with a controlled miniature black hole. The bolt of lightning collided with the three lines, the miniature black hole swallowing up two of the attacks before it became unstable and ended up swallowing itself.


    The bolt of lightning took care of the last gray line, piercing straight through it and flashing past Gao Gang. The gray lines, as well as the defensive array, had diverted the course of the attack slightly, resulting in the bolt of lightning piercing through Gao Gang''s right shoulder rather than his head.


    The attack left a smoldering hole in Gao Gang''s shoulder, but the flesh around the wound started to wriggle strangely, slowly regrowing itself and causing Li Yang''s eyes to light up with glee and interest once more.


    He had managed to wound Gao Gang, but it still cost him quite a bit. Controlling the element of destruction required a great amount of energy, so even though he had only unleashed three tiny dots of it, it had drained a little over half of his Qi. But his attack had served its purpose, Gao Gang''s face had turned completely pale from shock and fear, quickly calling for peace.


    "The sect treasury, didn''t you want to know where it was?! If you let me live, I can tell you where it is!"


    Was this a joke? Just a single one of the youth''s attacks had pierced through three of his attacks, as well as piercing his defensive array and then his body? In fact, Gao Gang could still feel that there was some lightning left in his shoulder, roasting his flesh even as it healed itself. He thought that Li Yang would take a step back after Gao Gang''s offer, but he simply sent him a faint smile.


    "No need. It doesn''t matter whether you want to tell me or not, in the end, you will tell me."


    Li Yang''s smile was faint and handsome, but when mixed with his current appearance, as well as how their surroundings looked, it filled Gao Gang with a sense of dread. Gao Gang steeled his heart and decided that he had to use one of his secret techniques, even if it would cost him quite a bit.


    He narrowed his eyes, his face turning white as a sheet of paper as he sent a glare at Li Yang. A thin stream of invisible energy shot out from his eyes, heading directly for Li Yang, who hadn''t noticed anything. The stream sank into Li Yang''s chest, his face instantly turning pale as he took several steps backward, blood dripping out from the corners of his lips. But just when Gao Gang hoped that his technique had worked, Li Yang called out in a voice that was a mixture of shock and curiosity.


    "A soul attack!? But you don''t cultivate the law of the soul. Nor do you cultivate the law of the body, but your body is still so strangely tough, even slowly regenerating. Could it be cultivation techniques?"


    When Li Yang had been alive, a soul attack had been something that only people who cultivated the law of the soul, acquiring the special energy that was Soul Force, could use, killing people by shattering their soul and not leaving any traces. But it was easy to tell who cultivated the law of the soul, as their eyes and the energy around them would be quite different from other people.


    And then there was the fact that Gao Gang''s flesh was slowly healing itself, something that only people who used the law of the body could do. But people who cultivated the law of the body only attacked by using their own great strength or a special type of energy that only they possessed. Gao Gang hadn''t done any of this, so he clearly didn''t cultivate the law of the body. Gao Gang couldn''t help but be shocked, not only because Li Yang had survived his attack, but also because he didn''t know about this very common information.


    "You... you don''t know about soul cultivation or body cultivation?"


    He couldn''t help but give voice to his confusion, but his words caused Li Yang''s eyes to light up, blazing with interest and desire. So it was true, cultivation techniques that focused on the body and the soul had been invented.


    Li Yang had a strong soul thanks to the fact that he had been reincarnated, but there was nothing he could do with that strong soul, as he didn''t know anything about the law of the soul. He also had a strong body thanks to forging it in fire and lightning, but he was unable to fully utilize this strong body since he didn''t know much about the law of the body.


    But if he could get his hands on some cultivation techniques that focused on the body and the soul, he could fully utilize his soul and body. Mixing those two with his already strong Qi cultivation, his strength would drastically increase. His bloody lips couldn''t help but curve up slightly as he looked at Gao Gang, a light mutter escaping his lips.


    "Man, I wish Brother Feng was here. I could have him search your soul and we could learn all your little secrets."


    Zhao Feng was exactly someone that specialized in the law of the soul. If he had been here, he could have simply extracted Gao Gang''s soul and searched through his memories as he wished, learning everything. Li Yang, on the other hand, had to rely on other methods.


    Gao Gang was about to say something, but he suddenly felt his vision turn blurry, his legs turning weak and soft as he collapsed to the ground. his body nearly devoid of strength. He struggled to move, but his limbs felt incredibly heavy, his movements slower than a snail. His expression quickly distorted as he realized what might have happened.


    "This...Poison?!"


    This was the only thing he could think of. But exactly when had Li Yang been able to poison him? Li Yang wiped away the blood at the corners of his lips, taking a few steps closer to Gao Gang, giving a light shake of his head. Had Gao Gang been focusing on the battle, he probably would have been able to put up a far better fight. But ever since the fight started, all of Gao Gang''s focus had been on trying to find a chance to escape or bargain with Li Yang.


    "You can still move huh? Well, my control over the poison is far worse than Ying''ers. Had she been here, your mind would have probably already been overtaken by the poison."


    Since he had fused with Shenlong and Huanglong, he had of course gotten control over the poison that Huanglong contained. But Li Yang knew preciously little about the law of poison, so his usage of it was clumsy and childish. He had just barely been able to spread it through the area like a fine mist, as well as hide a small amount of it in the bolt of lightning that pierced through Gao Gang''s shoulder.


    Had Fang Ying been here, she could have just waved her hand and used poison to mind control Gao Gang, finishing far faster than Li Yang. Li Yang didn''t step too close to Gao Gang, keeping a slight distance as he didn''t know what other cards he might have up his sleeves.


    "Now then, how about you tell me where the sect treasury is?"


    Li Yang''s faint smile looked like the smile of a demon, and Gao Gang quickly learned why. Li Yang didn''t even give him the chance to speak up, a small arc of lightning shooting out from his fingertip and sinking into Gao Gang''s body. The arc of lightning slowly made its way through his body, interacting with Gao Gang''s nerves and causing them to screech out in such horrendous pain that Gao Gang''s throat turned bloody from screaming. He managed to resist for about three minutes, but quickly caved in after that.


    "I''ll talk, I''ll talk! The treasury is located at the center of this palace, about 100 meters below ground! The entrance is located beneath one of the Soul Storing Pillars, the one carved with a human face!"


    He considered himself to be a strong-willed person, but when faced with such pain that his entire body was screeching, his will was quickly shattered. Li Yang pulled the arc of lightning out off Gao Gang''s body, the same faint smile that he had used to observe Gao Gang''s screaming still on his face.


    "See, that wasn''t so hard, was it? Now you can die."


    Li Yang stretched out his arm, three orbs starting to condense in front of his palm. One consisted of golden lightning, one of deep blue ice, and one of crimson flames. The orbs quickly increased in density, spinning around each other and forming a tri-colored circle that radiated a horrifying energy. But before he got to launch the attack, Gao Gang let out a hoarse shout and pulled out a few array orbs from his interspatial ring.


    "You monster, die!"


    All the orbs shattered, releasing a terrifying amount of energy that gathered together to form a single massive array that turned into a thick tornado made up of sharp blades of wind. Gao Gang''s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Li Yang, expectantly waiting for his killing move to reap Li Yang''s life.


    Li Yang''s expression quickly sunk, because he could tell that this tornado contained a truly horrifying amount of energy, enough to actually kill him, even if he defended. Since it was like that, he could not hold anything back.


    The sword he was holding vanished back into his interspatial ring, a violet-golden light flashing in his hand as a different sword appeared. It was a standard Jian sword, the hilt bound in black leather with thin violet veins running through the leather. The blade was deep golden in color, a violet wavy pattern running along the back of the blade. This was his actual sword, but in his current state, he could at best use it for around one second. Seeing the sword appear, as feel as feeling the tremendous amount of energy that it radiated, Gao Gang''s face contorted violently as he tried to call out.


    "Wha..."


    He never got to finish his sentence, because Li Yang sent out a single slash with the sword. A brilliant golden sun bloomed at the tip of the blade, a thundering sound nearly deafening not only the people in the sealed up palace but even the people in the city around them.


    A thick bolt of lightning that was a mixture of golden and violet, of lightning and poison, shot out from the tip of the blade and rushed into the heavens. Gao Gang, everything within 200 meters of Li Yang, and even parts of the array that surrounded the palace, all turned to ash under the glory of that single bolt of lightning.


    Li Yang quickly put away the sword after launching the attack, his face pale and his right arm bloody from just using the sword for half a second. He let out a weak laugh, shaking his head.


    "Really, if Ying''er were to learn that I let a guy like this break free of her poison, she would probably laugh at me until she was out of breath."


    Li Yang had used Fang Ying''s poison, but Gao Gang had still been able to regain control over his arms, allowing him to launch that last attack. He had only been able to do this because Li Yang had simply been far too clumsy in his control of the poison. Li Yang quickly swallowed a pill to restore his energy, glancing at the now empty area around him.


    "I made a bit too much noise, better head to the treasury as fast as possible."

 77 Flame Step.

    Li Yang undid his fusion with Shenlong and Huanglong, quickly leaving the area where he had fought Gao Gang and swiftly heading towards the center of the palace. He passed by a few more sect disciples as he moved, so he quickly killed them as he passed by them. After moving through the various hallways and rooms for a little over a minute, Li Yang reached a rather spacious hall.


    "This should be the center of the palace."


    The grand hall stretched out a few hundred meters in each direction, statues of heroic people and ferocious Demonic beasts spread around as decorations. There were a few large pots spread around the corners of the room, contorted trees that had yellow and red leaves growing out from the pots.


    At the very center of the room stood six ashen pillars, each around one meter thick and ten meters tall. A faint gray mist seeped out from the pillars, a low howling sound barely audible as one got closer to the pillars. Each of the pillars was engraved with a myriad of faces, most belonging to various types of Demonic beasts, but there was one that was engraved with a shrieking human face. Strangely enough, as Li Yang looked at the face, it moved slightly, seemingly trying to say something.


    Li Yang could easily guess what these pillars were, they were the Soul Storing Pillars of this sect. These types of pillars were exactly what they sounded like, a place where one could store the souls of living beings. Depending on who set up the pillar, the souls stored inside it would experience either heaven or hell, purifying them or turning them into vengeful wraiths. Li Yang glanced at the six pillars, his eyes settling on the one with the human face.


    "The pillar with the human face...this one?"


    Gao Gang said that the entrance to the treasury was located beneath the pillar with the human face, so it should be the one he was looking at. He didn''t know if there were any traps or the like, so instead of walking closer to the pillar, he backed up a bit, raising his right arm.


    A crimson light, an azure light, and an icy blue light gathered above his palm. The icy blue light turned into a hollow spear of ice, the azure light filling the handle of the spear with lightning, and the crimson light filling the tip of the spear with blazing flames. After forming the spear, Li Yang grabbed it and gave it a jerk, sending it soaring through the air like a blur.


    The tip of the spear hit the Soul Storing Pillar, shattering and unleashing the stored up flames. The flames melted the rest of the spear, unleashing a scalding blast of steam and releasing the stored up lightning. The fire and steam mixed with the lightning, the three different forces immediately trying to extinguish the others, resulting in a loud and uncontrollable explosion.


    All six Soul Storing Pillars were shattered under the force of the explosion, the lightning extinguishing the souls that were stored within it, returning them to the cycle of reincarnation. A large hole appeared in the ground, revealing a staircase that descended into the darkness. Looking at the staircase and the hole, Li Yang''s eyebrows furrowed slightly.


    "No traps? Were they really that confident in their own strength?"


    The explosion hadn''t set off any arrays, nor revealed any traps, had they not set up anything to protect their treasury? Li Yang raised his arm, creating nine orbs of ice and tossing them at the hole. Only after all nine orbs fell down the stairs without anything happening did Li Yang feel that it was safe to step forward and descend down the stairs.


    He lit up the path in front of him using a few floating orbs of fire, carefully examining the walls and steps as he made his way down. But even when he reached the bottom of the stairs and arrived in a round cavern, there were still no signs of any arrays or any traps.


    The cavern was filled with wooden shelves that were neatly lined up, small notes pasted onto the sides of the shelves detailing what sort of items were stored on the shelves. Other than the books that were placed in the back of the cavern, everything else was placed in small boxes that were made out of either wood or crystal, it was far neater than Li Yang had expected from a sect like this. Looking at the fully stocked treasury, Li Yang was pleasantly surprised.


    "Huh, there are more things here than I thought there would be, seems like the leaders of the sect didn''t have the time to empty it before they started trying to flee."


    He had expected the treasury to either have been emptied or for all the most valuable items to have already been taken. But now it seemed like none of the sect leaders had the time to empty it before Xiang Wuying and the others started their attack on the palace. Li Yang once again took a few steps backward, creating a few orbs of ice and tossing them at some of the shelves. Only when several boxes were knocked down and nothing happened did he step forward, chuckling lightly.


    "Well, since they wish to hand me such a gift, how could I possibly reject?"


    He quickly swept through the entire treasury, storing everything into his interspatial ring. Even the herbs or items that were useless to him were taken, after all, you''d never know when you would need them. And even if he didn''t end up needing them, he could give them to others if he felt like it.


    After he stored away everything and made sure he hadn''t overlooked anything, he picked out a that was bound in gray leather. But just as he wanted to start reading it, the white paper talisman that Xiang Wuying had given him lit up with a blinding light, flying out of his interspatial ring and turning into a line of light as it shot into the distance. Looking at the scene, Li Yang couldn''t help but click his tongue in slight annoyance.


    "Tch, can''t even let me check through the books in peace? Oh well, time to work."


    It was clear that someone had encountered the sect leader and was notifying the others of his location. This meant that everyone had to rush over there so that they could deal with the sect leader, preventing any accidents from happening. Li Yang put away the book and left the treasury, following the line of light that his talisman had turned into.


    The line of light led Li Yang towards the back of the palace, so Li Yang guessed that the sect leader tried to stealthily escape once he noticed that an array had been set up around his palace. Li Yang only had to run after the talisman for a little over a minute before it finally stopped flying.


    A short distance ahead of him, the muscular yet short Xiang Wuying, as well as the three other disciples, had surrounded the square-faced sect leader, Teng Jiang, as well as the second sect vice-leader, Gao He. The area around them looked like it used to be a hallway, but the walls and ceiling had already been shattered by battle, creating an open area covered in rubble and flames. Noticing that Li Yang was arriving, the strangely feminine Yu Chao quickly called out to him, waving his hand in a dismissive manner.


    "Junior Brother Yang,you just stay back and try to not interfere."


    Li Yang''s cultivation was just too low, so Yu Chao was worried that Li Yang would just die if he were to try and join in on the battle. But contrary to Yu Chao''s dismissive manner, Xiang Wuying gave Li Yang a deep look.


    "Junior Brother Yang, can I trust you to provide us with a bit of assistance and making sure that they don''t get to escape?"


    Yu Chao and the others didn''t know, but as the one who directed from which direction everyone entered the palace, Xiang Wuying knew that it was Li Yang who had entered the palace from the same direction as that horrifying bolt of lightning. There was also the fact that the other sect vice-leader wasn''t responding to the calls of Teng Jiang and Gao He, so Xiang Wuying guessed that Li Yang might have actually killed him already.


    He didn''t know if it was truly Li Yang who launched that attack, or how he might have done it, nor did he care, all that mattered was that it was rather likely that Li Yang could launch an attack like that. If Li Yang was truly capable of launching an attack like that, Xiang Wuying found that it made more sense that he would be accepted as an outer disciple despite his low cultivation.


    Li Yang could mostly tell what Xiang Wuying was thinking, but he wasn''t too bothered by it. After all, even if Xiang Wuying was going to accuse him of something, he had no proof. Li Yang took up position a bit behind Xiang Wuying and the others, giving a slight nod of his head.


    "Leave it to me."


    If it was just providing support and being a nuisance to Teng Jiang and Gao He, that was something Li Yang was quite capable of. Xiang Wuying gave a light nod of his head, turning back to face the two enemies. He took a step forward, the wind around him starting to pick up in strength, a low bell-like sound ringing through the area.


    Xiang Wuying was going to be the main attacker, with Yu Chao and the two others only serving as backup for him, tying down Gao He and interrupting Teng Jiang whenever Xiang Wuying pulled back.


    Battle quickly broke out, with Xiang Wuying clearly having the upper hand most of the time. The two laws he specialized in seemed to be wind and sound. He used the wind to lighten his own body and increase his speed, as well as using it to control several small daggers that he threw around, allowing him to attack from all angles. He also used the wind to move around some of the flames in the surroundings, throwing them at Teng Jiang.


    His law of sound seemed to be what he used for most of his attacks, using two different versions at once. One version came in the form of the sound of a bell, resounding in the ears of his enemies and messing with their vestibular system and throwing them off balance. The other version only produced a low grating sound and focused completely on the vibrations of the sound, each of Xiang Wuying''s attacks penetrating their defenses and piercing deep into their bodies, attacking their bones.


    Even Li Yang could not help but let out a slight sigh of praise when he saw Xiang Wuying''s control. Not only did he control two laws at once, but he also controlled several weapons at the same time, as well as using two different versions of one of his laws. His control had already reached a very exquisite point.


    If Li Yang were to compare it with himself, he would have to admit that while his control over lightning was great, he was still rather lacking when it came to his control over fire and ice, often only using the elements in their raw form.


    The battle continued to drag on, Gao He''s situation slowly getting worse as he had to face the attacks of three different people. And right after Gao He blocked an attack and had to take a step back to disperse the remaining force, Li Yang saw his chance and took action. A small part of the ground beneath Gao He froze, a layer of ice appearing at the spot where he was about to lower his foot.


    Since he had to still disperse the force of the previous attack, he failed to properly react, his foot sliding on the ice and resulting in him completely losing his balance. Yu Chao and the two others saw their chance, stepping forward and unleashing their strongest attacks to finish Gao He.


    Teng Jiang wanted to go and help Gao He, as he knew that he would be doomed if he had to face everyone alone, but just as he raised his left foot to step towards Gao He, a small pillar of ice rose up from beneath his right foot. If he continued with his step, the pillar of ice beneath his other foot would cause him to fall forwards, opening his back for Xiang Wuying.


    Because of that, Teng Jiang was forced to awkwardly put strength into his right foot and jump backward. There was no one to help Gao He, so he had to bear the three attacks with his flesh, his body torn apart by the attacks. Teng Jiang''s glaring eyes landed on the calm and casual Li Yang, who had yet to take a single step.


    "You!"


    Teng Jiang had seen what laws the other people here used, and none of them used ice, so the only one who could have acted just now was Li Yang. Teng Jiang''s situation immediately grew worse with the death of Gao He, Yu Chao and the two disciples joining up with Xiang Wuying to deal with Teng Jiang.


    But Teng Jiang was still someone at the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, so he wasn''t completely helpless. He also specialized in laws that were well suited to defense, the law of stone and the law of water, so when he focused fully on defense and backing up, he was able to last for quite some time.


    After a bit more time passed, Xiang Wuying and the three others each launched their attacks at the same time, spreading them out so that it would be hard for Teng Jiang to block them all. This was the time Li Yang decided to make another move. A flash of fire and a flash of lightning appeared in front of Teng Jiang, right in front of his eyes.


    Both lightning and fire were very bright elements, so when they appeared in a flash, Teng Jiang was temporarily blinded, preventing him from seeing exactly from where the four attacks were coming. He could only grit his teeth, setting up his strongest defense and cursing at Li Yang.


    "Little bastard, if I get my hands on you, I''ll rip you apart!"


    Li Yang simply continued to observe the battle calmly, not the slightest bit bothered by Teng Jiang''s curses. Compared to some other curses that had been shouted at him in the past, Teng Jiang''s were like a pleasant lullaby.


    As the battle dragged on a bit longer, Teng Jiang launched a few attacks of his own when he saw an opening. Yu Chao and the muscular woman, Deng Guo were the first to be hit by his attacks. Yu Chao''s right wrist was shattered by a clench of Teng Jiang''s fist, and Deng Guo''s right foot was pierced through by a few thin streams of water that Teng Jiang sent out from beneath his foot as he punched at Xiang Wuying to distract him. Xiang Wuying was also hit by several attacks, but he was able to simply shrug off most of them, causing Li Yang to rub his chin slightly.


    "Hmm, seems like this Wuying has already attempted his Body Rebirth Tribulation. He should have failed it, but it still strengthened him quite a bit."


    After the Ascending Heaven realm came the Immortal Rebirth realm, in which one had to resist three different tribulations. The first one would destroy and rebuild your body, making it stronger and more vigorous than before. The second would completely disintegrate all your Qi and runes, rebuilding them stronger and purer than before if you managed to resist it. And the final one would shatter your soul and mind, rebuilding them and turning them corporeal if you managed to resist the tribulation.


    Xiang Wuying had clearly failed his Body Rebirth Tribulation, but he must have survived it, his body growing a bit stronger thanks to it. Li Yang guessed that if Xiang Wuying were to attempt the tribulation again as he was now, he would have a 60% chance of passing through it.


    The battle continued to drag on for a bit longer, more and more wounds accumulating on Teng Jiang''s body. His expression had already turned exceedingly gloomy as he realized that there was no chance of him surviving past the day. He wanted to at least drag Xiang Wuying or one of the other disciples with him to the grave, but they were all taking great care to not give him any chance.


    In the end, his eyes fell on the calm, and seemingly weakest, Li Yang. A grim grin appeared on his face as he suddenly dashed forward, ignoring the attacks that landed on his body. Streams of water and sharp fragments of stones started to spin around him, turning him into a deadly juggernaut as he dashed at Li Yang. While dashing, he also caused the stone beneath Li Yang to cave in, sealing his feet in the ground to prevent his escape.


    "Junior Brother Yang, watch out!"


    Xiang Wuying called out a warning, but even he realized that he couldn''t stop the wildly charging Teng Jiang. But despite the apparent crisis in front of him, Li Yang still kept his calm expression. Each of Teng Jiang''s steps shattered the stone beneath him, so trying to make him slip on a sheet of ice wouldn''t work, he would just crush the ice. Teng Jiang quickly reached Li Yang, his grim smile looking exceedingly unsightly.


    But just as he was about to crash into and crush Li Yang, a pillar of flames rose up around Li Yang, Teng Jiang charging right through the pillar of flames. But as he charged through the pillar of flames, his expression couldn''t help but distort in pain and confusion, a dumbfounded exclamation escaping his lips.


    "Wha...?"


    The pillar of flames vanished, revealing a thick spike of ice jutting out from the ground, piercing into Teng Jiang''s abdomen. Had Li Yang tried to attack him normally with such a spike of ice, he would likely be unable to penetrate Teng Jiang''s defenses. But Teng Jiang had abandoned all defense and charged at Li Yang with all his might, it was his own momentum that drove the spike into his body.


    But that Wasnt even the part that confused Teng Jiang, what confused him was that Li Yang had completely vanished. Xiang Wuying and the others were also completely shocked, especially when they saw a pale-faced and now red-robed Li Yang walk out of a cluster of flames that was located a few meters to the right of Teng Jiang.


    This cluster of flames had been burning there even before Li Yang had arrived at this location, so none of them understood how he had suddenly appeared there. But despite his shock, Xiang Wuying quickly regained himself. He ran up to Teng Jiang and took the chance now that he was wounded, decapitating him with a single thick blade of wind. After making sure that Teng Jiang was dead, as well as picking up his interspatial ring, he walked over to Li Yang.


    "Junior Brother Yang, are you fine?"


    Other than his face being pale and his body almost devoid of Qi, Li Yang didn''t seem to have any other wounds. Xiang Wuying tried to give it some more thought, but he simply couldn''t figure out what Li Yang had done. Li Yang took a deep breath, giving a light wave of his hand to show that he was fine.


    "Yeah... just a bit tired after using this secret technique."


    What Li Yang had used just now couldn''t exactly be called a secret technique, it was a special utilization of the laws. Back when he first entered the hidden realm that Zhao Feng and the others had left behind, he completed the first trial, his entire body disintegrating and then being recreated by fire. Thanks to this, his body now not only had a strong affinity for the law of fire, but it was also made up of flames, allowing him to recreate a technique he once used in his past life. Back then he called it Lightning Step, but this version was better suited to be called Flame Step.


    He disintegrated his entire body using flames, turning himself into a living ball of heat. He then spread this heat around, connecting it with the flames in the surrounding, and using those flames to rebuild his body. It was surprisingly simple, but the amount of Qi it required to not only keep himself intact and move, but also to rebuild his body was almost ungodly. Just these few meters he moved now cost him nearly 99% of the Qi in his body.


    Xiang Wuying gave a nod of his head, not pursuing it further as he took a pill out from his interspatial ring.


    "Alright, take this pill and restore your energy. We''ll clear out the last few remaining survivors and then return to the clan."


    Gao He and Teng Jiang were dead, and thanks to Li Yang''s display, Xiang Wuying was now even more convinced that the last of the sect leaders had been killed by him. So once they cleaned up the last few disciples, they could return to the sect. The only one of the three other disciples that didn''t have any wounds, Huang Yong, couldn''t help but call out after he heard Xiang Wuying''s words.


    "Return to the clan? Senior Brother Wuying, are we not going to look for the sect treasury?"


    For a sect like this, their treasury must contain a few juicy items, so Yu Chao and the others were looking forward to looting it. But Xiang Wuying merely gave a light shrug of his shoulders, taking out a gray slip of jade from Teng Jiang''s interspatial ring.


    "There''s no point. We now have proof that these people were sent by the Puppet God Sect, so they are unlikely to have a treasury, it''s more likely that they sent all their resources right back to the Puppet God Sect."


    As he spoke, he sent a very stealthy glance at Li Yang, causing Li Yang to put on a somewhat awkward smile. It seemed like Xiang Wuying had already guessed from the direction that Li Yang came from that he might have already looted the treasury. But since Li Yang had been very useful, it didn''t seem like he planned on telling the others. Huang Yong wasn''t entirely convinced, but facing one of the top five outer disciples, he could only nod his head.


    "This... As you say, Senior Brother Wuying."

 78 I wonst play along.

    Huang Yong and the rest of the group did as Xiang Wuying ordered, quickly sweeping through the burning remains of the palace and finishing off any disciples that they might have missed. They didn''t find the disintegrated corpse of Gao Gang, but they found the sect''s Soul Tablet room.


    Soul tablets were a type of jade tablet where one could store part of their Qi and blood, allowing the tablet to be connected to the one who first put their Qi and blood into it. Once the person who put his Qi into the tablet died, it would crack and dim down, allowing others to know that the person had died. Since Gao Gang''s Soul Tablet had shattered, it was clear to Xiang Wuying and the others that he had already died.


    Xiang Wuying personally searched the center of the palace, so the other searching disciples were unable to find the emptied treasury, causing them to click their tongues in an unsatisfied manner. Once the entire palace was swept clean and all the disciples were killed, Xiang Wuying gathered everyone together and gave a light clap of his hands.


    "Alright, let''s return to the clan and pick up our reward."


    Huang Yong and the others could only nod their heads, still somewhat annoyed that the sect seemingly didn''t have a treasury. Xiang Wuying sent a slight glance at Li Yang, but he didn''t seem to have any interest in mentioning Li Yang emptying the treasury, allowing Li Yang to keep the spoils to himself, seemingly looking to build a friendly relationship with Li Yang.


    The group undid the formation they had set up around the palace and then quickly left the city, ignoring the shocked and relieved cries of the citizens that went to check out the palace. The moment the formation vanished, a black light swooped down from the sky, Jinwu landing on Li Yang''s shoulder and letting out a few caws.


    Jinwu had killed and turned the five fleeing disciples to ash, so right now he was a bit annoyed that he didn''t get to eat them. Because of that, Li Yang could only quietly promise him that he could eat the next ones.


    The group swiftly returned to the mountaintop where the temporary spatial array was located. They gathered on the spatial array and Xiang Wuying brought out the jade plate, inserting his Qi into it and activating the formation beneath them. A silver light flashed in front of their eyes, space around them turning viscous and stretching around them into a cocoon.


    Once the cocoon vanished, the group was standing in the mission control room again, in front of the booth of the gray-haired and black-robed elder. Xiang Wuying handed the jade plate back to the elder, as well as handing over the gray jade slip, the heads of Teng Jiang and Gao He, as well as the Soul Tablet of Gao Gang, proving that the mission was completed.


    The black-robed elder went over the proof, making sure that everything was in order. Once he was certain that the mission was completed, he started to hand out the rewards, starting with Xiang Wuying. Before Xiang Wuying left after received his reward, he turned to Li Yang, giving him a slight nod.


    "Junior Brother Yang, if you face any troubles in the future, you can come to look for me and I will help you resolve them."


    Huang Yong and the two others couldn''t help but turn slightly jealous after hearing this. Having one of the top five outer disciples personally guarantee that they would take care of you was something that every outer disciple dreamed of. Li Yang put on a polite smile, cupping his hands.


    "Thank you, Senior Brother Wuying, I will make sure to keep that in mind."


    Xiang Wuying gave another slight nod of his head, leaving the mission control building. Huang Yong and the two others also quickly left after receiving their rewards, leaving Li Yang as the last one to receive his reward.


    The black-robed elder swiped his interspatial and took out a plum blossom that was crimson in color, an orange pattern in the shape of a flame decorating the leaves, a faint heat radiating from the flower. He handed the flower to Li Yang, asking a standard question.


    "Here is the Fireplum Blossom, the 100 contribution points have also been registered in your name, raising your contribution points up to 200. Would you like a list over everything that can be bought for contribution points?"


    Li Yang accepted the flower and stored it into his interspatial ring, placing it amongst the other items he had gotten from the Ghost Banner sect treasury. He then gave the black-robed man a nod, as he didn''t actually know all the things he could buy using contribution points. The black-robed elder swiped his interspatial ring, taking out a jade slip made from yellow jade, handing it to Li Yang and allowing him to leave.


    As Li Yang left the mission control building and made his way back to his own lodgings, he sank a part of his mind into the jade slip and quickly went over the contents. Seeing the wide variety of items that could be bought for contribution points, his eyes couldn''t help but light up, especially when he saw the top-ranked items.


    "They even have blood like this huh? That means that this clan has someone who has at least reached the middle stage of the Celestial Immortal realm, a Heavenly Immortal. It should be quite useful for Jinwu or the Shenlong twins, so I should try to get my hands on some."


    Three of the top-ranked items were a few drops of blood, specifically the blood of an adult Crimson Dragon, the blood of an adult Kun, and the blood of an adult Peng. These three creatures were all Divine beasts like Jinwu and Shenlong, so their blood, especially the blood of adults, was incredibly valuable. This was reflected in the price as well, as each drop of blood would cost 10 million contribution points, a number that felt incredibly distant to the current Li Yang.


    The clan also offered various cultivation manuals that interested Li Yang, especially the body cultivation or the soul cultivation manuals. Some of them were rather cheap, while others were quite expensive, so Li Yang decided to check through the collection of books he had just acquired before deciding on which he should buy. After checking through everything he could buy, Li Yang sent a part of his mind into his interspatial ring and started to organize the various books he had acquired.


    Once Li Yang reached his own lodging, which was located close to the shore of a lake, he saw that Rivergrass and his two other servants were working around his house, cutting the grass and cleaning the house, keeping everything in pristine condition. Seeing his arrival, the three servants quickly bowed to him, the scarred and black-haired Blackstone swiftly speaking up.


    "Senior Brother Yang, you have returned. Would you like me to make some food?"


    They remembered that Li Yang referred to eating as one of the greatest joy a cultivator could have, so he assumed that Li Yang would want some food right after completing a mission. Li Yang gave a short nod, affirming Blackstone''s thoughts.


    "Please do."


    The three swiftly entered the house and started to work on the dinner, Ji Shun and Blackstone cooking while Rivergrass prepared the table. They all sat down at the table once the food was done, Jinwu and Shenlong sitting on the table at the left and right of Li Yang. While they were eating, Li Yang seemed to think of something, taking out three books from his interspatial ring.


    "Right, the three of you can study these books, they should prove to be helpful to your cultivation."


    He handed the books to the three servants with a casual wave of his hand. He had already checked these books while he was returning to his house and had found that their contents were useless to him. They described various aspects of several laws, but none of the laws that Li Yang cultivated, so he decided that he might as well hand them to these three servants. They were useless to him but far better than anything Rivergrass and the others had access to, so they were ecstatic when receiving them.


    "Thank you, Senior Brother Yang!"


    The group continued to eat, quickly finishing the food. Once they had finished eating, Li Yang dismissed the three servants and retreated to his room, sitting down on the bed with crossed legs His plan now was to carve one or two more runes, increasing his cultivation further by using the resources he had looted in the treasury.


    He took out a few herbs, fruits, and mushrooms from his interspatial ring, handing them to Jinwu and Shenlong. The resources he handed them were either fire, ice, lightning, or poison element resources, as only those would be really useful to them. The resources weren''t of the top-quality that Divine beasts would usually use, but it was the best he had access to at the moment, so they could only accept them.


    After handing them their resources, he took out the ones meant for him and placed them on the bed around him, closing his eyes and sinking his mind into his own dantian, which resembled a pitch black space where six sets of four different runes floated.


    The first thing he did was absorb all the energy within the herbs and fruits that contained large amounts of pure Qi, drawing it into his dantian and using it to assault the edges of his dantian. The size of his dantian started to slowly increase, creating room for more runes and allowing him to store more Qi in his dantian.


    Once he had created enough space, he split the remaining Qi into eight separate streams, positioning them next to his other runes. The first runes he decided to carve were the runes for his law of true destruction.


    The two streams of Qi that gathered next to his previous runes started to slowly change as he inserted part of his mind into them. The previous colorless Qi turned a deep black in color, a slight suction force spreading out as the streams started to change in shape, coiling around themselves and forming the images of black holes.


    The suction force released by the runes slowly grew stronger as Li Yang inserted more and more of his mind into them, solidifying his understanding of true destruction into the runes. After an unknown amount of time, the suction force completely vanished, leaving behind two runes in the shape of black holes. The two runes didn''t release any suction force or radiate an ounce of pressure, but looking at them filled one with a sense of dread that was born from their own instincts.


    The next runes he carved were the runes for his law of lightning. The two streams he had set aside for his law of lightning split up into even more thin strings, each string slowly turning a deep azure in color. He sunk his mind into each of the strings, imbuing them with different parts of his understanding.


    some strings crackled with lightning that contained intense heat, some with lightning so fast it could be seen, some with lightning that released a strange attraction force, some with lightning that spiraled as it moved, and some with lightning that seemed strangely calm and weak.


    The various strings started to coil around each other, twisting and turning as they slowly started to form two runes. The two runes were in the shape of a cloud crackling with bolts of lightning, each bolt of lightning radiated a different type of pressure, representing a different part of his understanding.


    The next runes he carved where his fire runes, the two streams of energy turning a deep crimson in color. Different from his lightning runes, these fire runes only contained a single understanding, extreme heat that burned everything, turning all of creation into a single massive fire. The streams quickly coiled around themselves, forming runes that resembled a burning flame.


    The last runes he carved were his ice runes, the last two streams of energy turning a light blue in color, a horrifying freezing feeling radiating from them. These ice runes also only contained a single understanding, a cold so horrifying that it would turn all of creation into ice. The streams started to form runes that resembled a clean and pure lotus formed from terrifyingly cold ice.


    With the completion of his ice runes, Li Yang had successfully managed to increase his cultivation by two small sub-realms, pushing him into the middle stage of the Xiantian rune realm. After finishing the runes, he also realized how much time had passed, just about 10 days, a rather short period of time. But his brows were furrowed as he opened his eyes, a light mutter escaping his lips after he finished carving the runes.


    "It''s gonna start to become more troublesome soon... I should put more focus on increasing my understanding of the fire and ice elements, or at least bring that one concept to the very peak."


    Thanks to Fang Ying, Li Yang had some understanding of quite a few other laws. But this could only be called a very basic understanding, far from comparing to his understanding of the law of lightning. He was only in the Human Rune realm right now, so he could get away with only carving fire and ice runes that contained a single understanding, but if he wanted his ice and fire laws to be on par with his lightning laws in the future, he would likely have to deepen his understanding of them.


    But rather than increase his understanding of the various applications of fire and ice, he knew that there was one other thing he could do instead, focus fully on the aspect of extreme heat and extreme cold.


    Li Yang found the law of fire and ice to be very similar to the law of true destruction, in that they were incredibly inclusive. If true destruction was left to wreak havoc, it would swallow the entire universe, turning everything into the empty void that was true destruction.


    But fire and ice were the same, in that as long as there was enough heat, a fire could burn everything in existence, turning everything into more flames. Ice was the same, in that as long as there was enough cold, everything could be turned into ice, turning even the entire universe into a single block of ice.


    Because of this, he could either widen his understanding of the two laws, learning all about their various utilizations and aspects, or he could focus fully on these two extremes, making his fire and ice runes very similar to his true destruction runes.


    He continued to mull over it but didn''t manage to reach a conclusion in a short amount of time, so he got up from the bed to stretch his body a little, heading over to the kitchen to pick up some wine that he kept cool. As he headed to his kitchen, he suddenly heard a soft sound coming from the wall of the house. He tilted his head slightly, quietly listening. The sound came again, sounding as if something soft hit the side of the house.


    Li Yang turned towards the door, Jiwnu and Shenlong quickly taking their usual spots on his body. Jinwu landed on his left shoulder, and Shenlong coiled around his neck. Both had grown a little larger after devouring the given resources and even though he couldn''t see Huanglong, he guessed that she had grown just as much.


    Li Yang left his house, immediately spotting the tall and brown-haired Long Jucai and the more average, black-haired Yuan Lanxia. Standing between the two was a wooden wheelbarrow filled with brown feces, the both of them holding shovels that they used to pick up the feces and fling it at Li Yang''s house. After Li Yang stepped out of the house, the female Yuan Lanxia nodded her head and gave him an enthusiastic greeting.


    "Good morning, Junior Brother Yang!"


    Li Yang didn''t return her greeting, tilting his head as he looked at the wheelbarrow filled with feces. His expression was calm as he couldn''t help but let out a light chuckle, stepping a bit away from his house so that none of the feces would land on him.


    "Throwing shit? Is Yijun really that childish?"


    These two worked for his Senior Sister Yijun, who seemed to be annoyed that he refused to pay the tax that everyone else paid. Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia didn''t give him a response, continuing to throw feces at his house while he just calmly watched. Once the wheelbarrow was empty, Li Yang cocked his head slightly, glancing at the two.


    "Are you done now?"


    It couldn''t be that they carried around a second wheelbarrow filled with feces, right? But it seemed like that one wheelbarrow was all they had, as Long Jucai nodded his head and gave Li Yang a polite smile, cupping his hands.


    "Yes, we will leave now, sorry for taking up your time."


    The two turned around and started to walk away, leaving behind the empty wheelbarrow and the two dirty shovels. But before they managed to walk more than a few steps, the voice of Li Yang stopped them in their tracks.


    "Leave? First, you have to clean up all this shit."


    His voice was still calm, as if his house hadn''t just been peppered in feces. The two turned around, Long Jucai shaking his head and giving Li Yang a look that told him that he should be more sensible now.


    "Sorry, but we cannot do that, orders from Senior Sister Yijun. But if you were to pay the tax, I am certain she would be so kind as to send some servants over to help you clean."


    After Long Jucai spoke up, he was surprised to find that Li Yang suddenly started to laugh lightly. Jiinwu and Shenlong moved away from Li Yang, flying a bit away. Li Yang continued to laugh lightly, giving a light shake of his head.


    "Heh, seems like people think that I will just accept whatever just because I didn''t want to cause any trouble. But oh well."


    He just wanted to acquire resources and peacefully cultivate before he met up with Fang Ying again. He had no interest in ruining this little ruling gig that Yijun and the other top outer disciples had going. Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia didn''t quite understand the meaning of Li Yang''s words, so Yuan Lanxia cocked her head slightly.


    "What are you-!?"


    She didn''t get to finish her words, as crimson flames suddenly burst out from all of Li Yang''s pressure point as he activated the technique Jing Yimu had taught him, Burning Hope. The rumbling of thunder rang out as Li Yang suddenly vanished from his position, a thin arc of lightning flashing past Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia.


    The two only had a cultivation at the early stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, so they didn''t even have the chance to reach when Li Yang burst forth with most of his strength. The both of them felt a strong impact strike their backs, a mixture of fiery and icy energy invading their bodies, scorching their veins and freezing their bones.


    Now that he had reached the middle stage of the Xiantian Rune realm, Li Yang didn''t even need to fuse with Jinwu or Shenlong to deal with cultivators like Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia. The two were pushed forward by the strong force of the attack, collapsing to the ground and rolling forward. With their bones freezing and their veins burning, the two didn''t even have the strength to stand up, but they still glared at Li Yang and shouted at him, a sliver of fear appearing in their eyes.


    "Are you trying to break the law of the clan?!"


    Li Yang stood at the spot where the two had just been, crimson flames, azure lightning, and a fine blue mist all dancing around him, his azure hair fluttering around thanks to the unleashed energy. He still wore a calm smile as he walked towards the two of them, chuckling lightly.


    "Break the law? Not at all, I have no intention of crippling or killing you, just inflict a teensy amount of pain."


    He didn''t want to cause any trouble, but that didn''t mean that he would allow others to do against him as he wished. He was no longer the Thunder Monarch of the past, but his pride was already bone-deep, engraved into his very being. How could a proud person like him possibly allow others to throw feces at his house?


    He also wasn''t worried about revealing some of his might, like the Burning Hope technique, as he had already prepared a plan in case people got suspicious. He stopped in front of the two collapsed disciples, pointing at his dirty house with a calm smile.


    "Now then, it should be about time for you two to clean up all this shit."


    Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia shivered slightly when faced with Li Yang''s calm black eyes, which they only now noticed resembled black holes. But despite the fear they were feeling, they still grit their teeth and spoke out.


    "We refuse!"


    They weren''t worried that Li Yang would go too overboard, as they were after all working for Senior Sister Yijun. Just the fact that he had attacked them like this was enough for Senior Sister Yijun to seek out Li Yang and make him pay reparations. They stubbornly refused, but all that met them was the calm laughter of Li Yang.


    "Refuse? What part of my words made it sound like you had a choice? I''m not asking or requesting you, I am ordering you. The moment I spoke up, my words turned into a divine decree for the two of you. You must obey, whether you want to or not."


    After he chuckled, he pointed his finger at them, several small arcs of lightning shooting out from his fingertips and entering the bodies of the two. After the lightning entered their bodies, the two were shocked to discover that their bodies started to move, standing up and walking towards the house. The part that shocked them was the fact that they weren''t the ones controlling their bodies! They even tried to stop moving, but their bodies wouldn''t listen to them. They couldn''t help but cry out, their voice a mixture of fear and shock.


    "This... What is this?!"


    Li Yang walked a bit behind the two, slightly raising one of his sharp eyebrows after he heard their shocked cry. He gave another light chuckle, explaining it to the two of them in a mocking voice.


    "What, you''re part of the Yuan clan but don''t know that all the movements your body makes are all dictated by small electric currents that run through your body? Are you that retarded? Or maybe you are just too dumb to actually bother studying? So in theory, as long as one can delicately control their law of lightning, they can control the actions of others, even what they see and hear. Of course, if one''s control is a bit off, it could end up frying the brain or nerves of the one being controlled, turning them into a cripple or a retard."


    His words were meant to frighten the two, but they were still true. If his control was off, his lightning could suddenly increase in strength and fry their brain or nerves. Of course, there was no chance of that happening right now, not with Li Yang in control. The three swiftly reached the dirty house, Li Yang giving a light clap of his hands.


    "If you were at full power, I wouldn''t be able to control you this easily, but now that you are wounded and weak, it is a piece of cake. So, time to clean the shit."


    Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia thought that Li yang would have them enter the house to pick up cleaning supplies, but they quickly turned pale when they noticed that he was making them push their faces closer and closer to the feces that stained the house. The two quickly called out in disgust and fear.


    "Stop, stop! Please stop, we''ll clean it!"


    If the options were to either clean to house on their own or have their faces covered in feces, it was a simple choice. But what a shame, Li Yang only let out another calm laugh, his calm smiling face sending shivers up the spines of Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia.


    "Oh, I know you will. But first, since you threw shit at my house, you must be ready to have some shit thrown at you."


    The two felt like crying, but Li Yang didn''t stop. They buried their own faces in the feces that they had thrown at his house, completely covering their faces in the disgusting substance. Only when their faces were completely smeared in feces did Li Yang have them pick up cleaning supplies, starting to clean the entire house.


    Two hours later, the house was finally completely clean again. Li Yang grabbed the two by the neck, tossing them away and undoing his control over them. After they landed a short distance away from his house, his voice fluttered into their ears, the calmness of it continuing to send shivers down their spine.


    "Good work, you cleaned up every last bit! Now fuck off and tell Senior Sister Yijun that she can keep her childish ideas and grand delusions of being a mighty ruler to herself, I won''t play along."

 79 Such annoying people.

    After Li Yang threw away Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia, Rivergrass and the two other servants poked their heads out from their homes. With such a large commotion taking place, how could people not have noticed? Even the other disciples in the surrounding houses had noticed the commotion, watching it from the safety of their own homes. Li Yang still looked completely calm, but one of his servants, the black-eyed and brown-haired Ji Shun, couldn''t help but stutter out a few words.


    "Senior Brother Yang... They..."


    Ji Shun and the others were very clear on the identities of Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia, they were the servants of one of the top five outer disciples. Li Yang beating them so easily was shocking, but it didn''t really matter, what mattered more was that this would provoke the ire of the one standing behind them, Yuan Yijun. But facing the three nervous servants, Li Yang simply gave a calming wave of his hand.


    "Don''t worry about it, they won''t be returning."


    Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia wouldn''t dare return, and if Yuan Yijun was smart, she wouldn''t bother sending any more people. After all, Li Yang''s strength was unknown to her, so sending more people could easily result in her simply having more of her men beat up and humiliated. The three servants didn''t seem to understand this, so they still looked worried. But Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders, casually waving his hand as he started to walk away.


    "I plan on checking out some of the training grounds, you guys should focus on your cultivation."


    If Li Yang wanted to deepen his understanding of the laws of fire and ice, his best choice was to check out the training grounds set up by the clan, they would allow him to save quite a bit of time. Li Yang didn''t know where the training grounds were located, so he followed Jiang Chen''s advice and headed for the mission control building. Once inside, he simply walked up to the closest stall and asked the black-haired male youth behind the counter.


    "I would like some directions to the training grounds, where can I get those?"


    The black-haired youth put on a polite and charming smile, nodding at Li Yang and then pointing to the very back of the large hall.


    "All training ground questions can be taken to Elder Zhuten, you can find him sitting at the booth located at the far back, to the east."


    The booth he pointed at was located in the far back, but it was surprisingly visible, with very few booths located around it. Liang Chen thanked the youth and then headed for the booth, giving the old man with silky black hair a quick nod.


    "I would like directions to the training ground focusing on the law of fire, could you point me there?"


    The black-haired Elder Zhuten opened his eyes, revealing them both to be completely white, as if he was blind. But despite seemingly being blind, his eyes were able to perfectly locate Li Yang''s face, the two locking eyes. Elder Zhuten spoke up, his voice a bit hoarse.


    "Head to the Ascending Carp Staircase and follow it up the mountain for about 700 steps, then enter the first house to your left, the small one-room building with the orange door. But don''t forget that staying in the training ground requires contribution points. If you run out while training, you will be thrown out, so keep it in mind."


    Li Yang thanked Elder Zhuten, giving him a deep look before he left for the Ascending Carp Staircase. Elder Zhuten seemed like a frail and blind elder, but Li Yang felt that something about him was off, he just couldn''t place his finger on it.


    He followed the directions, quickly reaching the staircase that went from the foot of the main mountain all the way to the peak. He counted the steps as he made his way up, stopping after exactly 700 and turning to the left. There was indeed a small one-room house standing a few meters away from him, a bright orange door taking up most of the wall.


    Li Yang opened the door and entered the house, arriving in a small room that was completely empty. The floor of the room was covered in lines and runes drawn using blood filled with Qi, forming a small spatial array. Once Li Yang entered the room, the formation lit up, a thin stream of energy entered his body, sinking into the piece of jade that had sunk into his body when he became a member of the Yuan clan. The formation quickly lit up, space around Li Yang distorting and twisting, a silver light blinding him as he was sent through space.


    When the light vanished, Li Yang found himself standing in an incredibly hot environment. He was standing in a small clearing surrounded by a large forest, with a massive volcano spewing black smoke towering above him in the distance. But the forest around him wasn''t completely normal, it was completely ablaze.


    All of the trees were burning with crimson flames, even the earth was covered in flames. But strangely enough, whenever a tree was turned to ash, it would quickly grow anew from the ashes, only to catch fire again. Looking at the forest around him, Li Yang rubbed his chin slightly.


    "So this is the training ground... What a peculiar place. I wonder just where on the continent, or planet, we are right now."


    Li Yang searched his memories, but he could not remember there being a volcano as massive as the one in front of him located on this planet. Had it popped up while he was gone, or did the array take him to a different planet? It wasn''t completely out of the question that this was a new planet, as the Yuan clan should be strong enough to spread to some of the closer planets.


    Li Yang temporarily took his eyes away from the blazing fires, inspecting the ground and some of the trees, gazing deeper into the forest, a light flickering in his eyes as he rubbed his chin in interest.


    "There is an array supporting the entire area, but it seems that the density of energy is stronger the closer we get to the volcano. Is it a separated formation, or maybe a layered one? Or maybe it''s a formation within a formation?"


    He could tell that there seemed to be a single array covering the burning forest and the large volcano, but there were clear differences in the strength of the array based on how close to the volcano one got.


    For this to be the case, the array had to either be a separated array, an array that was split up and fueled by different energy sources of varying strength, or it had to be a layered array, an array where the material used to draw it changed as you drew it, the stronger parts of the array drawn using more powerful blood. As for a formation within a formation, that was much simpler, one simply drew one array on top of part of another array, taking great care to not have the lines interfere with each other.


    While Li Yang was muttering about what sort of array could be used to fuel this training ground, Jinwu and Shenlong let out a few cries, nudging Li Yang and interrupting his thought process. He glanced at the two of them, who were looking at him with imploring eyes. He let out a light chuckle, waving his hand.


    "Yes yes, the two of you can run loose, but don''t cause any trouble."


    Jinwu and Shenlong immediately shot out after Li Yang waved his hand. Jinwu could absorb the fire to increase his strength, and while Shenlong and Huanglong couldn''t absorb the fire, they could at least use the heat to somewhat temper their bodies. Li Yang watched them vanish, a smile on his face. Once they disappeared from sight, Li Yang''s eyes landed on the blazing flames.


    "Alright then, let''s delve into the mysteries of fire."


    He hadn''t forgotten why he had come here, to deepen his understanding of the law of fire. Even if he was interested in the arrays used to support this place, he could inspect them in the future, once he had a bit more time.


    Li Yang took a deep breath, stepping into the burning forest and pushing his concentration to the peak. He spread out his senses, connecting his mind to all the fire burning around him as he slowly walked through the forest, his mind almost blanking as he entered what he considered to be a standard cultivation state.


    He instantly lost track of time as he walked, his mind becoming part of the fire that scorched this forest. And it was because his mind was part of the fire that he started to discover some of the finer parts of it.


    Fire wasn''t just destructive, it had other properties than just extreme heat. When controlled, it brought peace and warmth to people, pushing away the cold and the beasts that lurked in the dark. When it was unleashed on a forest, it would destroy everything, but the energy in the fire, as well as the nutrients in the resulting ash, would allow the forest to grow back incredibly fast, healthier than ever before. Fire could also sterilize, the high heat burning away harmful entities that were too small to be seen. Fire was far more than just destruction and heat.


    Li Yang continued to immerse himself in the burning flames, not even noticing when the fire spread to his own body, scorching away his robes and starting to melt his body. Li Yang''s body had been rebuilt using fire during one of the trials he undertook in Zhao Feng''s hidden realm, so the fire didn''t hurt him, it instead melted and rebuilt his body again, tempering it a bit further and increasing his affinity to fire.


    Of course, had it not been for Li Yang''s body having been rebuilt by fire, something that was only possible thanks to the tremendously strong array Zhao Feng had set down as well as the control of Chen Huo, the green dragon that controlled the array, Li Yang would die if his body was to be subjected to treatment like this.


    After his body melted and was rebuilt using fire several times, Li Yang suddenly left his cultivation state, clarity returning to his eyes. He took out a fresh robe from his interspatial ring, one of the violet wolf skin robes, putting it on and using his Qi to push away the fire around him. He swept the surroundings with his gaze, a sigh escaping his lips.


    "Haah, this truly is a wonderful training ground. With the array slowly strengthening and changing as you head deeper, you can always just turn back if you wish to focus on one specific aspect of the law, or head deeper when you feel that your understanding has deepened. It even tests your understanding to see if you are ready to head deeper. I truly wonder just how an array like this was set up."


    Despite being in a deep cultivation state, thanks to his mind being connected to the surrounding fires, he was still able to keep an eye on his surroundings. It was thanks to this that he noticed that the entire training ground was split up into several different areas, each area focusing on a different part of the law of fire. The surrounding array would even prevent others from going deeper if they didn''t prove that they had a sufficiently deep understanding of the law of fire. For such a training ground to exist, it was clear that whoever set it up had not only a terrifyingly deep understanding of the law of fire, but was also highly proficient in arrays.


    Li Yang checked the piece of jade that had fused with his chest, checking on his contribution points. And once he saw his current balance, he couldn''t help but shake his head with a wry smile.


    "It feels like its only been a few minutes, but two months have already passed. I''ve only stayed in the outskirts of the array, so each day only cost me 2 contribution points, so I''m down to only 80. Should be about time for me to gather up some more."


    It felt like he had just barely sunk his mind into the surrounding flames, but it turned out that two months had passed by without him noticing it. Over these two months, his cultivation hadn''t increased, but his fire runes had grown even purer and more profound, increasing the strength of his flames, and his body had grown somewhat stronger.


    Li Yang let loose a loud whistle that echoed through the area, patiently waiting after the sound vanished. The sound of flapping wings quickly approached Li Yang, Jinwu and Shenlong coming at full speed, landing in their usual spots on Li Yang''s body.


    The shine of Shenlong''s scales had grown a bit more resplendent, and Jinwu''s eyes now contained a trace amount of golden color, it was clear that both had gained a bit after these two months. Li Yang gave a satisfied nod of his head and then returned to the clearing where he had first appeared, returning to the Yuan clan.


    Li Yang quickly descended the Ascending Carp Staircase and made his way back to his own home. He had been gone for two months, so he was a bit curious about what might have happened in his absence. But when he reached his own house, his eyebrow couldn''t help but rise.


    The three houses that Blackstone and the two other servants lived in had been completely ruined, the three servants sitting on the ground outside Li Yang''s house. Their faces were bandaged and their bodies bruised, so it was clear that they had suffered a beating. Seeing Li Yang approaching, the three quickly stood up and put on forced smiles, cupping their hands.


    "Senior Brother Ya-"


    Before the three even got to finish their greetings, Li Yang waved his hand and cut them off, his voice completely calm.


    "What happened here?"


    His own house was perfectly fine, it didn''t even have a scratch or a stain. But the three houses he had gifted his servants had been destroyed so badly that one might as well just rebuild the houses from scratch. The three servants gave each other a quick glance, Blackstone shrugging his shoulders.


    "It''s nothi-"


    Li Yang once again cut them off before they got to finish their sentence, stepping forward and instantly arriving in front of Blackstone, the sound of muffled thunder ringing out.


    "Just tell me what happened here."


    He wasn''t interested in hearing their excuses, he just wanted to figure out what had happened here. Blackstone''s expression turned into a grimace for a short second, before he let out a sigh and told the truth.


    "It was Kong Lingxin, Senior Sister Yujin''s third in command. He came to seek reparations for what happened to Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia."


    He came to seek reparations, but since Li Yang was training somewhere, he couldn''t get a hold of him. Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head, giving the surroundings a slight sweep with his gaze.


    "Hoh? Seems like he got a bit impatient while he waited. So I guess this is supposed to be something of a message? Where can I find this Kong Lingxin?"


    Blackstone, Rivergrass, and Ji Shun, these three people were Li Yang''s servants, people working for him. He had told Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia that he would not stand for anyone laying a hand on the people assigned to him, as it was something that Fang Ying hated. But now they had gone and done just that, even destroying the things that Li Yang had gifted the three of them.


    Blackstone wanted to give another excuse, but seeing the calm expression on Li Yang''s eyes, he felt a slight shiver run down his spine, so he quickly told him the truth.


    "There is no nee... He enjoys battling others, so he often frequents the arena, both as a spectator and as a contestant."


    Li Yang gave another nod of his head, turning around and calmly making his way towards the horizontally split mountain that was the arena. Blackstone and the others didn''t dare follow, as provisional disciples weren''t allowed to enter the arena, but they still heard Li Yang''s faint mutter as he left.


    "This is why people like Yijun and such are so annoying, they get a tiny amount of power and control, and suddenly they think that everyone has to follow them."

 80 Third in command, second in command.

    Li Yang quickly made his way to the mountain where the arena was located, taking the stairs that were located at the side of the mountain up to the halfway point, which was where the entire mountain had been cut in half horizontally. The cut created a completely smooth and flat surface, but the arena wasn''t just placed on this flat surface.


    At the center of the cut-off part, a large circle had been dug into the mountain, several sets of stone stairs leading into the hole. About 100 meters down this hole was where the arena was actually located, a square stone stage that was about 2 kilometers in every direction. Surrounding this stage was an elevated seating area that had been dug into the side of the hole, rather thick metal chairs covered in a soft yellow fabric lined up in a neat fashion.


    Li Yang used one of the flights of stairs to enter the audience area, sweeping his head to scan the entire area. There were currently two women battling in the arena, while the audience seating was nearly completely filled. Li Yang opened his mouth, his voice reaching everyone in the arena.


    "Is Kong Lingxin or someone who can get in contact with him here?"


    Li Yang didn''t actually know how Kong Lingxin looked, so he could only rely on someone else to tell him whether or not he was here. The spectators cast a few glances at Li Yang, a middle-aged man with slicked-back brown hair nodding his head at Li Yang.


    "Senior Brother Lingxin isn''t here right now, but I can get in contact with him. Who is calling for him?"


    This arena was mostly frequented by outer disciples, with the inner disciples more focused on cultivation or completing missions. Because of this, almost everyone here knew who Kong Lingxin was, as it wasn''t easy to become the third in command of one of the top outer disciples. Li Yang''s eyes landed on the middle-aged man, giving a slight nod of his head.


    "Perfect, send him a message and tell him that Li Yang is awaiting him in the arena."


    A few surprised exclamations sounded out among the audience. Someone was actually calling out Kong Lingxin? The middle-aged man took out an orb of jade, inserting some of his Qi and whispering a few words to it. Once Li Yang saw that the man had sent the message, he headed down to the stage and sat down on one of the stone chairs that surrounded the edge of the stage, calmly waiting with closed eyes.


    Li Yang continued to quietly sit at the side of the stage, the hours quickly slipping by. Only after a little over half a day passed did some sounds come from the audience, Li Yang''s eyes opening and landing on the man who had come down to the stage, looking directly back at him.


    "You''re Kong Lingxin? Took you a bit of time to get here."


    The man who came was almost two meters tall but strangely slim, almost malnourished. He looked to be approaching his thirties, but his hair had already turned gray, hanging loosely down to his shoulders. Had it not been for his green eyes which were filled with vitality and strength, he might be mistaken for someone sickly.


    Another point that Li Yang found strange was the fact that Kong Lingxin was only at the early stage of the Ascending Heaven realm. But since he had managed to become the third in command with that cultivation, Li Yang guessed that he likely had some special techniques or skills. Kong Lingxin smiled politely at Li Yang, cupping his hands in greeting.


    "You''ll have to forgive me, I was in the middle of some cultivation and was at a rather vital point. I don''t imagine you have called me here because you wish to pay the tax you owe?"


    Kong Lingxin''s words were mostly spoken as a formality, as Li Yang wouldn''t have called him to the arena if he wished to pay the tax. And just like he guessed, Li Yang stood up and shook his head, pointing at the now empty stage with his thumb.


    "Nope. My wife has often told me that I need to take good care of those who work for me, so since you have beaten up my men, I am now going to beat you down."


    The two entered the stage, leaving a good bit of distance between each other. Li Yang couldn''t see or sense any judges keeping an eye on the stage, but he was certain that the clan had an elder hidden away, keeping watch on the stage and making sure that no disciples were killed. Li Yang was about to start the fight, but Kong Lingxin raised his hand, interrupting him.


    "Tell me, Junior Brother Yang, do you know why we have these taxes in place?"


    Li Yang stopped in his tracks, curiously cocking his head to the side. He hadn''t expected the question, but he still gave his honest response.


    "Because it is an efficient way to acquire more resources without doing much."


    He didn''t see any other reason as to why they would have a tax in place. It was to make the strong stronger and force the weak to stay weak, making sure that there was no competition. After hearing Li Yang''s response, Kong Lingxin actually shook his head, clicking his tongue a few times as he waggled his finger.


    "Wrong. The reason we have taxes in place is to make clear the hierarchy of the outer disciples. As long as there is a hierarchy in place, the people below will see how good those above them are living, causing them to strive to reach that height. This makes it so that the weaker disciples are encouraged to work harder on their cultivation, in hopes of reaching the higher ranks. If we allow people to not follow this hierarchy, others will start to believe that there is no need for it, losing their drive to push forward, forever content with staying at the bottom."


    Kong Lingxin wore a righteous expression as he spoke, seemingly fully believing his words to be right. He wanted Li Yang to understand why the taxes were important and why he should just pay, but the only response he got was a sneer.


    "What a joke, don''t underestimate people like that. Even without a hierarchy, cultivators will always strive for greater heights, it is in our nature. Don''t bother coming up with excuses to justify yourself, just be honest and say that you wanted more resources."


    Cultivators had been around long before Li Yang was born, and if he were to die, they would continue to be around long after his death, and they would always try to climb the mountain that was cultivation. It was in the nature of cultivators to always strive for higher peaks, reaching further than before. If anyone called themselves a cultivator but didn''t think like this, they were nothing more than liars, a mockery of actual cultivators.


    Kong Lingxin''s expression didn''t change after hearing Li Yang''s statement, giving a shake of his head and preparing a counter-argument.


    "You aren-"


    But before he got to finish whatever counter-argument he had prepared, the calm, if slightly impatient voice of Li Yang interrupted him.


    "Enough words. As I said, I called you here to beat you down, not to listen to your flimsy excuses."


    Li Yang wanted to return to his cultivation, and every moment he spent here was a moment where he wasn''t properly raising his strength. Kong Lingxin seemed a bit annoyed at getting interrupted, but he nodded his head, his eyes narrowing as he prepared for battle.


    "Very well. Then allow me to educate you on the strength of Senior Sister Yijun''s third in command."


    Kong Lingxin swiped his interspatial ring and brought out his weapon, a long and thick gray ruler that was almost two meters long and one meter wide. Looking at the energy fluctuations of the weapon, Li Yang guessed that it was likely a weapon that had reached the early stage of the Spiritual grade, quite a bit better than any of the weapons he could currently use.


    Li Yang didn''t pull out a weapon, but as he took his stance, crimson flames suddenly shot out from all his pores, his strength increasing drastically. The flames that shot out from his pores thanks to the Burning Hope technique were crimson in color, but that was only a cover-up that Li Yang had prepared. The actual flames he used to activate the technique were some golden flames he had borrowed from Jinwu.


    This Burning Hope technique that Jing Yimu had taught him increased the strength of the user based on the strength of the flames used, so there were very few flames better than the Golden Crow flames. Li Yang did not make it a habit to underestimate his enemies when he fought them in an actual battle, so he used almost all his strength when fighting Kong Lingxin.


    Li Yang took the first move, stepping forward, the sound of rumbling thunder resounding across the arena as he shot forward, his body turning into a blur. He quickly arrived at Kong Lingxin''s side, punching out with a fist covered in fire and lightning.


    But Kong Lingxin seemed to be able to keep up with Li Yang''s speed, as he swung his heavy ruler, sending a diagonal slash at Li Yang''s chest. Li Yang''s eyes narrowed slightly when he saw that Kong Lingxin didn''t intend to block his attack. He glanced at the attack but didn''t feel confident in taking it with his body, so he chose to dodge it.


    He kicked off from the ground and jumped up, his feet landing on the ruler as it swung beneath him. He crouched his body, his left hand gently brushing past the bottom of the ruler, close to where Kong Lingxin was holding it. While his left hand was brushing past the bottom of the ruler, his right arm shot out, looking to grab onto Kong Lingxin''s throat.


    But as his hand got closer, the flesh on Kong Lingxin''s throat started to wriggle, turning into a bloody spike that pierced towards Li Yang''s hand. Li Yang clenched his hand, turning his grab into a fist and slightly altering its course. Now, rather than aiming to grab at his throat, his punch was angled slightly upwards, clashing with the spike of flesh.


    When he hit the spike, he felt like his hand clashed with a block of solid iron, sending a slight amount of pain jolting up his arm. Li Yang quickly pulled back his arm and kicked off from the ruler, jumping back and putting some distance between them again. He looked at his own hand, as well as the spike of flesh that was sinking back into Kong Lingxin''s body, raising an eyebrow in surprise.


    Kong Lingxin clearly cultivated the law of flesh, granting him superb control over his own flesh and the flesh of those weaker than him. But even if he cultivated the law of flesh, it didn''t make his body that much stronger. So for that spike of flesh to be that hard, it was clear that Kong Lingxin had trained the toughness of his body to a rather high level, even stronger than Li Yang''s own body.


    Li Yang was quite interested in how Kong Lingxin had trained his body to such a level, was it normal training or did he use a body cultivation technique? But now was not the time to ask such a question, so he threw it to the back of his mind.


    He once again stepped forward, turning into a blur as he shot forward. Kong Lingxin didn''t seem interested in letting Li Yang get too close, the ground beneath Li Yang suddenly turning to sand, causing him to almost lose his balance as he sunk into the sand.


    Kong Lingxin took advantage of this opportunity, dashing forward and swinging his ruler sideways, once again aiming at Li Yang''s chest. But this time, as he swung his ruler, Li Yang snapped his fingers. The snap seemed to be a signal, as ice suddenly appeared on the ruler, at the spot where Li Yang''s hand had brushed past not long ago.


    The ice spread to Kong Lingxin''s hands, causing the handle of the ruler to become so slippery that the weapon slipped out of Kong Lingxin''s hands, shooting into the distance because of the force he had put into his attack. With his weapon suddenly slipping out of his hands, Kong Lingxin was, of course, a bit caught off guard.


    Li Yang took advance of this moment, the sand around his feet melting as he poured his flames into it. The sand quickly melted, so Li Yang kicked out with his feet, sending molten sand flying at Kong Lingxin. At the same time, he pointed at Kong Lingxin, a small and thin bolt of azure lightning shotting out from his fingertip, shooting at Kong Lingxin''s chest.


    Kong Lingxin''s expression turned solemn as he stretched out his arm, the ruler suddenly flying back into his grasp. With the ruler back in his hand, he moved it in front of his body to block the molten sand and lightning.


    The lightning was the first to hit the ruler, the sheer force behind it actually pushing Kong Lingxin back two steps, leaving behind a mark on his prided ruler. The next to arrive in front of his ruler was the molten sand, but just as it was about to hit the ruler, a strange icy mist surrounded the droplets, freezing them and turning them into glass droplets.


    The droplets hit the ruler and shattered, showering Kong Lingxin in sharp shards of glass, leaving behind bloody streaks on the parts of his body that were hit. Even though his body was as tough as iron, these shards of glass contained a bit of Li Yang''s law of ice, as well as a bit of his law of lightning.


    Kong Lingxin once again took several steps backward, putting distance between him and Li Yang again. His expression was solemn as he looked at Li Yang, who was calmly stepping out from the pit of molten sand he had created. Kong Lingxin tightly grasped his ruler, nodding at Li Yang.


    "I must admit, you are strong, very strong! I thought I could beat you like this, but it seems like I must show you how I got the title of Iron Bull!"


    Right after he spoke, Kong Lingxin''s body suddenly grew even taller, approaching three meters. His skin also changed, turning rigid and gray in color, releasing a faint glow as the energy he radiated grew a bit. Li Yang looked on in interest, slightly cocking his head.


    "Oh, what sort of technique is this?"


    The technique not only made him grow taller and increased his strength, it even seemed to change his entire body. The now completely gray Kong Lingxin stepped forward, his steps cracking the stage beneath him as he gave Li Yang a warning.


    "This is my body cultivation technique, the Iron Peak King technique. Once activated, I can turn every part of my body in metal, greatly strengthening my defense, attack, even my Stargod Essence! Watch out Junior Brother Yang, it is a bit hard to control my strength like this!"


    Li Yang didn''t know what this Stargod Essence was, could it be something unique to the technique, or was it something only body cultivators had? He looked at the strengthened Kong Lingxin, fondling his chin slightly before he nodded his head.


    "A body turned to metal, huh? All right then, since you wish to make it so easy for me, let''s end this."


    Kong Lingxin didn''t understand the meaning behind Li Yang''s words, nor did he understand what Li Yang was planning when he suddenly lowered his defenses. Kong Lingxin narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but he still stepped forward. But just as he took another step, something suddenly hit the back of his head, sending a jolt of pain through his body.


    He quickly turned around, but there was nothing behind him. He then grabbed at the back of his head, noticing that one of the thick metal chairs was stuck to the back of his head. And just as he noticed the chair, he saw that more and more chairs were suddenly flying at him from the spectator stands, causing him to let out a shocked cry.


    "This?! What is this?!"


    He tried to dodge the chairs, but they seemed to follow him as he moved, crashing into his body at high speeds. And as more and more chairs started to crash into him, forcing him to the ground, he saw Li Yang start to calmly walk toward him, an indifferent expression in his eyes. It didn''t take too much thinking to realize that this was Li Yang''s doing, so he quickly called out, seeking an answer to his confusion.


    "What are you doing?!"


    There was no reply from Li Yang, who simply continued to calmly walk towards Kong Lingxin, who was still being bombarded by chairs. But as Li Yang reached Kong Lingxin''s front, the chairs stopped flying at him, the chairs that were sticking to his body suddenly dropping to the ground.


    Kong Lingxin thought that he got a chance to turn the tide, but the moment the thought struck him, his own hands smacked him in the face, breaking his nose. Kong Lingxin was now completely aghast, but Li Yang still only looked at him with that calm and indifferent expression. He realized that the battle was lost, so he tried to quickly call out, surrendering and ending the battle.


    "Stop, I su-!"


    But he never got to finish his sentence, Li Yang kicking him in the mouth and shattering two of his teeth, stopping his words. Kong Lingxin''s eyes contained a mixture of shock and fear as he looked at Li Yang, who simply placed his finger in front of his mouth, shushing Kong Lingxin as if he was a noisy child.


    "Be quiet."


    What Li Yang had done was surprisingly simple, it was a way to use the law of lightning. He used his lightning to form an electric current, which would allow him to use a piece of metal as a conduit to create a magnetic field. And in this situation, Kong Lingxin''s metallic body had become this conduit, becoming one big electromagnet that Li Yang could control by changing the strength of the electric current.


    After silencing Kong Lingxin, Li Yang raised his foot, delivering a heavy kick to Kong Lingxin''s chest. His kick sent a stream of ice into Kong Lingxin''s energy, freezing and breaking a few of his ribs. Li Yang then raised his foot again, aiming at Kong Lingxin''s right arm, when a loud and furious shout suddenly rang out.


    "Stop!"


    Li Yang glanced at the person who called out, an elegant woman with raven black hair, a buxom figure, deep brown eyes, and cherry red lips. She was quite beautiful, bit Li Yang simply ignored her and stomped down on Kong Lingxin''s wrist, shattering it. Being ignored like this, the elegant woman couldn''t help but shout out, her voice booming out like furious lightning.


    "Did you not hear me?!"


    The woman''s chest heaved up and down in agitation, the two mounds on her chest bouncing in an enticing manner. But Li Yang simply gave her a calm and indifferent stare.


    "With your shrieking, how could I not hear it? But why the fuck should I listen to you?"


    Not only the woman but even the other people in the audience, who had come to watch the fun, felt the corners of their mouths twitch when they heard Li Yang''s words. Even if one ignored the fact that she was a beautiful woman, very few people dared curse at this woman, mainly because of her other status. The woman quickly took a deep breath to calm herself down, introducing herself in an attempt to threaten Li Yang.


    "I am Yuan Ruogang, the right hand of Senior Sister Yijun!"


    She wanted to threaten and intimidate Li Yang, but even after hearing her status, his expression didn''t change. He simply gave her a slight nod and then turned away, his eyes once again landing on Kong Lingxin.


    "Oh, the second in command huh? Well, you can just wait over there while I finish up here."


    He was already savagely beating the third in command, so what if he ignored the words of the second in command? He continued to beat Kong Lingxin, returning all the pain he had inflicted on Blackstone and the two others, as well as taking revenge for the shattered buildings.


    Only after shattering Kong Lingxin''s right wrist, five of his ribs, his left shin, as well as his right shoulder, did Li Yang stop the beating. He picked up the beaten Kong Lingxin, throwing him at Yuan Ruogang and once again warning the people of Yuan Yijun to leave him alone.


    "There, now you can take him back with you. Tell that stupid leader of yours that I have no interest in ruining her game, but if she keeps messing with me, I won''t mind tearing her down from her throne."

 81 Six month agreement.

    The expression of the raven-haired Yuan Ruogang quickly sank after hearing Li Yang''s words. The air around her grew heavy, the stone beneath her feet cracking as it seemed to be pushed down. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, the people closest to her starting to pull back.


    "Are you threatening Jun''er?"


    She used a very intimate name for Yuan Yijun, so Li Yang guessed that this Yuan Ruogang was very close to Yuan Yijun, they might even be lovers. Li Yang completely ignored the heavy atmosphere that descended on the arena, casually leaving the stage and ascending the stairs, giving a light shrug of his shoulders.


    "A warning, a threat, a polite reminder, consider it whatever you want, as long as it gets you to leave me alone."


    Li Yang didn''t stop walking after finishing his words, casually heading towards the staircase that would bring him out of the arena. Some people couldn''t help but click their tongues in the face of his courage, but they also knew that he wouldn''t get to leave so easily, not after what he had said.


    And just like they thought, the air around Li Yang suddenly turned heavy, almost becoming viscous as a strong pressure pushed down on him, cracking the stone beneath him. The cold voice of Yuan Ruogang sounded out after Li Yang stopped in his tracks, the sound of footsteps sounding out from behind Li Yang.


    "You wish to just leave? After what you''ve done and said?"


    Despite the strong pressure and nearly viscous air, Li Yang still stood ramrod straight, his spine like a spear, once again causing the surrounding people to click their tongues in admiration. Li Yang turned his head somewhat, his eyes sweeping over the four people that had stood up from their seats and surrounded him.


    These people were clearly working for Yuan Yijun and were currently following the orders of Yuan Ruogang. But despite having four people, as well as Yuan Ruogang herself, glaring at him with cold eyes, Li Yang was still perfectly calm. His eyes landed on Yuan Ruogang, a somewhat mocking smile appearing on his face.


    "Oh? Do you want to bully a younger disciple using numbers? Is this how the people serving Yijun work? How despicable, but I guess that''s how she raised you guys, so it just reflects her character."


    Li Yang was arrogant, but he wasn''t completely stupid. Yuan Ruogang had reached the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, and the four others had reached the early stage. After using quite a bit of energy fighting against Kong Lingxin, winning over these five would be hard without fusing with Jinwu and Shenlong. He also didn''t know just how strong Yuan Ruogang was, she was Yuan Yijun''s second in command after all.


    And because he knew this, he decided to make it hard for Yuan Ruogang to move against him right here. And just like he expected, Yuan Ruogang waved her arm, letting out a snort.


    "There''s no need to drag Jun''er into this, just say what you wish to say."


    Yuan Ruogang clearly cared a lot about Yuan Yijun, so Li Yang only had to drag her into this, making it seem like attacking him would bring disgrace to Yuan Yijun. It might not work if Yuan Ruogang didn''t care about Yuan Yijun''s face, but he felt confident that this Yuan Ruogang, who seemed very intimate with Yuan Yijun, would care about her face. The smile on Li Yang''s face grew a bit fainter, but it still carried its mocking tone.


    "You have some intelligence, how nice."


    Li Yang even gave a light clap of his hands, the expressions of Yuan Ruogang and the four other men sinking somewhat. But before they got the chance to say anything, Li Yang stretched out his right hand, pointing at the square stage.


    "Six months. Meet me here in six months and I''ll give you the fight you desire. Of course, that is if you still dare to meet me here."


    It was clear that Yuan Ruogang wouldn''t just leave him be, so since that was the case, he might as well set a date for the battle, giving him some time to increase his strength. Yuan Ruogang''s expression started to change slightly, indicating that she was contemplating her options and which one would be the best choice. Compared to her racing thoughts, Li Yang was a lot more casual, shrugging his shoulders and chuckling.


    "Personally, I''d much rather you just deliver my words to Yijun and we''ll all go our separate ways, never to cross paths again."


    If he could get out of this without having to battle and show much more of his strength, that would be for the best. He had prepared an excellent excuse just in case the clan grew suspicious of his rapid advancement and high strength, but not having to use it was still for the best. Yuan Ruogang quickly made up her mind after hearing Li Yang''s words, pointing a rather delicate finger at the stage, sneering at Li Yang.


    "Six months. You said it in front of all these people, so don''t think I''ll let you slink away when the time comes."


    Yuan Ruogang swept the surrounding spectators with her eyes as she spoke,indicating that they would let the rest of the clan know if Li Yang should fail to show up, disgracing him and ruining his face. She was completely serious and angered, but Li Yang still only gave a casual shrug of his shoulders, only further infuriating Yuan Ruogang.


    "Yeah yeah, no need for you to worry about me. Of course, lay a hand on my people and I can''t guarantee that I''ll let your men return unharmed."


    The viscous air around Li Yang loosened up, the pressure vanishing, so he continued to walk away. But he didn''t make it very far, being stopped by a familiar short blonde-haired man with a muscular body, Xiang Wuying, who called out to him.


    "Heh, seems like you are even stronger than I initially thought."


    Xiang Wuying chuckled lightly, looking at Li Yang with a deep gaze. He thought he had already given Li Yang a high evaluation after they went on the previous mission together, but seeing how easily he had beaten Kong Lingxin, he could only admit that his original evaluation was still a bit too low.


    Li Yang turned towards Xiang Wuying, who was sitting on a seat close to the back of the spectators seating area, only a few meters to his right. He cupped his hands, giving a faint smile and a polite response.


    "Senior Brother Wuying, you overpraise me."


    From what Li Yang had seen, Xiang Wuying was far better than Yuan Yijun, so he had no problem addressing him as Senior Brother Wuying, rather than just using his name like he did with Yuan Yijun. Xiang Wuying couldn''t help but curl his lips slightly, looking at Li Yang and letting out a faint laugh.


    "Now you choose to act humble? After acting so grand against Junior Sister Ruogang?"


    Li Yang hadn''t just completely disregarded Yuan Ruogang, he had even insulted Yuan Yijun. Was the man who had said those words still the same as the one who politely cupped his hands in front of him? Li Yang simply smiled faintly, only giving a short response.


    "The right attitude for the right occasion."


    Li Yang had learned a bit from the end of his previous life. There was no point in needlessly antagonizing others, one more ally was better than one more enemy. Of course, that didn''t mean he would just accept everything just to gather more allies, he had standards, morals, and a bottom line. Xiang Wuying let out another chuckle, but before he got to respond, Li Yang spoke up again.


    "You said that I could come to you if I had any troubles, does that offer still stand?"


    Right before they split up after completing the mission, Xiang Wuying assured Li Yang that he could come to him if he ever encountered any trouble, it was now time to hold him to those words. Xiang Wuying could guess at what Li Yang was going to say, so he glanced at Yuan Ruogang, who was carrying away the unconscious Kong Lingxin.


    "You want me to help you with Yijun?"


    The way he saw it, Li Yang had set up a six-month agreement, but how much stronger could he grow in a mere six months? But contrary to what he expected, Li Yang actually shook his head and denied his words.


    "No, I want you to keep an eye on my servants. I intend to accept a few missions and leave the clan for a bit, so I''d rather not have Yijun target my servants while I''m gone."


    If Li Yang couldn''t even assure the safety of his own servants, how could he possibly assure the safety of Fang Ying once they reunited? And if she found out that his servants had ended up wounded because of him, and he had done nothing to protect them, she would likely scold him til his ear turned red.


    Xiang Wuying was rather caught off-guard by Li Yang''s request, giving an appreciative nod of his head.


    "Admirable. Very well, I''ll make sure she doesn''t harm a hair on their head."


    Li Yang was an outer disciple, so his servants were either provisional disciples or slaves. For Li Yang to actively seek protection for them meant that he treated them better than Xiang Wuying treated his own servants. Li Yang cupped his hands, thanking Xiang Wuying with a polite smile.


    "Thank you, Senior Brother Wuying."


    Li Yang made a bit more small talk with Xiang Wuying before bidding him farewell, heading directly for the dome-shaped mission control building. Once he entered it, he immediately walked over to the massive jade pillar that stood at the center of the building, placing his palms on one of the many watermelon-sized orbs of quartz that were located around it, sifting through the various missions.


    He picked out several missions that had good rewards and were within his level of strength, noting down their numbers on a piece of paper. After picking out 12 different missions, he brought the piece of paper over to one of the numerous counters that lined the walls, handing over the numbers to a middle-aged man with a graying beard.


    "I''d like to accept these missions, I''ll be clearing them all at once and delivering them in bulk once I return."


    Returning to the clan each time after he finished a mission would be a waste of time, so he decided to just finish them all up in one go and then pick up all the rewards in one go, using them all at once. The middle-aged man glanced at the mission numbers, looking them up using two different tablets of azure jade. He couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow after seeing the missions, giving Li Yang a reminder.


    "All of them? I must remind you that all these missions have a 1-star ranking, with some of them being at the higher spectrums. Are you sure you wish to accept them?"


    For the missions to be at the higher spectrums of the 1-star ranking meant that they were likely to have enemies who had reached the middle or late stage of the Ascending heaven realm. Li Yang only had a cultivation at the Human Rune realm, so the man''s reminder was completely reasonable. But even so, Li Yang simply gave a calm nod of his head.


    "I am, so please register it."


    Some of the missions required him to kill bandits, hunt wanted men, or kill Demonic beasts and bring back certain parts. Some of the missions might be a bit challenging, but none of them were impossible for him to complete. The middle-aged man had only given the reminder to help Li Yang realize the danger, so after getting the confirmation, he nodded his head.


    "Very well, as you wish."


    The man registered the missions to Li Yang, allowing the clan to know who had accepted the missions, and where they might find the body should he end up dying on the mission. Once the missions were registered, Li Yang took a quick trip back to his lodgings to let Blackstone and the two others know what he was going to do.


    "I''ll be leaving the clan for a bit. Senior Brother Wuying will send someone to make sure that you can cultivate in peace, so don''t worry about Yijun''s people."


    The three were originally worried that they would have to face the wrath of Yuan Yijun''s men after Li Yang left, but hearing that he got another one of the top outer disciples to keep an eye on them, all their worries were washed away. They swiftly cupped their hands and gave Li Yang a bow, speaking in a unified voice.


    "Thank you, Senior Brother Yang! We wish you a successful and uneventful hunt."

 82 From mountain to rubble.

    After Li Yang told Blackstone and the two others what he was planning, he returned to the Mission Control building. The missions he had accepted were spread over a large part of the continent, so he had to pick up a talisman that would let him use the spatial arrays owned by the Royal Dragon Pavilion.


    The talisman he received was in the shape of a silver crescent moon, the same one they had used when Li Yang was first brought to the Yuan clan. With this talisman, he could not only use all the spatial arrays of the Royal Dragon Pavilion, but also all of the permanent spatial arrays that the Yuan clan had over the continent. Thanks to several arrays built into the talisman, as well as the fact that it was refined by the Yuan clan patriarch, even if he lost the talisman, the Yuan clan could activate the arrays and have the talisman return on its own.


    After picking up the talisman, Li Yang walked to the edge of the clan, returning to the array they had used when he first arrived here. He placed the talisman against the formation, causing it to light up with a blinding light. Space around Li Yang turned viscous and constricting, coiling around him as he was sent away through space.


    Once the light vanished and space returned to normal, Li Yang arrived in a small room that was completely empty, the walls and floor covered in winding runes that formed a complex array. Li Yang left the room and took a small flight of stairs upwards, opening a door that was located at the top of the stairs.


    Once he pushed open the door, he was in the Royal Dragon Pavilion branch located in the Fire Cloud city where the contest to earn a spot for the Huo clan competition had taken place. A female receptionist came up to Li Yang, but he simply showed her the talisman, proving that he had the right to use the spatial array.


    He didn''t stick around Fire Cloud city for long, leaving it right after arriving. The first mission he intended on finishing was a bit of a distance away from this city, and it was to take down a group of bandits that had taken up shelter in a mountain. The group was a nuisance, but they stayed far enough away from Fire Cloud city that taking care of them was troublesome for the Fire Cloud city lord.


    Li Yang quickly moved away from the city, running at full speed to cover as much ground as possible. After he ran so far that he was no longer able to see the city, he found a small and barren mountain that didn''t hold any people. He gave the entire mountain a quick sweep, making sure that there truly wasn''t anyone there, and then glanced at Jinwu and Shenlong.


    "Alright you two, you can undo the disguises for a bit, let me see how much you''ve grown."


    To hide the fact that Jinwu and Shenlong were Divine beasts, Li Yang made them disguise themselves, especially while they were in the Yuan clan. Because of that, even he didn''t know how much the two had grown over the last two months.


    The two gave a short nod of their heads, putting some distance between them and Li Yang. Their bodies then started to change, Shenlong turning from his snake form back into his dragon form, stretching into a one-meter-long serpentine dragon. The violet spines that grew down his back had grown a little larger, and his four legs had grown a bit thicker. Li Yang guessed that since he was one meter long in this form, he would be half a meter long if he split up with Huanglong.


    Jinwu, on the other hand, had changed quite a bit more after absorbing a large amount of fire in the Yuan clan training ground. Without the disguise, he was no longer the size of a normal crow, he was now one meter long and had a wingspan of three meters. His eyes had taken on a faint golden color, and although his feathers were still black in color, the tip of his left wing had a faint golden sheen, while the tip of his right wing had a faint blue sheen. It had only been two months, but both had grown quite a bit, making Li Yang rather happy, petting both of them on the head.


    "You should try to keep your disguises on at all times from now on, with how you look now, I can''t really say that you are normal Demonic beasts."


    One was clearly a dragon, while the other was starting to show signs of being a Golden Crow. If others saw them like this, it wouldn''t require too much knowledge to figure out what they were, something that could spell disaster for Li Yang and the two of them.


    The two nodded their heads, returning to their previous forms of a small crow and a golden snake, each taking their usual position on Li Yang''s body, Jinwu perching on his left shoulder and Shenlong coiling around his neck. With both of them in position, Li Yang resumed his running, heading directly for the bandit hideout.


    Since he was running at full speed, and in a straight line, he managed to reach the mountain that the bandits called home after only three days of constant running. His speed was drastically increased thanks to his Qi and laws of lightning, so three days of constant running was enough to cross a considerably vast distance.


    The mountain that the bandits had taken as their base was shaped like a large hook, with the tip of the mountain bending forward and casting a shadow over the forest beneath it. The mountain was somewhat small, only around 10 kilometers tall. Somewhat short and gnarly trees created a large forest around the mountain, providing ample room for both bandit lookouts and Demonic beasts alike.


    Li Yang hid in the forest right after arriving in it, covering up all traces of him and slowly sneaking closer to the mountain. He spotted two bandit lookouts while he was moving, but he simply steered around them for now, memorizing their locations. Once he reached an area close to the outskirts of the mountain, he stopped moving and hid among the treetops, using the leaves to hide his body.


    He then glanced at Jinwu and Shenlong, who both already knew what they had to do. Shenlong split in two, Huanglong slithering off into the forest, and Shenlong slithering towards the mountain. Jinwu also took off, heading in the opposite direction of Huanglong, vanishing into the forest.


    Li Yang had no intention of just charging into the bandit hideout, he first wanted to see how many bandits there were, and just where they were located. The mission summary contained a little bit of information about the numbers and strength of the bandits, but it was always better to make sure that you were certain.


    Li Yang didn''t stay still either, activating his lightning-based search technique and starting to stealthily scour the forest, memorizing the locations of every bandit he encountered, as well as what direction they were moving or observing.


    The four continued to do this for an entire day, before finally meeting up again at the spot where they had split up. Huanglong and Shenlong fused back together, and then Shenlong and Jinwu started to relay to Li Yang all the information they had gathered. After gathering all the information, Li Yang rubbed his chin slightly, gazing at the mountain with narrowed eyes.


    "That''s quite a few, and there are a lot of tunnels and caves they can use to escape. Fighting in such enclosed quarters also isn''t something I''m terribly fond of..."


    Their numbers were quite a bit larger than the mission briefing first mention, a little over 300 bandits of varying strength, with the leader having reached the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm. Jinwu and Shenlong didn''t interrupt Li Yang''s thoughts, quietly waiting until he snapped his fingers.


    "Alright, I guess that''s the best option. Jinwu, Shenlong, can the two of you continue to keep an eye on this area? I gotta go pick up some things."


    Even if the bandit leader had only reached the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, Li Yang had no interest in taking on him and his 300 men at the same time. Jinwu and Shenlong nodded their heads, taking off and continuing their scouring of the area.


    In the meanwhile, Li Yang started to run back to Fire Cloud city. Three days later, he stepped into the Fire Cloud branch of the Universe Merchants. He didn''t waste any time, walking over to the first person he saw wearing the uniform of the Universe Merchants, stating what he was looking for, flashing his silver talisman while he was at it.


    "I need the blood of Demonic beasts that have reached the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm. They all need to have the earth or stone element, and I need about 300 liters of blood. I will also need a Stoneheart Flower, a Frostking Caterpillar, an Everlasting Crystal Core, a Mindchilling Ganoderma, and the heart of a Stonefaced Manticore who has reached the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm."


    The man he was talking to felt his head spin after hearing what Li Yang was looking for. This was the lowest level of this branch, so everything here could be bought using normal money, but everything Li Yang was looking for could only be purchased using Spirit Stones. This man was only a steward for the lower level, he rarely ever dealt with Spirit Stones. But he was still a professional, so he put on a calming smile and gave a slight bow.


    "I''m afraid I''m not cleared to handle such items, please wait a moment while I bring over someone that can help you."


    Li Yang nodded his head and proceeded to quietly wait while the man left, quickly returning with a charming woman with a buxom figure and flowing crimson hair. The woman had worked in this line of business for quite some time, so she saw that Li Yang wasn''t looking to waste time, so she immediately jumped to business.


    "We have all the items you are looking for, but most will have to be taken out of our own storage and transported here using a spatial array, running up a small fee. The total for everything will be 3065 Spirit grade Spirit Stones."


    Li Yang had expected the price, but he still felt a pinch. After buying the map in Cloud''s End, as well as counting what he got in the Yuan clan, he had only around 5000 Spirit grade Spirit Stones left, and he would need quite a few of those for his cultivation, so he couldn''t just hand them all over. After giving it a bit of thought, he took out 2000 Spirit Stones from his interspatial ring and handed them to the woman.


    He then took out another interspatial ring, filling it with some of the items he had in his interspatial ring after his most recent endeavor in the Cloud Wilderness, where he killed people from the clans and sects. Once he felt that he had thrown in enough items, he handed the ring to the woman.


    "Here are some Spirit Stones, and these should cover the rest."


    The woman accepted the Spirit Stones and then swept the contents of the ring. After tallying up everything, a beautiful smile appeared on her face. She cupped her hands at Yao Jun, giving him a slight bow.


    "Pleasure doing business with you, please wait while we prepare the items."


    The woman sent away the man who Li Yang had first spoken to, having him fetch all the items. After waiting for half an hour, the man returned with some sweat on his brown, handing an interspatial bracelet to Li Yang. Li Yang checked the contents, nodding his head when he saw that everything was there.


    He bade the two people farewell, and then left the Universe Merchants, running back to Jinwu and Shenlong. This was the third time within a short period of time that he was taking this path, so he popped two pills while running to make sure that he was still in peak condition.


    Once he reached the spot where he had split up with Jinwu and Shenlong, he sat down and took a moment to rest, waiting for the two to return. Thanks to their bloodline connection, the two knew that he had returned, so they quickly hurried back and told Li Yang everything that happened during the six days he was gone. After hearing everything, Li Yang nodded his head.


    "Alright, we''ll wait for nightfall, and then lure everyone into the mountain. Until then, I''ll be preparing a little."


    After speaking, Li Yang took out the interspatial ring filled with everything he had asked for. He moved a bit further away from the mountain, to a place where he was certain none of the patrolling scouts would venture, and then took out everything from within the ring. These were the ingredients to an array he was planning on drawing up, making it easier to deal with the large number of enemies.


    He inserted his Qi into the large amount of blood, causing it to turn into a massive orb of blood that floated in front of him. He inserted some of his fire, causing the blood to slowly boil. He isolated the orb using some more Qi, preventing the smell from spreading out.


    Once the blood was boiling, he threw in the Frostking Caterpillar and the Mindchilling Ganoderma. After tossing them into the boiling blood, Li Yang also inserted his Qi into the two ingredients, extracting their essence and fusing it with the blood. After both ingredients had been drained and melted into the blood, he threw in the Everlasting Crystal Core and the Stoneheart flower, repeating the process. The last thing he threw in was the heart of the Stonefaced Manticore, as well as a few drops of his own blood. Once his blood and the heart of the manticore were fully fused with the blood, he was left with a large orb of grayish-brown blood.


    The process sounded simple, but it took Li Yang a little over half a day just to finish up the ingredients and prepare the ink for the array. And this was one of the simpler arrays that required little work, a different array might require several days, or in some cases, years to prepare. Drawing it would also take at least three hours, so he had to work fast once the sun set.


    Once the sun vanished over the horizon and darkness fell over the forest and the mountain, Li Yang got to work. He put the orb of grayish-brown blood into a separate interspatial ring, drawing out small amounts as he moved around the entire mountain, occasionally even walking over the mountain. He slowly drew a large array that resembled the gaping maw of a dragon.


    With the array fully drawn, the night entered its darkest stage. Li Yang returned to the forest but moved closer to the main entrance of the bandit hideout. Once he felt he was at a comfortable distance, he created a large orb of ice and threw it at the entrance.


    The orb shattered, releasing the fire and lightning within it. The fire mixed with the lightning and caused a massive explosion that shook the entrance, and the high heat caused the ice to vaporize and spread a thick mist over the entrance, blocking the vision of the guards there.


    After doing this, Li Yang proceeded to calmly wait as loud shouts sounded out from the bandits. More bandits came out from the forest, swarming to the entrance, so Li Yang threw another orb of ice that added to the confusion. He then continued to wait, calmly observing as more and more bandits came swarming from the forest, desperately trying to protect their hideout from the enemy attack.


    Once he was certain that all the bandits had gathered in the mountain, or at least very close to the mountain, he sent out some of his Qi and activated the array he had drawn up.


    The entire mountain and the area around it started to release thundering cracking sounds after the array activated, thick spikes of stone growing up from the ground all around the mountain. Once a total of 108 spikes, each at least 200 meters tall, had grown up from the ground, they completely encircled the mountain.


    A large crack then cut the mountain in half, and then it folded in on itself. The crack turned the circular formation of the 108 spikes into two half circles that now tried to smash together. The spikes pierced into the mountain and completely shattered it, causing it to collapse in on itself. What was once a strong mountain, was now just a mass of rubble.


    The array didn''t stop after turning the mountain into rubble, it continued to press the mountain downward, causing it to sink into the ground and vanish. With the mountain gone, all that remained were some traces of the blood used to draw the array, as well as the shattered ground.


    Li Yang stopped hiding, stepping forward and walking over to the shattered area. He stretched out an arm, sending some Qi into the array, giving it an order. The ground in front of him started to tremble, a pillar of stone starting to rise up in front of him. Laying on top of this pillar was the completely crushed and mangled corpse of the bandit leader, the only intact parts on his person were his head and interspatial ring.


    Despite the attack looking so all-encompassing and brutal, Li Yang was able to control it perfectly. He had to deliver this head to prove that he had completed the mission, so he couldn''t risk having it get destroyed. He lopped off the head and picked up the interspatial ring, storing them both into his own ring before turning around and leaving. He had completed 1 mission, but 11 still remained.

 83 Frozen Gods Tomb.

    With the commotion Li Yang caused with his Stoneheart array, it did not take long for people to hurry over and check out the area. When they saw that the entire mountain had vanished, leaving behind only a crater and shattered stone, even the city lord of Fire Cloud city heaved a shocked sigh, wondering just what had happened here.


    But this strange occurrence was quickly revealed to only be the start of several more strange events. A few days after the mountain vanished, Teng Hanying, a wandering killer who had terrorized countless cities over the last two years, was suddenly found dead. She was found hiding in a cave a few kilometers from a small village, her body tattered and nearly ruined, her head missing. Had it not been for the distinct tattoo on her left thigh, as well as someone identifying her through her Qi, it would be hard to guess that this was the same infamous killer.


    Two weeks after that, people were shocked to find that a large lake that had been guarded by a massive Emerald-Spined Carp had suddenly vanished. Not just the Demonic beast guardian, the entire lake had vanished, only leaving behind a deep basin and a large number of confused people.


    The next strange event happened a week later, and it was the sudden destruction of a somewhat small village that was run by a sect known as Eagle King Dojo. All it took was a single night, and several thousand people had lost their lives. When a courier was doing his usual rounds and arrived at the village, the earth was covered by a thick layer of ashes, people frozen solid in standing position.


    But if the sudden destruction of the city wasn''t shocking enough, people also found evidence that every single villager had been a member of the Eagle King Dojo, and that the dojo itself had been regularly kidnapping people and razed weaker villages. All the people that were kidnapped or taken from the razed cities were then used for live experiments, testing out various poisons.


    Before people even got the chance to move past the shock of this strange event, another one took place. A somewhat famous forest, one home to a strange breed of Demonic beasts known as Souleater Ants, was burned completely to the ground. Several tens of kilometers of forest, and several thousand Souleater Ants, all turned to ash over the course of a single night. The flames burned so bright and strong that it seemed like they would stretch to the moon and drag it down.


    While the people living in the smaller villages and cities were waiting for the news of a new event taking place, wondering just what would happen this time, Li Yang stepped into a branch of the Royal Dragon Pavilion that was located in Wind''s Caress city. This city was located close to the eastern reaches of the continent, it was a long distance away from Li Yang''s starting point.


    Each branch of the Royal Dragon Pavilion looked the same, with a bar on the right side of the room, a counter to accept missions on the left side of the room, and a set of stairs that led to the second floor on the opposite end of the room. The only thing that differed between the branches were the small details, such as what type of alcohol they sold, and what sort of decorations they used. This particular branch seemed to like decorations made from white jade, as statues made from it that were depicting various Demonic beasts or cultivators were littered around the room.


    Li Yang calmly walked up to the counter on the left, his robe, which was made from violet wolf skin, making him stand out a little when compared to the more common brown or black armors. Li Yang didn''t bother wasting any time when he reached the counter, showing the old man who was standing behind it the silver talisman he got from the Yuan clan.


    "I''m going to Ice King''s Howl."


    The eyebrows of the old man ticked up slightly, roaming Li Yang''s body with his gaze. Thanks to the passage of time and Li Yang''s training, he had grown a bit and no longer looked as childish as he used to, but it was still clear that he was rather young. But the old man didn''t say anything, nodding his head and leading Li Yang over to the stairs that led to the second floor.


    There was a door hidden behind the stairs, leading down into the ground. Li Yang and the old man entered the door and walked down a flight of stairs, entering a square room that was completely empty. A large spatial array was drawn into the room, the lines covering not only the floor but also the walls and ceiling. The old man placed his wrinkly palm on a certain portion of the array, inserting some Qi and changing the lines. Once the lines had entered their new position, he nodded his head at Li Yang and then left the room.


    When the old man left, Li Yang placed the silver talisman on the ground and channeled his Qi into it, causing the runes to light up as the array activated. Space around him turned thick and sticky, surrounding him in a cocoon as a bright light blinded him and he was teleported through space.


    Once the bright light vanished, Li Yang found himself standing in a room that was almost the exact same as the one he had just left. But the walls of this room were a light blue in color, releasing a faint cold wind. Li Yang left the room and walked up a flight of stairs, pushing open the door at the end and walking through this Royal Dragon Pavilion branch.


    Someone walked up to him, but Li Yang simply flashed the silver talisman and was then quickly left alone. Li Yang liked this talisman quite a bit, it made business far easier. He had no business in this branch, or this city for that matter, so he quickly left the building to continue with his current hunt.


    The moment he opened the door of the building and stepped out, he was greeted by a biting cold wind that tried to dig itself into his bones and organs. A strong wind carried with it large amounts of snow, covering not only Li Yang''s vision but even the entire world in front of him in a thick layer of white.


    This city, Ice King''s Howl, was located in a vast frozen tundra that spanned at least a few million kilometers and was known as Frozen God''s Tomb. This Tundra was one of the five most dangerous places on the planet, alongside the Cloud Wilderness, the First Flame''s Cradle, the Blood Swallowing Graveyard, and the Undersea King''s Whirlpool. These five dangerous areas were ancient, so old that they were considered ancient even during Li Yang''s previous life. Of course, just like the Cloud Wilderness, the outskirts of this tundra were far safer than the deeper parts.


    Li Yang swept the city around him with a quick gaze, the snow unable to hinder his vision. The city was built in a very strange manner, being almost completely cone-shaped, and all the buildings except this Royal Dragon Pavilion and the Universe Merchant building were made from murky ice. Another strange part about the city was that the ground beneath the city rose up at certain places, and then sunk at others, creating some elevated buildings and some lowered buildings.


    The reason for the city being built like this was the same as for why the city had the name it did, Ice King''s Howl. The area the city was built on was supposedly created by a single howl unleashed by the Demonic beast that ruled this frozen land, the howl it unleashed after killing the previous ruler and taking over the title.


    Whether or not a Demonic beast like this actually existed was unknown, as the number of people who claimed to have actually seen this beast could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and the beast had never shown itself in the vicinity of any cities. But this fact didn''t stop some wandering tribes of people from worshipping the beast, praying to it for protection. To Li Yang, this entire notion seemed incredibly silly. Mainly because if such a Demonic beast truly existed, it would not care about the prayers of mortals, just like most strong cultivators didn''t care about mortals.


    Li Yang took a deep breath of the icy air, the glacial runes inside his dantian quivering from joy. Shenlong wasn''t too fond of this cold, curling up even more than usual, but Jinwu enjoyed it quite a bit, flapping his wings and stretching his body. Jinwu was a strange Demonic beast that was either a mutated Golden Crow or a mixture of a Golden Crow and a different Divine beast. He could not only use fire, but also ice, so this was a good chance for Li Yang to help Jinwu grow a bit more.


    Li Yang quickly followed the winding streets and left the city, starting to traverse the frozen wasteland that surrounded the city. There was a single long road that stretched out from the city gates and vanished into the distance, other than this road, the surroundings of the city were a vast wasteland covered in snow several meters thick, a sturdy layer of ice hiding beneath the snow.


    Standing in the far distance were five mountains that stood close to each other, stretching into the sky like sharp claws, the tops of the mountain slightly bent. These mountains were part of the reason that this tundra got its name, as they resembled a hand trying to break through the ice and grasp the sun.


    Li Yang walked with light steps, the snow beneath him so compact that his feet didn''t even sink into it. He channeled some of his Qi to his neck, heating up the cold Shenlong. This tundra was so cold that unless he used the golden flames of Jinwu, there was no way for him to bring his flames outside of his body, so this was the best he could do for Shenlong right now.


    Jinwu was flying through the air a bit above Li Yang, enjoying the cold snow and air. He even dove into the snow that covered the ground at times, acting like a fish in water, using golden flames to dig through the hardest parts of the snow.


    Li Yang swiped his interspatial ring and took out a strange stone that was a grayish-black in color. It looked like it was once part of a circle, but it was cracked down the middle, split in half. When he pulled it out, the stone started to radiate a faint light that pointed at the rightmost of the five mountains. After looking at the light, Li Yang put the stone back into his interspatial ring, muttering slightly.


    "Come on now, Teng Shinsu, did you really have to run so far?"


    This was the mission Li Yang had come here to complete, to kill the sister of Teng Hanying, the wandering killer. Teng Shinsu was a bit more lowkey than her younger sister, but she was more insidious and harder to catch, starting to flee from place to place the moment she got news of her sister''s death.

 84 Teng Shinsu, array expert.

    Li Yang wasn''t in a rush as he made his way over the frozen wasteland, his steps slow and careful. Teng Shinsu had been hiding out in this place for a while, so there was no telling what sort of traps she likely had put in place to deal with Li Yang. This was also a good chance for Li Yang to immerse himself more in the law of ice, taking advantage of the severe cold all around him.


    But he didn''t lose sight of his actual goal, taking out the half-circle stone and checking the light it released every hundred steps. This stone was something he had taken from Teng Hanying''s corpse, and it was part of a whole. It was called a Twinlife Stone, and both parts attracted each other, allowing whoever held one part to always find the other part. Teng Hanying had carried one part, while Teng Shinsu was carrying the second piece, it was a symbol of the bond between the two of them.


    Even with his slow steps, he still reached the base of the rightmost of the five finger-like mountains after walking for a little over a day. The mountain was thicker than the other four, representing the thumb of the hand, the top half of the mountain was tilted slightly forward, as if the finger was trying to bend itself. The mountain itself was made from a strange blue material that resembled ice but was far harder than any ice Li Yang had ever seen, it also released a pleasant heat, preventing the mountain from freezing over.


    The stone pointed towards the midway point up the mountain, but Li Yang didn''t immediately start to ascend it. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, his gaze sweeping over the area. After giving the entire area four very careful sweeps, his eyes lit up slightly. He walked over to an inconspicuous spot a few tens of meters away from him, crouching down and brushing away a layer of powdery snow.


    With the snow gone, thin lines that were dark blue in color were revealed. Li Yang traced the lines, brushing away more and more snow, slowly revealing that the lines form the image of an eye, a cloud faintly visible in the pupil of the eye. With the full image revealed, Li Yang let out a sigh of admiration.


    "How magnificent. It follows the normal pattern of a detection array, but it also mixes in parts of a concealment array and an illusion array, making it even harder to detect."


    This eye was an array that covered most of the lower part of the mountain, alerting whoever put it up whenever someone stepped onto the mountain. Li Yang would normally spot an array like this before he got within several hundred meters of the mountain, but this one expertly contained parts of a concealment array to hide all traces of energy that it leaked, as well as parts of an illusion array to trick the senses into thinking that the spot where the array was located was completely normal.


    Luckily, he had felt that something was off when he got close to the mountain, so he hadn''t immediately started to climb it. Had he done that, Teng Shinsu would have known that he had already arrived. Of course, since he was carrying Teng Hanying''s part of the Twinlife Stone, she likely already knew that he had arrived, but he had already accounted for that. After discovering the array, Li Yang sat down next to it and started to study it, fondling his chin.


    He had yet to read up on how much the art of arrays had improved over all these years, so now was a good a chance as any to study one up close. After studying the array for around half a day, he came to the conclusion that it would be possible for him to alter the array, preventing it from alerting Teng Shinsu when he stepped onto the mountain.


    But despite coming to this conclusion, Li Yang didn''t choose to alter the array. He simply stood up and started to ascend the mountain, allowing the array to warn Teng Shinsu of his arrival. Since there was a good chance she already knew that he had arrived, thanks to the Twinlife Stone, he figured that it was a better idea to pretend like he hadn''t noticed anything, allowing Teng Shinsu to believe that she had the upper hand.


    After stepping onto the mountain, which was wide enough to have a rather gentle incline, Li Yang''s speed slowed down quite a bit. He sharpened his senses and constantly swept the surroundings with narrowed eyes, keeping a close eye out for any more arrays that might be hidden beneath the snow, just in case there was one that could harm him.


    Teng Shinsu turned out to be far more careful and wary than he had originally given her credit for. The side of the mountain was littered with arrays of all kinds, some hidden and some that were more obvious, likely a ploy to attract his attention. The most common arrays were detection arrays or illusion arrays to confuse his senses and slow him down.


    But there was one type of array in particular that caught Li Yang''s attention, causing him to slow down so he could study it. And the more he studied the array, the more confused he got, a low mutter escaping his lips.


    "How can it be this intricate, yet so weak? It contains part of the Mountain Shattering array as well as the Heavenly King array, but the attacking force is far lower than even the weakest level of either array."


    The array he was studying was in the shape of a dragon coiling around a mountain, roaring at the heavens. The reason this array attracted his attention was just as he stated, how strangely weak it was. He had checked over the array again and again to see if he was wrong, but it was far weaker in attacking force than any of his own arrays, yet it was far more intricate and profound than the ones he could produce.


    He couldn''t wrap his head around it, did it sacrifice power in favor of being more intricate? But that made no sense, as the array was perfectly able to contain both. The Mountain Shattering array and the Heavenly King array were both arrays that could be considered to be at the upper ranks of the middle grade, on their own, they were able to produce enough strength to kill people at the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm.


    To fuse both into this one array, it should create enough power to kill people at the middle stage of the Primordial Rune realm. Yet the array he was looking at couldn''t even kill people at the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, the parts it was made up of were better than the entire array.


    In the end, Li Yang couldn''t figure out why the array had ended up so weak, despite being made up of such excellent parts, so he could only shake his head and keep moving. He was very interested in arrays, so seeing such an intricate one be practically useless was something he found to be a shame.


    As he got closer to the midway point of the mountain, he once again pulled out the Twinlife Stone, checking that he was on the right course. The small light that pointed him towards the other piece of the Twinlife Stone stretched out, moving into the distance, a sign that he was getting close to the other piece.


    Li Yang followed the beam of light, slowly moving around to the other side of the mountain. Once he reached the other side of the mountain, he spotted a cave entrance that was a few meters wide and tall, surprising him quite a bit. This mountain was made of a material so hard that not even Jinwu''s golden flames were capable of harming it. This was mostly because Jinwu was still just a child, but it still showed just how hard this mountain was. So just how had a cave been dug into the mountain?


    The Twinlife Stone pointed right at the cave, so Li Yang started to move towards it, his gaze constantly sweeping over the surroundings. He spotted a few arrays outside the cave entrance, but his expression didn''t change, as if he hadn''t noticed them. He stopped outside the cave, peering into it and trying to see just how deep it was.


    The cave was almost pitch black, so it was impossible to see just how deep it really was. Li Yang raised his arm, a small orb of ice quickly forming in his palm. He threw the orb into the cave and listened to the echo it made once it hit the ground and shattered. The sound echoed several times, growing fainter and fainter, so it was clear that the cave was very deep, possibly going to the very center of the mountain.


    Li Yang casually placed his hand on the mountain wall next to the cave entrance, as if he was leaning against it as he continued to peer into the cave. A faint golden light flashed underneath his palm, leaving behind a nearly invisible mark on the mountain wall, a tiny spark of golden flames.


    After leaving the mark, Li Yang acted as if he had seen enough, taking out the Twinlife Stone once again, checking the light. After making sure that the stone actually pointed inside the cave, Li Yang took out some pills from his ring and swallowed them, he then entered the cave and started to carefully make his way deeper, following the guidance of the stone.


    He slowly made his way deeper, the cave growing darker after only a few meters. After reaching a spot about 100 meters into the cave, the light of the Twinlife stone grew so bright it was almost blinding, pointing at the ground right in front of Li Yang.


    Li Yang looked at the ground and crouched down, picking up the other half of the Twinlife Stone, which was simply lying on the ground, Teng Shinsu nowhere to be seen. The two halves of the Twinlife Stone gathered together after Li Yang picked up the other half, forming a complete circle again, awaiting the next pair of people that would split them up.


    Right after Li Yang picked up the Twinlife Stone, the walls of the cave around him started to light up, intricate runes and lines starting to appear and connect together. The lines quickly formed the image of a roaring white bull, four such bulls appearing in the cave, two in front of Li Yang, and two behind Li Yang. The bulls grew in size until they completely blocked the cave, forming an inescapable prison.


    But before the prison was fully formed, Li Yang was able to spot the head of a female dwarf peek into the cave entrance, snickering coldly. The female dwarf, Teng Shinsu, snickered coldly, but was unable to see Li Yang''s lips curl into a faint mocking smile after the prison was fully formed.

 85 Crystal droplet.

    Teng Shinsu fully activated the array with a quick thought, a thick mist spewing out from the maws of the four white bulls that sealed up Li Yang. She watched as the white mist completely encased Li Yang, hoping to see him dissolve under its corrosive properties.


    But while she was watching with bated breath, the mountain wall next to her suddenly burst forth with golden flames, forcing her to jump away so as to not become completely swallowed by the flames. She was still connected to the array, so even while jumping away and doing her best to pat out the flames that had landed on her shoulder, she was still able to tell that Li Yang vanished from within the array.


    Both his escape paths had been blocked by the array, which she had made sure to reinforce twice. So for him to suddenly disappear, there was only one explanation, the array had finished its job, dissolving Li Yang.


    She would have preferred to watch him dissolve, but this was also fine, as long as he was dead. Teng Shinsu wanted to laugh, but tears started to stream down from her eyes as she got choked up. Her sister was dead, but she had at least managed to get revenge for her. Teng Shinsu raised her head slightly, continuing to pat out the flames on her shoulder as a low mutter escaped her lips.


    "I couldn''t save you, Ying''er, but at least he too will no-!"


    Before Teng Shinsu got to finish her mutter, a cold hand landed on her neck, tightly grasping it and lifting her short body up from the ground. An icy cold stream of energy entered her body via the hand, her organs and blood freezing solid, reaping her life.


    Cultivation wasn''t her strong point, she had just barely reached the Ascending Heaven realm, she focused on arrays and gathering information. Because of that, she wasn''t even able to react in time, not even having the chance to turn her head so that she could find out who had killed her.


    The person who was grasping her neck and holding her in the air was Li Yang, who was now clad in a simple golden robe and had a somewhat pale face, his breathing shallow. Li Yang tossed Teng Shinsu''s body to the side, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out a short iron sword. He removed Teng Shinsu''s head with a quick cut, putting it into his interspatial ring.


    After removing her head, Li Yang let out a deep breath, wiping away some sweat from his forehead, Shenlong and Jinwu flying out from his body, prodding at Teng Shinsu''s body. Li Yang had, of course, gathered up as much information as possible about Teng Shinsu while hunting her, as it would make the battle much easier if he knew what she was capable of.


    Knowing that she specialized in arrays, Li Yang was very clear on the fact that there would likely be quite a few traps in whatever location they ended up meeting for their final confrontation. Because of that, before he entered the cave, he had left behind a small spark of Jinwu''s flames outside the cave.


    This spark could explode into plumes of flame at a moment''s notice, making it possible for Li Yang to use his Flame Step skill, disintegrating his entire body and turning it to pure heat that he connected with the golden flames outside the cave, using them to rebuild his body. The downside to this was that it not only cost a massive amount of Qi, which was why he made sure to keep some Qi-restoring pills ready in his mouth as he entered the cave, but it also ruined his clothes and forced him to use fire to create new ones.


    Li Yang took another deep breath, taking out another pill from his interspatial ring and swallowing it. He had to move quite a bit of distance as pure heat, so it took more energy than he originally anticipated. Had he not carved two new runes before he left the Yuan clan, he would be in an even weaker state right now. After calming his breathing somewhat, Li Yang''s eyes landed on Jinwu and Shenlong.


    "You can eat her body, but the interspatial ring is mine."


    Both Jinwu and Shenlong let out a quick sound of joy, Jinwu pecking off Teng Shinsu''s finger and handing it to Li Yang, allowing him to take the interspatial ring. While he was going through the contents of the ring, Shenlong brought out Huanglong, and the three Demonic beasts divided up Teng Shinsu''s body between them.


    Some people didn''t let their Demonic beast companions eat human corpses, but Li Yang had no such qualms. Jinwu and Shenlong were Demonic beasts, it was in their nature to eat other Demonic beasts and humans, he had no intention of denying them something that was natural for them. He also saw no harm in letting them eat the corpses of his enemies, as they would just lay around and rot otherwise.


    Teng Shinsu''s interspatial ring was surprisingly well stocked, containing various ingredients that could be used for either cultivation or for making arrays. From the looks of it, it seemed like she would have prepared even more arrays if Li Yang had spent more time getting here.


    Li Yang put away the ring and looked at Jinwu and the others, who had already finished devouring Teng Shinsu''s body, not even leaving behind any bones. Seeing that Li Yang had finished checking the ring, Jinwu let out a few caws, nodding at the cave. Li Yang''s eyes landed on the cave, a sliver of surprise flashing past them.


    "There''s something in the cave you want me to check out?"


    Jinwu himself wasn''t quite sure what it was, only that there seemed to be something very beneficial to him inside the cave, so he wasn''t able to give Li Yang a clear image of what exactly it was. Shenlong and Huanglong fused into one again, he and Jinwu taking up their normal positions on Li Yang''s body. Li Yang fondled his chin, inspecting the cave with a thoughtful gaze.


    This was the Frozen God''s Tomb, and even though they were still in the outskirts, who knew what sort of dangerous things might lurk here. But he wasn''t really willing to just flat out deny Jinwu the chance to acquire something that would be beneficial to him, especially since he didn''t know if there really was any danger here. In the end, he decided to nod his head.


    "Alright, we''ll check out what it is. But we''ll proceed with caution, and if things look too dangerous, we''ll retreat immediately."


    Li Yang had learned from his foray into the Cursed Realm, the realm set up by Zhao Feng and the others. Back then, he had been too arrogant, too confident because of his past status, so he thought nothing of entering the Cursed Realm. But had it not been for some precautions set up by Zhao Feng, Li Yang would have died right after entering the hidden realm, forever unable to meet up with Fang Ying again. That was the last thing he wanted, so ever since then, he had made sure to act with more caution.


    After Jinwu and Shenlong nodded their heads in understanding, Li Yang carefully moved closer to the cave. Before he entered it, he took out the Twinlife Stone and split it in half again, placing one part outside the cave. He didn''t know how deep or convoluted the cave was, so this would help him find his way back in case it turned out to be like a maze.


    Teng Shinsu wasn''t around to control the array within the cave anymore, so the four white bulls had already vanished. Li Yang still spent a bit of time to erase the array, making sure that nothing unexpected would happen because of it. Once the array was taken care of, Li Yang continued to make his way deeper into the cave.


    As he walked, the air around him started to slowly turn colder and colder, the cave sloping downwards slightly. After walking for a little over three hours, Li Yang couldn''t help but get a little curious. With the speed at which he was walking, three hours was more than enough to reach the bottom of the mountain, yet the cave continued to slope downwards. Did this cave continue to extend even into the layer of ice that made up the ground of the Frozen God''s Tomb?


    After having walked for over three hours, the air around Li Yang had already become so cold that he had to constantly use quite a bit of his Qi to keep himself and Shenlong warm, otherwise, they would freeze solid. Jinwu on the other hand, seemed right at home, enjoying the deadly chill.


    Li Yang grew more and more curious about Jinwu, and just what sort of Demonic beast Jinwu''s father was. For him to be able to enjoy a chill like this, it was clear that his father was far stronger than any normal Demonic beast, he might even be a Divine beast, or an even higher ranked Demonic beast.


    Two hours later, a sudden wind blew through the cave, a whistling sound warning Li Yang of its arrival. For there to be wind so deep in this cave, Li Yang refused to believe that it was a normal wind, so he quickly started to back up. But the wind moved far faster than he did, reaching him after only a short few seconds.


    The wind felt like the icy hand of death, a horrible sense of death filling Li Yang''s body. But just as the wind reached him, Jinwu reacted, diving into Li Yang''s body and fusing with him. Li Yang''s hair and eyes turned golden, a golden robe covered in Golden Crows draping his body. With Jinwu fusing with him and sharing his power with him, the icy wind of death turned into a pleasant breeze, allowing Li Yang to let out a deep breath.


    "Thanks, that was a bit too close."


    Li Yang wasn''t angry at Jinwu for not fusing with him earlier, as he knew that it cost Jinwu a lot of energy to fuse with Li Yang, it also tired him very quickly. Li Yang wanted to turn around and leave, but Jinwu let out a few caws within Li Yang''s mind, telling him that it wasn''t much further. Jinwu was quite insistent and assuring, so Li Yang could only let out a sigh and continue moving forward.


    Another two hours later, the walls of the cave around them had turned completely clear, allowing Li Yang to see countless Demonic beasts and people frozen solid deep within the walls. Some looked like they had laid down to die, while others looked like they had been frozen solid within a split second, likely caught by the same wind that Li Yang felt earlier.


    Since they were frozen so deeply within the walls, he guessed that this cave probably used to be far larger, but had slowly frozen over time, becoming more and more narrow. He wondered how much further they would have to walk, but as he turned a bend in the cave, he finally saw what it was that Jinwu had discovered earlier.


    Floating in the air in front of him, only a few meters away, was a deep blue crystal in the shape of a droplet, streams of ocean blue mist coiling around the crystal. The crystal was twice as large as Li Yang''s head, terrifying glacial energy radiating from it. Looking at it, Li Yang couldn''t help but be shocked, as it hadn''t been visible through the completely clear walls.


    Li Yang took several steps backward, moving around the bend in the cave again. He looked through the crystal-clear walls once again just to make sure, but he truly couldn''t see the crystal through the walls. He stepped forward and moved around the bend again, the crystal quietly floating in front of him. The cave continued past the crystal, but the glacial energy that the crystal radiated prevented Li Yang from moving further, despite having fused with Jinwu.


    Li Yang tried to step closer to the crystal, but each step closer caused the glacial energy to drastically increase in strength. The crystal was currently around 15 meters away from him, and the glacial energy was tolerable. But just taking three steps closer caused the energy from the crystal to become so cold that it threatened to freeze his blood as it flowed. Just what was this crystal, and how had it ended up here? As he looked at the crystal with shock, he also talked to Jinwu.


    "This is the thing you said was going to be beneficial to you? How do you plan on doing anything with it?"


    There was no way they could take this terrifying thing with them, they couldn''t even get within 10 meters of it. A few caws resounded in his mind, Jinwu telling him how they should make use of the crystal and its energy. They weren''t going to take it away, they were going to sit down and slowly absorb the energy within it. As long as Li Yang absorbed the energy into his own body, Jinwu would be able to absorb it as well, both of them benefiting from it.


    Li Yang gave it a bit of thought, but he didn''t see a problem with Jinwu''s plan. Absorbing the energy from this thing would not only be very beneficial to his cultivation, but it would also be extremely useful to both Jinwu and his glacial runes, making them even purer and stronger.He took three steps back, returning to the 15-meter line and sitting down on the ground with crossed legs. Looking at the crystal, Li Yang made up his mind.


    "We''ll spend the foreseeable future cultivating here, at least until we break through to the Ascending Heaven realm. After that, we''ll rush through the last few missions and then return to the clan just in time for the six-month agreement.


    Since there was such a good cultivation supplement here, not using it for all it was worth would be a waste. He took a deep breath, stretching out his Qi and drawing in tiny amounts of the glacial energy. He only took in a tiny sliver to test it, but just that tiny sliver was enough to make his body feel like it had frozen solid. Jinwu had fused with Li Yang so he quickly helped him better control the energy, dividing it into countless tiny threads that spread throughout Li Yang''s body.


    The threads not only sank into his glacial runes, but also into his flesh, bones, blood, and organs. Jinwu drew in even more of the glacial energy, creating more and more threads that spread throughout Li Yang''s body. With the countless threads sinking into his flesh, his body was slowly disintegrating under the cold, the icy threads rebuilding his body from scratch.


    Normally, this would cause Li Yang''s consciousness to scatter, resulting in his death. But thanks to the aid of Jinwu, the fact that he had done this once before using fire, as well as the sheer potency of the energy from the crystal, he was able to keep his mind in one piece.


    Quietly and slowly, hidden away deep within a world of ice, a man who had a body made up from the two conflicting elements of fire and ice was slowly being born.

 86 Humanoid Divine Beast.

    Time continued to pass without pause, Jinwu helping Li Yang absorb more and more of the glacial energy. While Li Yang''s body was disintegrating under the horrifying cold, he also made sure to use the extremely potent energy to work on raising his cultivation, everything seemingly going smoothly.


    But a problem quickly arose when the glacial energy tried to rebuild his body from scratch. It went fine at first, when only a small portion of his body was being rebuilt, but the problem arose when the ice tried to rebuild the rest of his body. His body had already been disintegrated and rebuilt once before, practically turning his body into pure flames.


    Ice and fire were natural enemies, so now that the glacial energy was trying to rebuild his entire body, the fire that made up his body quickly revolted, refusing to coexist with the glacial energy. His body was quickly torn, half of it supporting the ice while the other half supported his fire.


    Before Li Yang started to cultivate using this glacial energy, he was aware that there was a chance that this might happen. But he also knew that there was a chance that the two elements might be able to coexist thanks to his ice and fire runes, much like how they coexisted inside Jinwu''s body, which was why he had decided to do what he did.


    The parts of Li Yang''s body that had yet to be rebuilt using ice appeared in a flash of fire, uncontrollable flams roaring out from his body, doing their best to push away the glacial energy. Sweat quickly started to pour down Li Yang''s body, gritting his teeth so hard that they almost shattered.


    This was the worst possible scenario he could have encountered. He had reached the breaching point in his cultivation, only half a step away from the Ascending Heaven realm. It was too late for him to stop his cultivation, as he was in the middle of his breakthrough, interrupting it might end up detonating all his runes, destroying his body.


    But if he let the ice and fire continue to battle like this, there were three possible outcomes. One was that the fire won, pushing away the glacial energy. He wouldn''t get to increase his strength any more using the glacial energy, but he would survive. The second was that the ice energy won, completely replacing the fire that his body was built up off. He would lose his greatly strengthened affinity with the fire element and lose the ability to turn his body into pure heat and flames, but he would survive. And the third outcome was that the two elements would never find a winner, his body and soul exploding under the might of the two battling elements. No matter which outcome he got in this situation, he would end up losing in one way or another.


    Li Yang could only do his best to split off part of his concentration to support the fire element that was trying to push away the glacial energy, he still needed to keep most of his concentration on his current breakthrough. He had given the three outcomes some thought and come to the conclusion that he would lose the least if his fire element won.


    But just as he was starting to support his fire element, a piercing screech rang out from inside his body. Jinwu flew out from within his body, temporarily undoing their fusion and flying in front of Li Yang. Thanks to the fire raging around Li Yang, he didn''t have to worry about suddenly freezing to death under the assault of the glacial energy.


    Jinwu let out another screech, drops of blood suddenly flying out from his chest. This blood was a brilliant golden in color, wisps of blue mist floating around within the blood. Li Yang''s expression quickly dropped when he realized what Jinwu was planning, but he couldn''t divert more of his concentration, so he couldn''t stop him.


    The drops of blood gathered in front of Jinwu, who now looked far weaker, even having shrunk back to being palm-sized. The blood then flew over to Li Yang, sinking into his body and integrating with his blood and his ice and fire runes, greatly nourishing them and filling Li Yang''s body with a tremendous amount of energy.


    Shenlong, who was looking at this scene from around Li Yang''s neck, seemed to suddenly think of something. He uncoiled himself from Li Yang''s neck and flew over to Jinwu, floating in front of Li Yang. Li Yang looked at Shenlong with pleading eyes, but Shenlong completely ignored him.


    Drops of golden blood flew out from Shenlong, who started to grow weaker and shrink. Once several drops of blood had left his body, he sent them into Li Yang''s body, integrating them into his blood and his lightning rune. Both Shenlong and Jinwu had now grown far weaker, so they flew over to Li Yang and fell asleep on his shoulders.


    The two different types of Divine Beast blood simply contained far too much energy, far more than Li Yang''s body should be able to bear. Mixing together with the energy of his battling fire element and the glacial energy that was trying to rebuild his body, it became too much for Li Yang''s mind, which shut down to protect itself.


    But even though his mind shut down, his consciousness did not drift apart and scatter, even his breakthrough continued unimpeded. He was unconscious, but changes started to quickly happen to his body, moving on without his control or supervision.


    The first changes were to his runes, especially his ice, fire, and lightning runes. With Jinwu''s blood sinking into his fire runes, they started to grow and change, turning from their normal fire-like state into nine brilliant golden suns. His ice lotuses also changed, turning into nine roaring white tigers that brimmed with glacial energy. His lightning runes started to twist and turn, stretching out and turning from lightning bolts into nine golden-purple coiling dragons, golden lightning dancing around them.


    After his runes changed, his body itself started to change. His blood grew thicker and more vigorous, hints of golden and blue color present in the blood. When all his blood had turned into this strange color, his fire element suddenly stopped battling against the glacial energy, sinking back into his body and allowing the ice energy to continue disintegrating and rebuilding his body.


    The glacial energy continued to rebuild his body, but it didn''t push away the fire energy, the two contradicting energies started to spin around each other, fusing together into one as they continued to destroy and rebuild the unconscious Li Yang, his body growing stronger at a terrifying rate.


    The last change was to his appearance, his previously azure hair turning icy-blue, and his previously pitch black eyes turning completely crimson, as if they were made from scorching flames. None of the changes that happened to Li Yang would normally happen to other people, even if they were given the blood of Divine Beasts.


    The reason these changes happened was that the blood that Jinwu and Shenlong had given to Li Yang wasn''t normal, it was something called Essence Blood. This blood was the complete essence of a person or a Demonic beast, and they only had a limited amount of it. Any loss of this blood would lead to a severe drop in strength, and it might even outright kill the one who lost the blood.


    Both of them had willingly fused this blood into Li Yang, perfectly integrating it into both his body and runes. This way, the two conflicting elements of fire and ice would no longer fight against each other in Li Yang''s body, and his runes would be able to reach a new height in strength and perfection. His body and soul also grew far stronger, because Li Yang was no longer just a human, he was now a humanoid Divine Beasts, carrying the blood of the Golden Crow, a True Dragon, and Jinwu''s unknown father.


    The reason Li Yang didn''t want Jinwu and Shenlong to do this was that he knew the price they had to pay. They had given him most of their Essence Blood to ensure that he survived, but because of that, there was a chance that they would never wake up from their slumber. And even if they did wake up, not only would their strength drastically drop, it would be far harder for them to ever increase their strength and grow up.


    There were only two ways for them to get back this lost Essence Blood, and both ways were incredibly hard. The first way was to give them some supreme treasure that could restore Essence Blood, but these treasures were so rare that not even in his previous life did Li Yang manage to acquire many of them. The second way was to kill a cultivator or a Demonic beast that had reached the same level of quality as Jinwu and Shenlong, feeding their Essence Blood to them.


    This was hard for two reasons, the first being to find and kill either a Divine Beast or a cultivator who had reached the Celestial Immortal realm, which was on par with a Divine Beast. The second reason was that most Divine Beasts or cultivators of the Celestial Immortal realm would burn their Essence Blood if they realized that they were likely to die. This would give them an instantaneous boost of power that they could use to drag their killer with them into death.


    Li Yang did not want them to pay this price, but how could Shenlong and Jinwu just sit by and watch as Li Yang either gave up such a great opportunity or died? Jinwu had been able to burst through his egg thanks to the blood that Li Yang dripped onto it, he was the first being Jinwu ever saw. Li Yang had given him a name and the two had journeyed together side by side. As for Shenlong, he and Huanglong were born thanks to Li Yang and Fang Ying''s blood and energy. To them, Li Yang and Fang Ying were their parents, and they were willing to sacrifice everything for them.


    Li Yang''s unconscious body continued to be destroyed and rebuilt, his affinity for ice and fire reaching a level that could only be described as monstrous. This process continued for over three and a half months before finally ending, Li Yang regaining consciousness and opening his eyes.


    Li Yang quickly sat up, his eyes landing on the sleeping Jinwu and Shenlong. He carefully lifted the both of them down from his shoulder, both having shrunk so much that they now fit in his palms. They didn''t react, even as he picked them up, so he couldn''t help but let out a soft sigh.


    "You idiots, there was no need to do something so excessive..."


    He stroked the two on the head, but they still didn''t react, so he could only let out another sigh. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding the icy air in his lungs for a short moment before expelling it. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with determination. There was no way he would let the two of them continue to slumber like this, he had to do his best to wake them up, even if it meant waiting until he reached the Celestial Immortal realm and could hunt down Divine Beasts or cultivators.


    He carefully placed Jinwu and Shenlong into his dantian, next to his sword, something he could only because he now had their blood flowing in his veins. He then stood up and gave both his own body and the surroundings a quick sweep, checking if anything had changed.


    He was a bit surprised at the changes to his hair and eyes, but he didn''t pay it much attention, as the changes were minor. What surprised him quite a bit was the physical strength of his body, as he guessed that it was now likely strong enough to kill someone at the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm using sheer brute force.


    The last thing in his own body he checked was his dantian, or rather, his Ascending Foundation, the sign that he had entered the Ascending Heaven realm. The various runes he had carved in his dantian had all gathered in a large circle, a thick stream of Qi connecting all 36 runes together. And at the center of this circle was his Ascending Foundation, a platform that shimmered with black, golden, blue, and crimson light, formed through the gathered energy of his 36 runes.


    This was his Ascending Foundation, upon which he would construct his Ascending Road, a massive mountain, that would let him reach the Ascending Gate, connecting him to the heavens and to immortality. But constructing this Ascending Road would require not only a large amount of Qi, but also required him to pour more of his understanding of the various elements into it, so it would take time.


    After checking out his Ascending Foundation, Li Yang checked out the surrounding cave. The droplet crystal floating in front of him had shrunk a little, but only by a tiny bit, so it seemed like it contained far more energy than he had first expected. He felt like he would now be able to reach the 9-meter mark, but he wasn''t confident he could step closer than that, even with his great increase in strength.


    He was curious as to exactly what this crystal was, but he was not in the mood to try inspecting it. He also didn''t have the time to do so, as he was able to tell that at least three months had passed while he was unconscious. This meant that the six-month agreement he had made with Yuan Ruogang was nearing, only about a month away, so he had to return to the clan.


    Li Yang cast one last glance at the droplet crystal, making sure to make a mental note that he had to return here when he was stronger. He then turned around and left, using the Twinlife Stone to make sure he was moving in the right direction.


    Thanks to his greatly strengthened affinity with the ice element, Li Yang was able to notice two rather strange things about this cave. The first thing was that he could feel the cold energy within the cave pulsating, almost like a beating heart. The pulsating came from even deeper in the cave, vanishing far into the ground.


    The second thing was a bit more terrifying, and that was that the people and Demonic beasts that were frozen solid inside the cave walls were still alive. Their hearts were still beating, and their blood was still flowing, but they were completely frozen, unable to move or make a sound. Forever trapped in this ice, completely conscious, was this not a fate worse than death?


    Li Yang was curious just how they had been frozen alive like this, but just like with the crystal droplet, he was not in the mood to investigate it. Jinwu and Shenlong falling into a slumber for him put him in a foul mood, so he simply wanted to return to the clan and quickly increase his strength.


    He swiftly left the cave, the Twinlife Stone ensuring that he didn''t lose his way. He picked up the other half of the Twinlife Stone and put both pieces into his interspatial ring, starting his descent of the mountain. He had about a month until the agreed upon duel, so he had a bit of time to finish up the remaining missions before he returned to the clan.

 87 The day of the agreement.

    Killing Teng Shinsu was the 6th mission that Li Yang had completed, leaving him with only another six that had to be completed. These were missions he had accepted based on his strength before breaking through, so now that he had finished his breakthrough, none of these missions proved any challenge.


    Over the next three weeks, news of strange occurrences once again started to pop up around the continent, bandits and Demonic beasts slain in droves, their lairs turned to either ash or frozen wastelands. One of these strange occurrences was the death of a bandit guild led by the Shinti twins, a pair of brothers who had both reached the very peak of the Ascending Heaven realm.


    Their entire base was twisted and distorted, countless dead bodies crushed beneath the metal pillars that used to support their large base. Looking at the scene, it was as if the pillars themselves had flown away from their previous locations just to destroy the bodies of the bandits. As for the bodies of the two leaders, their headless corpses were found a few kilometers away from the ruined base, causing people to guess that they had tried to flee from whatever had attacked the base.


    Nine days after killing the Shinti twins, two days before the promised six-month agreement, Li Yang finally returned to the Yuan clan. He arrived at the hill standing at the edge of the vast forest, the same place he had arrived when he first entered the Yuan clan. He only gave the area a cursory glance before he swiftly made his way through the forest, heading for the dome-shaped building that was the mission control center.


    It had only been six months since Li Yang had left the clan, and he could be considered somewhat famous among the outer and provisional disciples, mainly because of the fact that he had beaten Yuan Yijun''s third in command and challenged her second in command. Because of this, there were quite a few who noticed him as he made his way to the mission control building.


    He caught a few odd stares because of the change in his hair color and eye color, but Li Yang couldn''t be bothered with the stares of the surrounding people. His plan now was to spend his contribution points, finish his six-month agreement with Yuan Ruogang, and then focus on increasing his strength so that he could meet up with Fang Ying and find a way to wake up Jinwu and Shenlong.


    Li Yang entered the mission control building, walking up to the same middle-aged man with a graying beard that had first processed him accepting the missions. Li Yang swiped his interspatial ring, taking out nine straw sacks and three wooden boxes, placing them in front of the man.


    "The missions have been completed, please check them over."


    The middle-aged man raised his eyebrow slightly, moving his gaze between the 12 containers and Li Yang. He wasn''t too surprised that Li Yang completed the 12 missions in six months, what he was surprised at was the increase in Li Yang''s strength. Each new cultivation realm was stronger than the last, so it was no easy task to break through to the next cultivation realm.


    Even if it was just going from the Human Rune realm to the Ascending Heaven realm, it could still take people several years to take that final step. This middle-aged man was one of the weaker elders of the sect, but he was still an elder, so he knew that when Li Yang arrived at the Yuan clan a little less than a year ago, he had only been at the middle stage of the Human Rune realm, the Houtian Rune stage. And now he had already reached the Ascending Heaven realm, meaning that he either had some secret on him, or that he had talent that could only be called terrifying.


    The middle-aged man didn''t say anything about Li Yang''s increase in strength, it was best to bring it to the attention of some of the higher ranked elders later on. He opened the nine straw sacks and the three wooden boxes, quickly going over their contents. The straw sacks contained the heads he had taken from the various bounty targets, while the wooden boxes contained the herbs or Demonic beast parts he had to deliver for some of the missions he had taken. After carefully checking the 12 containers, the middle-aged man swept them into his interspatial ring and nodded his head.


    "Everything is in order, the 12 missions have been completed and registered. The total reward is 1650 contribution points, would you like a list over everything that can be bought with contribution points?"


    Li Yang had originally planned on using these contribution points on various treasures that he could use to push his cultivation up to the Ascending Heaven realm. But since he had already managed to reach that realm thanks to the strange crystal inside the Frozen God''s Tomb, he decided to use the contribution points on something else instead.


    "No need, I already have a list. I want to buy two cultivation manuals, one for the soul and one for the body. It doesn''t matter how many of my contribution points it''ll require, but I want one of each."


    Li Yang had only cultivated his Qi in his past life, mainly because back then, only those who specialized in the law of the flesh or the law of the soul could cultivate their body or their soul. But in this age, cultivation manuals that allowed everyone to cultivate their soul or body existed, so there was no way Li Yang would pass up this opportunity.


    The middle-aged man gave another nod of his head, closing his eyes in what seemed to be thought. He opened his eyes again after half a minute, quickly listing everything that Li Yang could afford, pulling out a blank scroll from his interspatial ring and quickly writing down an explanation of the five different techniques.


    "Very well. Since you only have 1730 contribution points, there are only five of these manuals that you can afford if you want one of each type, and even then, you can only afford the first parts of the techniques. For the body, we have the Heaven''s Lord technique, the Iron Peak technique, and the Myriad Monarch technique. For the soul, we have the Thousand Dragon Seal technique and the Bloody Shura technique."


    Li Yang grabbed the list and gave the five different techniques a quick read, memorizing the description of them. Each of the techniques had their own specialties and effects, each one also had different ways to cultivate them, some easier than others. After reading over all five techniques, Li Yang made his choice, pointing at two of them.


    "I''ll take the Myriad Monarch and the Bloody Shura technique."


    After reading over all the techniques, Li Yang came to the conclusion that these two were the most suited to him. The Myriad Monarch technique focused on using several different laws, slowly fusing them together and using the resulting energy to cultivate the body.


    As for the Bloody Shura technique, the way to cultivate it was one quite befitting of the name. One had to kill others and extract their blood and soul using the technique, after extracting the blood and soul, one had to use the technique to refine them and turn them into runes that one would sink into their soul, slowly absorbing them to cultivate the soul.


    The middle-aged man nodded his head and closed his eyes again. After a short moment, a faint light flashed across his interspatial ring and the man opened his eyes. He swiped his interspatial ring and took out two thin books, handing them to Li Yang. These books were so thin because they were only contained the first parts of the techniques that Li Yang had bought, if he wanted the later parts, he would need to spend more contribution points.


    Li Yang had never cultivated his body or soul, so these first parts were all he would need for now, he could focus on getting the other parts at a later date. Li Yang accepted the two books, but he didn''t look through them now, storing them into his interspatial ring and then leaving the mission control building.


    After leaving the building, he returned directly to his abode, giving his three servants a quick greeting before locking himself up in his room. His battle with Yuan Ruogang was in two days, so he had to make sure he was fully rested and restored himself to his peak conditions. Once the battle was over and he had some more time, then he could check through the cultivation books he had just bought.


    None of his three servants dared to interrupt Li Yang while he was resting, afraid that they might provoke his ire. Time passed quickly while recuperating, so two days passed in a flash, the day of the promised battle arriving.


    Li Yang opened his eyes the moment the sun rose, standing up from his seated position and stretching his body. Once he finished his stretches, he gave himself a quick clean by creating and melting some ice, switching into a fresh violet robe once he was done. He then left the building and headed directly for the arena.


    When he reached the arena, it was already filled to the brim with people, everyone hoping to see a good show. Li Yang swept the audience with a quick glance, his eyebrow raising in surprise when he saw Yuan Luoyang, the inner disciple that had given him the offer of joining the clan. Sitting next to her were a few other people who had far stronger auras than the people around them, so it seemed like they were also inner disciples.


    Li Yang also saw Xiang Wuying, one of the top five outer disciples. Sitting around him were three unfamiliar people, but judging by their strength, Li Yang guessed that they might be the three other outer disciples. Looking at the scene, it seemed like this battle had attracted quite a bit of attention.


    After sweeping the audience with a quick glance, Li Yang descended down onto the stage, sitting down with crossed legs as he waited for Yuan Ruogang to arrive.


    He didn''t have to wait long, a slight commotion arising after only a few minutes passed. Li Yang opened his eyes, his gaze landing on a group of people that were now entering the arena. There were three people leading this group, the raven-haired Yuan Ruogang, the tall and gray-haired Kong Lingxin, and one unfamiliar girl.


    This girl had a slim yet curvaceous body, skin that seemed as smooth as silk, light-green hair that was tied into a neat ponytail she had slung over her shoulder, soft lips that were cherry red in color, and eyes that shone like sapphires. She carried a soft and charming smile that seemed to light up her surroundings, catching the attention of everyone who looked at her.


    Even though Li Yang had Fang Ying, he had to admit that this woman was truly beautiful. Looking at her cultivation, which had reached the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, there was only one person this could be, Yuan Yijun. With her arrival, all five outer disciples were gathered, and there were even some inner disciples among the audience.


    The gazes of Yuan Ruogang and Yuan Yijun landed on Li Yang, who was calmly looking back at them, his crimson eyes not showing any emotion. Yuan Yijun leaned in and whispered a few words to Yuan Ruogang, who although she seemed irritated at the words, still nodded her head.


    Yuan Yijun waved Kong Lingxin and her other followers away, joining up with Xiang Wuying and the other top outer disciples. Yuan Ruogang took a deep breath and entered the stage, her gaze turning steely as she looked at Li Yang and spoke up.


    "I''m somewhat surprised you actually showed up, it seems like your strength has increased quite a bit. Jun''er has chosen to grace this place with her presence, and she has also decided to give you a chance. She wonders if you would like to accept a bet."

 88 Full might unleashed.

    After hearing Yuan Ruogang''s question, Li Yang raised his head slightly, his gaze drifting past Yuan Ruogang and landing on Yuan Yijun. This act came completely natural to Li Yang, disregarding the lackey and speaking directly to the boss, it was something he saw no problem with. But Yuan Yijun and the others saw the act for what it really was, a natural and instinctive disdainful arrogance. An arrogance that completely disregarded Yuan Ruogang, as if she wasn''t even worth talking to. To be disregarded like this was, of course, a great humiliation, but Li Yang started talking before Yuan Ruogang got to voice her anger.


    "A bet? Let me guess, I lose and I have to serve you, I win and you will let me go ''free''. Is that the ''graciousness'' you want to show me?"


    Li Yang sneered as he looked at Yuan Yijun and awaited her answer. He had encountered countless people like her, faced countless situations like this one. They always played out the same, and they always ended the same way, with him crushing all those who thought themselves better than him. But contrary to what he expected, Yuan Yijun responded by placing one of her fair hands in front of her mouth and letting out a crystal clear, almost bell-like giggle.


    "Not at all, that bet doesn''t sound fair in the slightest, the terms will be far fairer. If you win, we will not only swear to leave you alone, but we will also give you 10 000 contribution points as payment for the trouble, of course, you can say some other reward you want instead if you don''t want the contribution points. I won''t ask you to work for me if you lose, I don''t believe I would be able to control or retain you for long. No, what I want you to do if you lose is spend a night warming my bed."


    Li Yang couldn''t help but gawk slightly after receiving the response, and he wasn''t the only one among the audience who was caught off-guard. Those who gawked the most were the men who were watching the spectacle, their blazing eyes landing on Li Yang. There was no telling how many of the disciples, especially outer disciples, were enamored with the beautiful and refined Yuan Yijun.


    Countless disciples were willing to throw themselves at her feet, but she rejected them all. Yet now she had given a chance like this to Li Yang? In a situation like this, could losing even be considered a punishment? But while the men, and even some of the women, were waiting for Li Yang to nod his head with a grin, Li Yang instead burst out laughing.


    "Spend the night warming your bed? Woman, have you lost your mind due to arrogance, or are you always this dumb? I''m sure you''ve already been told, but I already have a wife, so why would I warm your bed?"


    No matter how beautiful Yuan Yijun was, she would never be able to hold a candle to Fang Ying, not in Li Yang''s eyes. Besides, did she really think she was so gorgeous that no man would be able to resist her charm? The people enamored with Yuan Yijun glared at Li Yang with increased intensity, looking like they wanted to jump onto the stage and duke it out with him. Yuan Yijun responded in a far more collected manner, seductively licking her lips.


    "That''s fine, your wife can join us. If she is as exquisite as you say, I would love to get a taste of her, I would love to hear her shudder and moan alongside you, what a wonderful sight it must be."


    Yuan Yijun was an omnivore, as long as they were pretty or talented enough, she would not mind inviting them into her chambers, regardless of gender or race. Hearing this, the audience grew even more frenzied. He would be able to not only enjoy his wife but also Yuan Yijun at the same time? Just where did he get his dogshit luck from? But once again, contrary to their expectations, Li Yang''s expression sank, the air in the arena starting to turn somewhat chilly.


    "Yijun, I''ll give you one warning. If there is one thing in the world I won''t allow strangers to make jokes about, it''s my wife. If I were you, I''d watch my words."


    Fang Ying was the most precious thing to him in the world. Alongside Zhao Feng and the others, she was one of his lights in the darkness. For her, he would not hesitate to turn entire galaxies into empty voids, of course, he also knew that she would never allow him to do this, she would hate him if he were to even attempt it.


    Since it was like this, how could he possibly let anyone talk about Fang Ying in a bad manner, especially in such a rude manner like Yuan Yijun was talking? Faced with Li Yang''s low threat, Yuan Yijun only grew more intrigued and interested, leaning her upper body forward and once again licking her lips, her buxom chest swaying charmingly from the movement.


    "And what if I don''t, what if I went into detail about all the nooks and crannies on her body I wanted to explore and delve into, what sort of things would you do to me then?"


    Yuan Yijun was simple, she would do her best to get her hands onto the things she was not supposed to be able to grasp. This was one of the reasons she had made the bet what it was. Li Yang was someone she was not supposed to be able to get her hands on, someone who antagonized her. Knowing this, she, of course, had to do her best to get her hands on him, even if it was just for one night.


    She was confident in her technique, so she was certain she would get him to fall head over heels for her after that one night. And once he was her''s, she would discard him like she had done to so many others before him. Since Yuan Yijun pushed on, Li Yang narrowed his eyes slightly and gave an honest response.


    "The last person who spoke inappropriately about my wife no longer walks this earth, do you wish to follow in his footsteps?"


    Jing Yimu was the last person to speak ill of Li Yang''s wife, and now he didn''t even have any ashes remaining of him. Of course, what Li Yang left out was that Jing Yimu had done far worse than just speak ill of Fang Ying, he had actually managed to gather up a mob and kill both Fang Ying and Li Yang, leading to their rebirth. Li Yang''s threats and stern manner only served to further excite Yuan Yijun, whose lips curved into a smile dripping with desire.


    "Oh, feisty. I wonder how that wife of yours managed to tame you, is she as feisty as you? I do love it when the feisty ones join me in my chambers, it''s so pleasing when they surrender to the pleasure and moan freely, turning into mush beneath my fingers. What do you say, do you wish to accept the bet? I promise I won''t be too rough, I even promise that I won''t show your wife such a good time that she''ll want to leave you for me."


    While speaking, Yuan Yijun traced her own collarbones and neck, letting her fingers slide over her body, demonstrating the things she wanted to do. Li Yang''s expression suddenly made an abrupt change, turning calm to the point of indifference. He stretched out his right arm, pointing it at Yuan Yijun, and opened his hand, making a grasping motion as he nodded his head.


    "I''ll change the bet. If I lose, I''ll join you in your chambers and do as you say. But if I win, I will take everything. All your contribution points and everything inside your interspatial ring. You wish to take my all, so you must be ready to lose your all."


    This was Li Yang''s proclamation of confidence, his statement that he would not lose. Yuan Yijun didn''t even get the time to nod her head, the fuming Yuan Ruogang glaring daggers at Li Yang as she responded with a loud shout.


    "I''ll accept! But if you lose, not only must you join Jun''er in her chambers, you too must hand over everything you own!"


    Li Yang cocked his head slightly, his indifferent eyes landing on Yuan Ruogang. She had her arms hanging at her side, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. It seemed like she was quite angry with how Li Yang treated Yuan Yijun. Getting her response and agreement, Li Yang also nodded his head.


    "Deal."


    Even if she was so angry she seemed like she was about to go mad, she was still an adult who was capable and responsible for making her own choices. She had said yes, so she had to accept the consequences.


    Li Yang fully turned his body away from the distant Yuan Yijun and focused on Yuan Ruogang. Yuan Yijun''s eyebrow ticked up slightly, but it was uncertain whether or not it was because she was worried or because she was annoyed at no longer being the center of attention.


    With Li Yang fully facing her, Yuan Ruogang continued to glare daggers at him, swiping her interspatial ring and taking out a rather strange weapon, a silver circle that had its edges sharpened into deadly blades, a chakram. Tightly grasping the chakram, Yuan Ruogang looked at Li Yang and let out a disdainful snort.


    "Humph, I''ll show you the punishment you must suffer for demeaning Jun''er like that. For her to take an interest in your wife and you, you should be overjoyed!"


    To Yuan Ruogang, Yuan Yijun was the greatest being in existence, everyone should be overjoyed at just being in her presence. She was completely trapped by Yuan Yijun''s charm, unable to see the world in a manner that didn''t put Yuan Yijun as the center.


    Yuan Ruogang''s words became the signal that started the battle, the Qi within her body suddenly bellowing outwards, a crushing pressure bearing down on the entire stage. The pressure was so strong that the stone stage started to crack, some parts even sinking downwards, as if a giant was stepping on them. Yuan Ruogang wanted to absolutely crush Li Yang, she couldn''t cripple or kill him, but heavily wounding him was not against the rules.


    Her blazing eyes landed on Li Yang, her right arm pulling back and sending the chakram flying. As it spun through the air, the entire chakram seemed to turn transparent and invisible, making it impossible to locate it with one''s eyes.


    But Li Yang still only looked on with a calm and indifferent gaze, his eyes never leaving Yuan Ruogang. Crimson flames and azure lightning suddenly burst forth from his body and scorched the stage around him, both his strengthening techniques activated at the same time, the Burning Hope technique that Jing Yimu had taught him to increase his physical strength, as well as his own lightning based strengthening technique focused on increasing his speed. He hadn''t used his own strengthening technique much after being reborn, but he had never forgotten about it.


    Now that he had the blood of Jinwu and Shenlong flowing in his veins, he could use a small amount of golden lightning and golden flames without wounding his own body, drastically increasing the strength of these two techniques. To cover up this golden lightning and flames, he intentionally made a big show of his crimson flames and azure lightning, the golden versions staying beneath his skin to hide themselves.


    He then took a step forward, turning into a blur that moved faster than the eye could see. The current Li Yang''s body was built up using fire and ice, but not of lightning, so he couldn''t turn his entire body into lightning to move at high speeds. Instead, he could only send out a bolt of lightning in the direction he wanted to move and jump onto it, allowing him to ride it.


    The pressure that Yuan Ruogang was so proud of was completely unable to stop Li Yang, letting him reach her back in less than a second. This was the first time after his breakthrough that Li Yang unleashed all his strength, not holding anything back, and the result was truly terrifying. He was still only at the early stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, but the late stage Ascending Heaven realm Yuan Ruogang was completely unable to react to his movements.


    His most recent breakthrough had not only pushed his cultivation higher, but it had also turned him into a humanoid Divine Beast carrying the blood of a True Dragon, a Golden Crow, and whatever sort of beast Jinwu''s father was. His level of strength could no longer be measured by normal means, one could only classify him as a monster and use that standard to judge him.


    Of course, the fact that Yuan Ruogang was nearly blinded by rage as well as the fact that she was not among the most talented of cultivators also contributed to making it so easy to catch her back. If she had to be ranked among all the late stage Ascending Heaven realm cultivators, Li Yang guessed that she would only rank at the middle to lower reaches.


    Li Yang stretched out his arm, aiming to grab hold of Yuan Ruogang''s head. She had been unable to react to his movement, but thanks to her experience, she was at least able to react to his attack. As his arm approached her head, Li Yang felt a reflective force bounce back the energy gathered around Li Yang''s hand, sending it back at him.


    Feeling this reflective force, Li Yang was able to guess at what law Yuan Ruogang focused on, the law of water. The law of water wasn''t purely water, it was able to crush things and produce the same pressure as the deepest oceans, and just like it reflected the stars and the evening moon, it was able to produce a mirror-like force that reflected energy and attacks back at the attacker.


    Against normal cultivators, Yuan Ruogang could just use this reflective force to remain unharmed and nearly unmatched. But Li Yang was far from a normal cultivator. A stream of crimson fire and mist-like ice started to coil around his arm, overloading the reflective force through sheer power, rendering it completely ineffective.


    Li Yang grasped hold of the back of Yuan Ruogang''s head, and without giving her the chance to react, he pushed her forward and kicked out her legs underneath her. He slammed her head into the ground face first, a crunching sound ringing out as her nose shattered from the impact.


    But Li Yang didn''t stop there, he raised her head up slightly and then slammed it into the stone stage again. He smashed her face into the stone stage again and again in a vicious manner, resulting in blood spraying out of her face and staining the stage, his face staying dreadfully calm all the while. He only stopped when she stopped twitching, letting go of her head and leaving her limp on the stone stage.


    She had the gall to say that he and Fang Ying should be overjoyed at being able to warm Yuan Yijun''s bed, so how could Li Yang not punish her somewhat? His gaze landed on her left arm, on the ring she wore.


    "This one''s mine now."


    He bent forward and removed the green ring from her finger, taking her interspatial ring for himself, just like the bet was. Even though he slammed her so viciously into the stone stage, he still controlled himself, he had only left her wounded and unconscious, she had not suffered any fatal wounds or wounds that could cripple her or weaken her cultivation. After snatching the ring, he threw Yuan Ruogang down from the stage, into the hands of a youth sent over ahead of time by the clan to treat any wounds. Li Yang then turned his head, his calm gaze landing on Yuan Yijun.


    "Yijun, get down here, it''s your turn."


    He originally only planned on beating Yuan Ruogang so that he could finally get some peace from Yuan Yijun''s goonies. But since Yuan Yijun had said the things she did, he had no intentions of letting her leave this arena on her own feet. Yuan Yijun''s eyebrow ticked up slightly, but she still wore a calm and seductive smile.


    "And I should enter the arena just because you say so? The one you were to fight today was Ruo''er, not me. If you wish to fight me, you must make a proper appointment like all the others."


    She was one of the top five outer disciples, how could she be freely challenged by anyone? Normally, people had to hand over a formal challenge, and then wait for a few months before she responded, giving both parties ample time to prepare. Li Yang wasn''t perturbed by her response, slowly opening his mouth.


    "I said..."


    In the middle of his sentence, the sound of muffled thunder rang out from Li Yang''s body and he vanished, turning into a faint blur. The inner disciples and the top outer disciples were quick to react, the inner disciples following Li Yang with their eyes, and the top outer disciples quickly dodging in different directions. But Li Yang still arrived at the side of Yuan Yijun, who had jumped several meters to the left. His voice was bitingly cold as he spoke out.


    "...Get down here!"


    Li Yang''s right hand curled into a fist and he sent out a punch, crimson fire, mist-like ice, and azure lightning all coiling around his fist. The lightning increased the speed of his fist, the fire increased the explosive force of his punch, and the ice gave his fist a higher degree of toughness and gave the attack a slightly penetrative effect, coldness seeping through any defense.


    Yuan Yijun quickly raised her arm, blocking Li Yang''s punch with her elbow, a strange layer of transparent energy surrounding her arm and drastically weakening the force of Li Yang''s punch. But his attack still served its purpose, Yuan Yijun was sent flying across the audience seating area, landing on the stage. Her hair and robe were disheveled, a solemn expression on her face as she stood up and faced Li Yang, who had chased after her and stepped onto the stage.


    "Fine then, since you wish to be so stubborn, let me show you the might that is required to be one of the five top outer disciples!"

 89 Perfect attack

    With Yuan Yijun''s proclamation, the entire arena started to seethe with excitement. Some of the more attentive people had already sent out news the moment Li Yang launched his attack against Yuan Yijun, letting all their friends know that one of the top five outer disciples would likely be fighting now. With how rare it was for one of the top outer disciples to actually partake in a battle, there was no way any of the outer disciples would wish to miss the spectacle that was about to take place.


    While the arena was seething with excitement, there were quite a few varying opinions about Li Yang going around. Some found him brave for challenging Yuan Yijun, some found him arrogant for how he went about challenging her, some were awed at the strength he had shown, and some of the women in the audience were charmed by how he fought against Yuan Yijun for what she had said about his wife.


    Li Yang completely ignored the surrounding audience, his gaze firmly locked on Yuan Yijun, who was likewise looking at Li Yang with a solemn gaze. Her gaze occasionally flickered to the blood Yuan Ruogang, who was receiving care at the side of the stage. Yuan Ruogang was one of her lovers, so with how Li Yang had trashed Yuan Ruogang, how could Yuan Yijun not be furious?


    When he had first challenged her, she wanted to accept, but she felt that her odds of victory weren''t above 70%. Because of this, she wanted to postpone the battle for a few months, giving her the chance to focus on her next breakthrough, allowing her to drastically increase her chance of winning. But since Li Yang had ended up using such a straight forward method to force her to fight him, she could only go with the flow and pull out all her power.


    Li Yang swiped his interspatial ring, a standard Jian sword appearing in his grasp. Despite fusing with the blood of Jinwu and Shenlong, he was still not able to actually use his prided sword for longer than 10 seconds. He also didn''t intend to bring out the sword in a place where people could see it, if the news that the current him carried such a high-grade weapon spread out, there was no telling how many people would come after him in an attempt to steal the weapon.


    Not only Yuan Yijun''s expression changed, but the expressions of Kong Lingxin and some of the other people in the audience also changed after Li Yang pulled out his sword. When Li Yang fought Kong Lingxin and Yuan Ruogang, he had never used a weapon, he had brutalized them using only his fists.


    Not even Xiang Wuying and the others who had joined Li Yang in the mission to eradicate the Ghost Banner sect knew that Li Yang used a sword as his weapon. They couldn''t help but wonder, he was already strong enough to savagely beat Yuan Ruogang when he was using just his hands, just how much stronger would he be when he actually used a weapon?


    While Yuan Yijun was narrowing her eyes, Li Yang took a step forward, lightning shrouding his body as he turned into a faint blur that cut through the air. He instantly arrived in front of Yuan Yijun, the stage shattering beneath his feet from the sheer force of his movement. He slashed upwards with his sword, the blade of the weapon covered in a minute layer of flames, the air warping due to the heat.


    Yuan Yijun swiftly reacted, taking three steps backward and one to the left, pushing her right palm outwards and to the right. A strange force suddenly acted upon Li Yang''s sword as it approached Yuan Yijun, forcibly diverting its course away from Yuan Yijun. The sword was pushed away, but it was already too late to stop the attack.


    The minute flames around the edge of the blade were unleashed, greedily devouring any Qi and air they came in contact with, using them to propagate into a blazing inferno. The flames formed a blazing fire that was only the width of a fist but stretched out for over two kilometers, stretching into the audience seating area.


    Accompanying the flames was the sharp slash of Li Yang''s sword, which was connected to the flames using Li Yang''s Qi. A deep scar was left in the stage and the parts of the audience area where the flames had reached, the edges of the scar still burning with flames so hot that they melted the surrounding stone. Not only were the flames still hot enough to melt the surrounding stone, but they were also still slowly growing, increasing the size of the scar.


    This was something Li Yang had gained insight into after gaining the blood of Jinwu, ever-growing flames. The Golden Crow was famed for having the most destructive flames, fire that could destroy anything it touched. The golden flames would then use the energy that was a result of this destruction process to grow themselves, turning stronger and stronger the more they destroyed, a true scourge upon creation, and a perfect fit for Li Yang, who had insight into the law of destruction.


    The spectators who were seated in the area where the flames struck swiftly retreated, the stronger ones gathering together to deal with the growing flames.


    Right after diverting the course of Li Yang''s attack, Yuan Yijun launched her own counterattack. She moved her right arm, which was already very close to Li Yang''s right arm, tapping her finger on Li Yang''s sword. While her right hand was tapping on the flat side of the sword, she also used her left foot to softly tap the stone stage.


    Two strange scenes occurred as she did these actions, the first was that Li Yang''s sword suddenly started to twist and turn, the blade folding up into a small square. The second was that the parts of the stage that were between Yuan Yijun and Li Yang suddenly shifted, the portions beneath his feet moving in opposite directions, trying to force him down into a split.


    Li Yang dropped his now ruined weapon without hesitation, but instead of jumping back to avoid the suddenly shifting parts of the stone stage, he dashed forward. Each of his steps was accompanied by arcs of lightning and carried enough force to shatter the stone stage, rendering the movements of the stone stage useless against him.


    Once he caught up to Yuan Yijun, he stomped the stone stage so hard that his right foot sank into it, anchoring him in place as he gave his body a quick spin and sent a sideways kick at Yuan Yijun''s waist. Yuan Yijun once again showed her position as one of the top five outer disciples, swiftly reacting and counterattacking.


    She pushed down with her right arm, Li Yang''s leg suddenly sinking and slowing down, his attack changing direction to aim at her shin instead. At the same time, she narrowed her eyes, a spike of invisible energy heading directly for Li Yang''s forehead.


    She thought that Li Yang''s attack was no longer a problem after being suppressed by her, but when his kick made contact with her shin, she realized just how wrong she had been. She felt like someone had grabbed a massive hammer and slammed it into her leg, her bone creaking slightly under the force. She couldn''t help but be somewhat fearful, if this was the force after being suppressed, just how strong had it been when it was at full force?


    She quickly jumped to the left, twisting her limbs to dispell the force that still remained in her body. But there was a strange icy energy that accompanied the kick, sticking to her body like a leech. The icy energy even tried to creep towards her soul, forcing her to push it away with all her might. While she jumped away, she cast her gaze towards Li Yang, hoping to see the results of her attack.


    But all she found when she looked at him was despair. Floating in front of Li Yang''s forehead was a small spike of ice that was crystal clear, without the slightest impurity. In front of her eyes, the frozen spike that had been her attack fell to the floor and shattered, completely ineffective. Li Yang tilted his head slightly, his gaze meeting Yuan Yijun''s, his lips slowly curling into a faint smile.


    "So you cultivate the law of motion and your soul. And looking at that attack, your soul cultivation should be equal to your Qi cultivation, no wonder you could become one of the top five outer disciples. But what a shame, your soul energy is unable to harm me."


    The law of motion was a rather strange and rare one, focusing on the movement of the world. With just a thought of their mind, a strong cultivator with the law of motion could have an entire planet suddenly rotate in the opposite direction, even causing the blood of their enemies to flow in the opposite direction. It was powerful, but very hard to gain insight into. Of course, the larger the area one wanted to affect, or the stronger the enemy was, the harder it would be to use the law of motion to affect them.


    As for her soul attack, had it been in the past, Li Yang would have to be very fearful of it. But that had completely changed after he gained Jinwu''s blood and managed to unlock the true strength of the strange ice element that Jinwu carried, the ability to freeze souls and other incorporeal things.


    Jinwu''s golden flames could destroy anything corporeal, and his ice element could destroy anything that wasn''t corporeal. Were it not for the fact that Jinwu had rather weak defenses and regenerative abilities that were below average for a Divine beast, he would be the perfect Demonic beast.


    Li Yang couldn''t help but grow even more curious about Jinwu''s father, just what sort of Demonic beast could use ice that was able to freeze even things like souls and other incorporeal things? Li Yang had heard about Demonic beasts and cultivators doing similar things by turning their ice so cold that nothing was able to escape it, but Jinwu''s ice was different, it didn''t rely on sheer cold to freeze souls and incorporeal things, it simply relied on its own strange characteristic.


    Of course, it wasn''t only Jinwu''s blood that gave Li Yang great benefits. With the blood of Shenlong flowing in his veins, not only could Li Yang use the golden lightning that was famed to be the strongest wrath of the heavens, turning both body and soul into ash, but he could also turn any of his lightning poisonous thanks to mixed blood that Shenlong carried.


    With these two Divine Beast bloodlines joining together in his body, Li Yang could be considered perfect when it came to attacking, having something to deal with both body and soul. Of course, he did not let this get to his head, as long as the difference in strength was large enough, none of these things would matter, he would be squashed like a bug.


    Li Yang clenched his fist, his faint smile sending shivers down the spines of Yuan Yijun and most of the onlooking audience. As he spoke up, his voice was still as calm and casual as it had been since he first entered the stage that day, as if he wasn''t currently facing one of the five strongest outer disciples.


    "Now then, let''s see how long you will be able to run before I get my hands on you."

 90 The demons smile.

    Seeing the calm smile on Li Yang''s face and feeling the shiver that ran down her spine, Yuan Yijun instantly grew furious. Just how long had she been one of the top five outer disciples? How could she possibly feel fear when facing Li Yang, how could she possibly allow him to humiliate her like this? Even if she ignored him viciously beating her favorite lover, she had to at least stand tall and show the pride a person of her status should have. She stood up and straightened her back, her eyes narrowing slightly.


    "Don''t think that just because you countered my soul cultivation that you have the right to look down on me. Like I said earlier, let me show you the might required to be one of the top five outer disciples!"


    Yuan Yijun stretched out her arms as she spoke, the robes that covered her arms and legs suddenly bursting and revealing her fair limbs. But right now the veins on her arms and legs were protruding and wriggling like worms, the sound of blood rushing through them clearly audible in the arena. Mixed with the sound of blood rushing was the sound of bones creaking and scraping against each other, Yuan Yijun''s face turning deep red in color, a few veins in her eyes popping and turning her eyes crimson.


    Li Yang''s eyes narrowed faintly when he saw her current state. She had clearly activated some sort of strengthening technique, but Li Yang had no idea what type of strengthening technique it was, nor did he know the exact strength of the technique. He wasn''t surprised that she had a strengthening technique, as one of the top five outer disciples, she clearly had one or two tricks up her sleeve.


    He was good at improvising and acting on the spot, but he disliked it when unexpected things or things he didn''t understand happened, they would often cause the situation to leave his control so they made him uneasy. And because of that, Li Yang decided that the best course of action right now was to beat down Yuan Yijun before any more unknown things appeared.


    Li Yang took a step forward and turned into a blur, the sound of muffled thunder rumbling over the stage as he dashed towards Yuan Yijun like a furious bolt of lightning. While he dashed, tall walls of ice rose up from the ground around Yuan Yijun, blocking all sides except the one that Li Yang came from.


    Yuan Yijun completely ignored the walls of ice, her eyes fully focused on the approaching Li Yang. She suddenly punched out with her fist, the attack so fast that her arm nearly vanished from sight. Her attack seemed like it would just strike empty air, but just as the audience thought her attack was a fluke, Li Yang arrived in front of the fist.


    Both of them moved so fast that they appeared as little more than blurs, but both were still able to keep track of the other one. Yuan Yijun knew that if Li Yang wanted to finish his dash, he had to pass by the place where her punch was headed, so she perfectly calculated the timing needed for the dashing Li Yang to reach the spot where she was punching, forcing him to meet her attack head-on.


    But just as she thought her fist was going to make contact with Li Yang, he suddenly vanished. He didn''t dodge or dash away, he simply vanished, completely dumbfounding her. But Yuan Yijun didn''t let her shock stun her, moving into action immediately. The moment Li Yang vanished, while her arm was still in its punching motion, she used her law of motion to kick her own legs out from underneath her, resulting in her falling face first towards the ground.


    She opened her punching fist and dug her fingers into the stage, supporting her body and preventing her from falling onto the stage. As she did this, Li Yang popped out from the wall of ice he had set up behind her, now wearing an icy blue robe. He aimed a punch at her spine, but as Yuan Yijun had thrown herself towards the ground the moment he vanished, his punch ended up passing over her.


    Using the hand dug into the stage to support her body and with her law of motion as support, Yuan Yijun did half a front flip that raised her lower body and aimed an upward kick at Li Yang, her heel smashing into Li Yang''s solar plexus. Her Qi and law of motion flooded into his body, two of Li Yang''s ribs twisting and shattering themselves before he was able to force her Qi out of his body. When her kick connected, Yuan Yijun''s lips curled into a slight smirk.


    "Did you think that I hadn''t gathered any information about you? I already know that you used a similar technique on the mission you took with Xiang Wuying, dodging using the surrounding flame. I guessed that since you were able to do that with fire, you would likely be able to do the same using ice."


    Her words weren''t wrong, but what she didn''t know was that Li Yang had only recently become able to turn his entire body into cold and use surrounding ice to rebuild it. Her words weren''t meant as a sign of arrogance, they were meant to sow unease and worry in the mind of Li Yang, causing him to constantly question which of his techniques she might already know about.


    When faced with normal cultivators, her tactic might prove to be somewhat useful. But when had Li Yang ever been normal? He completely ignored her words and the pain coming from his shattered ribs, grabbing onto Yuan Yijun''s leg and pushing it away from him, forcing her to take half a backflip and return to a horizontal position, with only her one arm supporting her body.


    Li Yang then did half a frontflip, leaning down so far that his forehead smashed into the back of Yuan Yijun''s head, fire and lightning scorching her hair and scalp, horribly cold ice flooding into her mind as he gave her a mighty headbutt. Jinwu''s eyes could freeze immaterial things, so even the enemy''s mind and thoughts could be frozen if Li Yang was strong enough.


    The attack didn''t come without a price though, as any contact with Yuan Yijun would allow her to flood Li Yang with her law of motion. The short moment he had grabbed onto her leg was enough for Yuan Yijun to break three of the fingers on his left hand.


    The force of the attack smashed Yuan Yijun into the ground, her forehead crashing into the stage and cracking it. Right now Yuan Yijun was using one of the aspects of her law of motion, the speed of motion, to drastically increase all her abilities, even the speed at which her thoughts moved. This allowed her to easily keep up with the speed Li Yang could reach thanks to his law of lightning.


    But even with that, Yuan Yijun now felt her thoughts slow down, a glacial feeling flooding her mind and even drowning out the pain she felt from having her head crash into the stone stage. She quickly flooded her own mind with Qi, forcing out the glacial feeling and allowing her mind to return to its forcibly heightened state.


    Once her mind was no longer slowed down, she noticed that Li Yang had already changed his position, having front flipped over her during the short moment her thoughts were slowed down. He was standing in front of her with his back turned to her, so he had clearly just landed from the frontflip. He gave a quick spin of his body, raising his left leg as high as he could, bringing it down mid-spin, aiming to stomp Yuan Yijun''s head into the stage.


    Yuan Yijun swiftly reacted by activating her law of motion and causing her body to slide backward, causing the stomp to shatter the stage in the spot where her head had just been, fire, ice, and lightning mixing together to create a deep hole. She was confident she would be able to survive if that attack hit her, but it would instantly render her unable to continue battling.


    She continued to slide backward until her feet touched the wall of ice Li Yang had set up behind her. The moment her feet touched the wall, spikes grew out of it, aiming to pierce her feet. But Yuan Yijun had been prepared for this, so the moment the spikes touched her feet, her law of motion caused them to curl up and shatter.


    She pushed off the ground with both her arms and used her law of motion to return herself to a standing position. But just as she was standing properly again, a fist arrived in front of her face and smashed into her nose, causing the back of her head to crash into the wall of ice and shatter it. She responded by flooding Li Yang''s right hand with her law of motion, causing the bones in all his fingers but his thumb to twist and shatter.


    She then kicked off the ground and used her law of motion, as well as the force of Li Yang''s punch, to support her body as she did a backflip, rolling over the shattered wall of ice. While doing the backflip, she also used the chance to once again kick Li Yang, delivering an upwards kick to his outstretched right arm.


    Her foot crashed into his arm a little above his elbow, the bone at the spot she touched trying to curl itself up, shattering as a result. Normally, when somebody''s bone was shattered like that, they would be unable to move their arm. But Li Yang was different, he simply used his law of lightning to control the electrical signals in the nerves in his arm, forcing the arm to move as he wished.


    After rolling over the shattered wall of ice, Yuan Yijun dashed forward, jumping over the remains of the walls and charging at Li Yang. Her strengthening technique could not last forever, so she had to swiftly crush Li Yang in the one department where she had an advantage, close combat. Thanks to her law of motion, the more times she came into contact with Li Yang, the weaker she would make him.


    He could freeze and scorch her with each attack, but each time she came in contact with him, she would shatter his bones and even tear his flesh, so she would weaken him faster than he could weaken her. Or so she believed and hoped at least.


    She instantly reached Li Yang''s front, using the momentum of her movement to aim a punch directly at his chest. The attack was meant to force Li Yang to back up, giving her the chance to chase after him and giving her the advantage of being the one to initiate a barrage of attacks, forcing Li Yang into the defensive.


    But once again Li Yang completely betrayed all her expectations, not even making an effort to dodge. Her fist smashed into his chest, shattering another six of his ribs, the skin and flesh on the right side of his chest starting to wriggle and twist, tearing itself. But she wasn''t pleased that her attack landed, because she caught a glimpse of Li Yang''s eyes, of the mad glint that flashed in those fiery crimson eyes.


    As fast as lightning, Li Yang''s right arm stretched out and grabbed onto the wrist of Yuan Yijun''s arm, clamping down on it like a vice. She tried to use her law of motion to force him to let go, but Li Yang simply ignored the pain of the bones in his fingers repeatedly shattering. Lightning flooded into her arm, robbing her of all control she had over her right arm. And then, while she was punching out with her left arm to force him to let go, she heard his soft and calm, yet oh so terrifying voice.


    "Now there won''t be any running away."


    Right after she heard his voice, Yuan Yijun felt his knee smash into her abdomen, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to lean forward and vomit, interrupting her attack. The knee to the abdomen was only the start, Li Yang lowering the knee that had smashed into her abdomen and then raising it again, this time having it crash into her face and shattering her nose.


    Her head was forced up from the attack, but before she even got to respond, Li Yang gave her another headbutt, her skull creaking slightly from the force behind it. He then used his left arm to punch her in the abdomen again, this time hitting her directly where her dantian was located. When his fist made contact with her dantian, fire, ice, and lightning flooded into her dantian, surrounding her runes and the Ascended Road that she had created.


    Now, with just a quick thought, he could completely shatter her runes and Ascended Road, crippling her cultivation and forcing her to start from scratch. Realizing this, Yuan Yijun hurriedly spoke out, her voice drenched in fear.


    "You can''t! It''s against the rules of the clan!"


    The clan was fine with the disciples fighting and competing, it promoted growth, but they strictly forbade killing or crippling other disciples. After she spoke out, she saw Li Yang''s now bloody lips curl into a smile as he nodded his head to show that he understood the rules of the clan. But just as she was about to let out a relieved sigh, Li Yang spoke up.


    "Don''t look so relieved. The rules aren''t your ally here, they are your enemy. The rules state that we are forbidden from killing or crippling each other, but that means as long as I don''t kill or cripple you, I am free to do whatever I please."


    Looking at the calm and even somewhat charming smile that Li Yang held as he spoke those words, Yuan Yijun couldn''t help but feel like she was looking at the smile of a demon. He was right, as long as he didn''t kill or cripple her, the clan wouldn''t really bother with what he did to her.


    Yuan Yijun wanted to shout out her surrender, but before she got the chance, Li Yang once again punched her abdomen, once again forcing her to lean forward and vomit. Then, in front of the stunned and shocked audience, Li Yang proceeded to viciously beat Yuan Yijun, just like he had done to Kong Lingxin and Yuan Ruogang.


    The two hadn''t been quiet when they spoke, so the entire audience had been able to hear their exchange. And watching him viciously beating Yuan Yijun, the audience felt much the same as Yuan Yijun, that his smile was truly the smile of a demon.

 91 Aftermath of the battle.

    Five minutes after telling Yuan Yijun that the rules were against her, Li Yang finally finished with her. Her entire body was caked in blood and vomit, her consciousness lost half a minute ago. Li Yang held her by her throat, lifting her feet up from the ground and looking at her with a calm gaze, some of her blood having splashed onto his face.


    The bones in his arms and chest were mostly completely shattered, but Li Yang didn''t even pay them any attention, using his law of lightning to control himself like a puppet. Since Yuan Yijun had lost consciousness, Li Yang didn''t bother with her anymore, dismissively tossing her body at the medical personnel which were still treating Yuan Ruogang.


    One of the top five outer disciples and one of the most beautiful girls in the sect, and he had viciously beaten her and then tossed her away like a sack of potatoes. How could an act like this not draw quite a few gazes, some of anger and some of admiration?


    Of course, those in the audience who had some actual strength looked at Li Yang with completely different gazes, ones filled with solemness. For speed and evading he had his law of lightning and for power and sheer destructive force he had his law of fire, he was almost perfectly well rounded. The only solace they could find was that he had yet to use his law of ice to come up with a strong defensive technique, so he was somewhat lacking in that regard. But what if he came up with a defensive technique, perfectly using all of his laws? Just what sort of monster would he become then?


    Li Yang swept the audience with a quick glance, but he couldn''t be bothered with their gazes. He didn''t crave their respect or adoration, so he didn''t care what they thought about his actions and methods. In this vast universe, there were only seven people whose respect and adoration he sought, and out of those seven, four might already be long gone.


    These seven were, of course, Fang Ying, Zhao Feng, Dai Shu, Bai Yawen, Ye Ning, and the last two were the twin sister Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu, which Li Yang had found out were still alive the last time he returned to the Cloud Wilderness. There were others in the universe Li Yang respected, but none that he actually wanted to respect or like him.


    After sweeping the audience with a glance, Li Yang turned towards the steps that led out of the arena and started heading towards them. He had to return to his abode so that he could focus on healing his wounds, only when he was fully healed could he return to focusing on cultivation. But as he was starting to make his way up the stairs, a deep green pill the size of a human''s eye suddenly flew over, stopping in front of him as a light laugh sounded out from his side.


    "You should take that one, it''ll make healing those broken bones quite a bit easier. Otherwise, who knows if you''ll be able to return to your peak state in time."


    Li Yang stretched out his hand and let the pill drop into his palm, rolling it around slightly. He could feel that not only did the pill contain a very concentrated medicinal energy, but it was also filled with a vast and mighty Qi, it was clearly not a pill that just anyone could get their hands on.


    He turned his head sideways, his gaze landing on the yellow-robe and cyan-haired Yuan Luoyang, the girl who brought him into the Yuan clan. There were a few other people walking behind Yuan Luoyang, with most of them having reached the Immortal Rebirth realm, meaning that they were also inner disciples.


    Li Yang didn''t reject the medicine, mainly because he didn''t have the contribution points to buy any of his own, and certainly not enough to buy a pill as useful as this one. He cupped his hands, ignoring the creaking of his bones as he gave a polite greeting.


    "Thank you, Senior Sister Luoyang. Since you are offering it, I won''t do something rude like rejecting it."


    Back when Li Yang first saw Yuan Luoyang during the contest to earn a spot for the grand competition, which was only a little over a year away now, he had thought that her cultivation was around the Immortal Rebirth realm, likely the early stage. But now that she was no longer hiding her cultivation, he could see that she had already reached the early stage of the Primordial Rune realm, the cultivation realm which was only a single realm beneath the one Li Yang had reached in his previous life, the Celestial Immortal realm.


    Of course, whether or not she would ever be able to reach that realm was uncertain. Just increasing one''s cultivation by a single stage within the Primordial Immortal realm was difficult, to the point where people could spend thousands or even millions of years stuck in each of the stages. And that was just the Primordial Immortal realm, the Celestial Immortal realm was even more difficult.


    Seeing Li Yang accept the pill so easily, Yuan Luoyang gave a satisfied nod of her head, patting him on the shoulder as she walked past him, giving him a quick reminder.


    "Good, you should use that pill to quickly heal your wounds. The test to become an inner disciple will take place in about four months, and as was the agreement when you entered the clan, you are allowed to take part in it. I was the one who brought you into the clan and vouched for your abilities, so don''t disappoint me."


    It was only upon receiving her reminder that Li Yang remembered that he had indeed been promised that he would get to take on the test to become an inner disciple one year after joining the clan. There had been so many things he had to do that the fact had completely slipped his mind.


    Luckily, he had increased his strength quite a bit, so he felt confident that he could become an inner disciple, which would not only give him access to better training grounds, but it would also make it so that the clan allocated more resources to him.


    He wanted to thank Yuan Luoyang for reminding him, but she and the other inner disciples had already vanished. She had only come to observe his fight, and the others had only come to get closer to Yuan Luoyang, so now that the fight was over, none of them had any reason to stay any longer.


    Li Yang continued to leave the arena, ignoring those that tried to approach him, he had to focus on healing, he had no time to deal with all these people who were trying to lick his feet now that he had showed his strength. Luckily, Xiang Wuying aided him in keeping some of the more persistent people as well as the other top outer disciples away. As one of the top five outer disciples, Xiang Wuying''s words carried quite some weight here, so most people quickly caught the hint and left Li Yang alone.


    Of course, now that Li Yang had brutally trashed Yuan Yijun, a hushed discussion broke out over whether or not the top five outer disciples should become the top six outer disciples or if they should take away Yuan Yijun''s title. Some were in favor of having Li Yang become the sixth top outer disciple, but that created some dispute between the remaining top disciples about how they should split up their territories so that Li Yang got some.


    Li Yang completely ignored these discussions and returned to his house, he had no interest in acquiring territory or servants, so he truly didn''t care what they decided to do. As long as the other top outer disciples left him alone, he would be more than pleased. And if they chose to not leave them alone, he would not mind dragging them down from their thrones, just like he had done with Yuan Yijun.


    Blackstone and the two other servants that Li Yang had been assigned quickly rushed forth to greet him when they saw that he had returned. They wanted to congratulate him on his victory, but he simply waved them aside and gave them a quick order.


    "Don''t disturb me while I focus on healing. Only notify me if an inner disciple arrives, you can just send away anyone else."


    After tossing out the order, he locked himself up in his room and sat down on his bed, quickly taking out and putting the pill Yuan Luoyang had given him into his mouth. He didn''t pay much attention to his wounds, but that did not mean that they weren''t severe, quite a few of his bones were horribly shattered after all.


    He didn''t immediately swallow the pill, letting it slowly melt in his mouth, allowing the medicinal energy and the Qi within it to slowly seep into his body. He used his own Qi to guide the medicinal energy towards his shattered bones, surrounding them and speeding up the healing process. The blood of Jinwu and Shenlong that had fused with Li Yang already gave him a greatly strengthened recovery rate, but he saw no harm in speeding up the process even further using pills, it would give him more time to cultivate after all.


    He wanted to focus on fully healing himself, but just like he had guessed, that was impossible. Three days after his battle with Yuan Yijun, shortly after he had managed to fully heal both of his hands, Blackstone interrupted his healing.


    "Senior Brother Yang, an inner disciple says he is here on behalf of Elder Gengxin!"


    Li Yang opened his eyes and let out a light sigh. He had already expected something like this to happen when he first made the agreement with Yuan Ruogang. His strength was far above his cultivation, and his cultivation speed was far faster than it should be, a mere youth from some village should not have this cultivation speed.


    He stood up from the bed and switched into a fresh robe, using his law of lightning to control his arms. His hands were healed, but his arms and chest were still wounded, so he was still quite far away from being back to full power. After putting on a fresh yellow robe, he stretched his waist, muttering quietly before leaving the room.


    "Alright, let''s go lie to some old fogies."

 92 Meeting the elders.

    Li Yang stepped out of his room and walked past a worried-looking Blackstone, opening the door and leaving the house. Standing a few feet away from the door was a man who looked to be in his early forties, brown hair slicked back and a slight gray stubble decorating his chin. The moment Li Yang saw him, the man''s weight caught his attention.


    The man was incredibly fat, so fat that Li Yang wouldn''t be surprised if someone told him that he weighed at least 250 kilos. The man in front of him had reached the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, so if he wanted to he could easily lose most of that weight. This could only mean that the man deliberately chose to keep his weight as it was, a rather strange choice to make. Seeing Li Yang step out of the house, the man politely cupped his hands in a greeting.


    "Good morning, Junior Brother Yang. I am Song Jiahao, a disciple of Tenth Elder Gengxin. Forgive me for disturbing you while you are focusing on recuperating, but my teacher and a few of the other elders wish to meet with you. So please, follow me."


    Li Yang returned the greeting by cupping his hands, beckoning for Song Jiahao to lead the way. Song Jiahao nodded his head and turned around, heading towards the tall mountain that was the center of the Yuan clan. He purposefully slowed his walking speed, seemingly worried that Li Yang''s wounds would prevent him from moving too fast.


    The two started to ascend the mountain, following the Ascending Carp Staircase up to about the halfway point of the mountain. The spot where they left the staircase was clearly a bit different from the lower parts of the mountain. There were fewer buildings here, with most of them being palaces that Li Yang found to be a tad too decadent, decorated with statues of either jade or rare metals, with exquisite carvings decorating the sides of the palaces.


    Song Jiahao led Li Yang past a few of the palaces, allowing him to notice that each of the palaces was surrounded by both a defensive formation and a formation that drew in the surrounding Qi to make cultivation easier. After they walked past four different palaces, they arrived at a palace that resembled a gothic castle built using deep crimson stone. The castle was surrounded by six large golden pillars, each pillar carved with the image of a different Divine Beast that looked exceedingly lifelike.


    Song Jiahao opened the large wooden gate and had Li Yang follow him inside, entering a large hall where the entire floor was covered in a carpet made from a type of white fur. The inside of the hall was mostly empty, save for a few marble statues depicting human cultivators posing proudly, their weapons raised towards the skies in an act of defiance.


    Song Jiahao didn''t let Li Yang linger in the hall for long, leading him down a spacious arching hallway located at the right side of the room, stopping in front of two large wooden doors. Song Jiahao kneeled down in front of the door, announcing his arrival in a loud voice.


    "Teacher, I have brought over Junior Brother Yang."


    Shortly after Song Jiahao announced his presence, Li Yang could feel several gazes land on him, inspecting him. This was something that most cultivators could do once they reached the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, sending out a part of their mind so that they could keep an eye on their surroundings.


    Li Yang was capable of doing something similar thanks to his law of lightning, but this way of sending out one''s mind gave far more visual information, it also used less energy so it was better if one had to keep it active for longer periods of time.


    Normally one would not be able to tell when someone with a higher strength was inspecting you like this, but not only was Li Yang very sensitive to foreign types of energy, but he also had exceptionally sharp instincts, so he was able to notice the gazes despite the difference in strength. After the various gazes finished inspecting Li Yang, a soft voice came from the other side of the doors.


    "He may enter, prepare some tea for us."


    Song Jiahao was a bit curious why he had to prepare tea for this meeting, but he didn''t show it on his face, swiftly nodding his head and leaving after pushing open the doors for Li Yang. With Song Jiahao leaving, Li Yang stepped into the room, which seemed to have been built specially for meetings.


    There were very few decorations in the room, only a few paintings on the walls, a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a few potted plants lined along the walls. The only furniture in the room was an oval marble table that was so long that there was space for 9 chairs on each side of the table.


    Of the 18 chairs, nine were currently taken up, five on the left side of the table and four on the right side. Of the nine people that were sitting there, Li Yang was only able to see the appearances of three of them, the other six using their own Qi to obscure their bodies. This was a thing some mighty cultivators liked doing, acting like they were too good for other people to lay their eyes on. Li Yang found it laughable, but there was no way he would show any sign of it here.


    He couldn''t even tell what cultivation any of the nine people in front of him had, which meant that they had at least reached the late stage of the Primordial Rune realm, some had probably reached the Celestial Immortal realm. It seemed like some of the big shots of the clan had taken an interest in him, surprising him somewhat.


    His performance was excellent, but he knew that it wasn''t enough to draw the attention of someone at the Celestial Immortal realm. If he could replicate this cultivation and strength disparity when he reached the Immortal Rebirth realm or the Primordial Rune realm, then he would certainly be able to draw their attention. But now, when he was only at the Ascending Heaven realm?


    His thoughts were racing, but his expression stayed perfectly calm as he politely cupped his hands, swiftly sweeping his gaze over everyone in the room.


    "This Junior Disciple has arrived to answer your summons."


    He wasn''t able to see the appearances of everyone in the room, but he was able to just barely sense their intentions, what they felt towards him. From what he sensed, one among the nine was hostile, three of them were kindly disposed towards him, and the rest were inspecting him with either curiosity or indifference.


    The first one to speak up after Li Yang broke the silence was the one who seemed hostile towards him. He was one of the three who Li Yang could properly see, a man in his late fifties who had brown eyes and the same light-green hair as Yuan Yijun. His face carried a disgruntled expression as he looked Li Yang up and down.


    "So you''re the beast who savaged my grand-daughter? Who do you think you are, what right do you have to beat my grand-daughter like that, even going as far as almost cheating by using a strengthening technique to boost your own strength? Do you get off on beating defenseless women?"


    Li Yang felt like sneering at the man, Yuan Lim. This was a pattern he had seen plenty of times amongst the arrogant clans and sects in his previous life. The moment you beat one of the younger generation, someone from the older generation came to reclaim the face that had been lost. He didn''t really mind it too much, he too would be mad if someone beat his children or grand-children after all.What irked him was that they always came up with some stupid excuses as to why they were in the right. If they would just be honest and state their intentions, he would respect them a bit more.


    And just what sort of bullshit was this man spewing? Almost cheating by using a strengthening technique? Didn''t Yuan Yijun activate one of her own? And was he supposed to fight someone two cultivation stages above him without using all the strength he could? It was clear that Yuan Lim was so incensed at having his grand-daughter beaten that he was grasping at straws to justify himself and protect the face of Yuan Yijun. Li Yang could only put on a calm smile and respond, acting as if he wasn''t bothered while simultaneously testing out something.


    "What right do I have to beat your grand-daughter? What right did she have to send people to beat up the provisional disciples provided to me by the clan? Had she just left me alone like I asked, none of this would have happened."


    Li Yang didn''t even bother to mention the point where Yuan Lim said that his strengthening technique was practically cheating, after all, almost everything was legal in the arena. Yuan Lim seemed adamant to shift the blame away from Yuan Yijun, letting out a cold snort that caused the room to tremble slightly.


    "Humph, it''s just a couple of provisional disciples, so what if she beats them? It''s their fault for being too weak to resist."


    Hearing the response of Yuan Lim, Li Yang had to resist the urge to smile, he had taken the bait. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner, stretching out his arms by controlling them using his law of lightning.


    "Since that is how you feel, then I can only return those words to you. Your grand-daughter was too weak to resist me, so what if I beat her?"


    The moment Li Yang started talking, his entire body tensed up, all his strength and Qi gathering in his legs, just in case. As expected, having something like that said to his face, Yuan Lim instantly flared up.


    "You little shit, how dare you?!"


    Yuan Lim stood up from the chair with such force that the exquisite wooden chair was thrown against the wall, shattering. A gust of searing wind flew at Li Yang, aiming to smash him into the floor. Li Yang was just about to unleash the energy he had gathered in his feet to dodge, but before he could move, one of the seated people waved his hand and caused the searing wind to dissipate.


    "Now now, this isn''t what today''s meeting is about. Elder Lim, please restrain your temper. Disciple Yang, please take a seat."


    The one who spoke was one of the people whose appearance Li Yang was unable to see, one of the three people who were kindly disposed towards him. The only reason Li Yang had spoken as he did was to test just how kindly disposed these three people were. And looking at the result, it seemed like they were aiming to protect him.


    not only did they aim to protect him, but it also seemed like they wanted him to feel kindly disposed towards them as well. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have waited until the attack was right in front of Li Yang before dissipating the attack, they would have done it before he was in any danger. But since they had done it when he was in the direst of situation, it would only be normal for Li Yang to feel good towards them for protecting him. He had tested them, but at the same time, they had tried to subtly manipulate his mindset.


    Li Yang cupped his hands once more, stepping forward and sitting down on a normal wooden chair that suddenly appeared at one end of the table. Shortly after he sat down, Song Jiahao brought over two porcelain kettles of fragrant tea, pouring everyone in the room a cup before leaving. As he left, he cast a quick glance at Li Yang, wondering why he was receiving such favorable treatment.


    Li Yang sipped the tea lightly, enjoying the soft and fruity flavor that it had. When the tea entered his body, he could feel it unleash a peaceful stream of energy that meandered towards his wounds, speeding up the healing process.


    Yuan Lim and the other people in the room were also sipping the tea, but looking at the calm expression Yuan Lim wore, Li Yang guessed that the previous outbreak was only a ruse. It seemed like he had followed the orders of someone else, giving the three elders that were kindly disposed towards Li Yang a chance to impress him.


    Li Yang could tell that Yuan Lim was still a bit angry at him, but it was nowhere near the level of hostility it had originally been, so it seemed like he was more reasonable than Li Yang first assumed. After everyone had gotten a bit of time to enjoy the tea, the elder that had dissipated the attack spoke up, his gaze landing on Li Yang.


    "I believe it is about time we bring up the actual reason we called you here. Disciple Yang, would you mind telling us about that strengthening technique you used during the battle?"


    It was perfectly reasonable for them to ask about his strengthening technique, it had after all greatly increased his strength after all. But Li Yang still felt that the actual reason for being called here was something else entirely. Still, he nodded his head with a calm smile, telling them the story he had already prepared shortly after entering the clan.


    "I cannot tell you too much, my Master has forbidden me from teaching anyone else the technique. He called it Burning Hope, and it''s a technique that uses concentrated fire to forcefull increase my physical strength. If I''m not careful, the technique might backfire and wound me, so I can''t use it for too long."


    Li Yang felt a strange energy surround and enter his body, measuring the movements of his Qi, his blood, his heartbeat, even the movements of his soul and mind. They were clearly keeping an eye on him, checking if he was lying by scanning the movements of his body and mind. Sadly, this way of telling if someone was lying was very common even during Li Yang''s past life, so he was easily able to deceive them. After scanning him to see if he was lying, the same obscured elder spoke up again.


    "Your master? Could you tell us a bit about him? Of course, you don''t have to if he has forbidden you from talking about him."


    The elder''s voice sounded perfectly normal, but Li Yang was able to detect a tremor so faint that it was nearly unnoticeable. From the looks of it, the elder might already have a few guesses as to who Li Yang''s ''master'' was. Li Yang didn''t reject the elder, nodding his head with a smile as he continued to spin the tale he had prepared.


    "No, it''s fine, Master didn''t forbid me from talking about him. I met Master, I believe he said his name was Jing Yimu, in Mourners Refuge, he was looking at the four statues that are standing there. He said something about me having a great affinity, so he allowed me to travel with him for a bit, teaching me what he knew. The strengthening technique I used in the fight, Burning Hope, was the last thing he taught me before he said he had to leave. He said he wanted to check out a cursed place to reclaim something, but he didn''t tell me exactly what it was."


    Even if Jing Yimu had spent a great deal of time in the hidden realm set up by Zhao Feng, there was no way someone like him, a cultivator of the Celestial Immortal realm, would not be known by the higher-ups of the various clans and sects. Li Yang had killed Jing Yimu inside that hidden realm, so unless he had left behind a soul jade somewhere, something that Li Yang found unlikely, there was no way for anyone to know that he had died.


    And just like he expected, the nine people sitting around the table shivered ever so slightly after Li Yang spoke the name of his ''master''. Even if it was a large clan like the Yuan clan, they were not willing to anger someone at the Celestial Immortal realm. They had their own Celestial Immortals, but Jing Yimu was very old and very powerful, so he alone could hold back around five or six normal Celestial Immortals. After regaining their calm, one of the obscured elders nodded their head.


    "So it was indeed his technique you were using, no wonder it felt so familiar to me. Thank you for answering, that was all we were wondering about so you may return to your abode and return to your recuperating. You should take this, it''ll help you recuperate even faster, making it certain that you will be in top condition for the upcoming rank-up test."


    The elder waved his hand, a crystal bottle containing a light blue drop of liquid appearing in the air in front of Li Yang. Even though it was inside the bottle, Li Yang could feel that this single drop of liquid was far better than the pill that Yuan Luoyang had given him. But the pill she had given him was enough to heal his wounds, so he didn''t need to use this drop, he could either save it or use it for cultivation, so he didn''t reject it.


    He accepted the bottle and gratefully cupped his hands, standing up and leaving the room. Looking at how swiftly they had dismissed him after hearing his response, he guessed that they had already figured out that Jing Yimu had likely taught him the technique, making him even more certain that they had called him over for a different reason. After all, they wouldn''t call him over just to confirm something that they had likely already figured out. He didn''t know the real reason they called him over, so he decided to be warier in the future, preparing to leave the clan if there should ever be a need for it.


    After he left the room and the doors closed themselves behind him, only the nine elders seated at the table remained. The six who had inspected Li Yang with curiosity or indifference exchanged a few glances before finally breaking the silence with a question.


    "Grand Elder, was there really a need to call him in so that we could have a look at him just because he was taught by the Burning Monk?"


    Burning Monk was the title Jing Yimu had been given, much like how Li Yang''s previous title used to be Thunder Monarch. To be taught by someone as great as Jing Yimu certainly made Li Yang worthy of interest, but it was not at a stage where it deserved their attention, not when he was just at the Ascending Heaven realm. The obscured elder, the Grand Elder, who had dissipated the attack launched at Li Yang turned his head to look at the six who were looking at him with a curious gaze, shaking his head slightly.


    "Were it just for him being taught by Jing Yimu, he would not be deserving of our attention. But that is only part of the reason I had you come here to take a look at him, the main reason is a message that was delivered to our clan about a month ago."


    The Yuan clan had 18 elders, nine of which were currently in deep cultivation. Had it not been for them being in deep cultivation, the Grand Elder would have called over everyone. After making sure that everyone in the room was listening closely to his words, the Grand Elder continued talking, shocking everyone.


    "We received a message from the Heaven''s Gate sect and the Roaring Soul sect, a message written by the Twin Phoenix Queens themselves. The message is very simple, if we lay a single hand on that boy, it means all-out war."


    The Twin Phoenix Queens was a title given to the twins Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu. One was the Ice Phoenix Queen of the Heaven''s Gate sect and the other was the Fire Phoenix Queen of the Roaring Soul sect, and both were people who were exceedingly aloof and hard to get close to. The Grand Elder couldn''t help but wonder, just how had Li Yang gotten so close to both of them that they threatened the Yuan clan with all-out war if they laid their hands on him?

 93 True arrogance.

    Li Yang met up with Song Jiahao again after leaving the meeting room, Song Jiahao escorting Li Yang back to his abode. It seemed like the elders were a bit worried that someone would try to attack Li Yang on the way back, looking to take advantage of his wounds to beat him down and show off their strength. Some might consider it a petty and low tactic, but to some, it was a perfectly legitimate one.


    When the two reached the area where Li Yang''s hut was located, Li Yang was slightly surprised to see that there were quite a few people gathered in front of his house. Blackstone and the two other servants were standing in front of the hut, talking to the crowd that had gathered, seemingly trying to send them away.


    Since they had reached Li Yang''s house, Song Jiahao''s escorting duty had come to an end. He cupped his hands and gave Li Yang a polite farewell, turning around and leaving the area, returning to his own home so that he could focus on cultivation. Li Yang swept the gathered people with a quick gaze, letting out a sigh and speaking up to draw their attention.


    "It was pointless for you all to come here, you can leave."


    Li Yang knew what these people had come here for, but he had no interest in bothering with it, so he simply told them straight away that they should leave. Hearing his voice, the group of people turned around and swiftly flocked over, surrounding Li Yang and calling out in loud voices.


    "If you let me join your faction, I''m willing to hand over half of my monthly earnings!"


    "I''ll give you half of the contribution points I earn each month if you let me join you!"


    "My family is famous for being skilled in alchemy, I''ll personally create potions and medicines for you if you let me join your faction!"


    People continued to shout out offers, doing their best to drown out the voices of the others. Li Yang had beaten one of the top five outer disciples, showing that he was just as strong as them. But Li Yang didn''t have any faction, not even a single follower. If they managed to latch onto him early, there was no telling how many rewards they might reap. Just saying that they were part of Li Yang''s faction would be enough to scare away most people who tried to go against them. Li Yang once again let out a sigh, shaking his head and pushing past the people that were blocking his path.


    "As I said, it was pointless of you all to come here, you can leave."


    He just wanted to return to his room so that he could finish his healing and then start cultivating his body and soul. Some people would love to be flocked like this, but to Li Yang, it was simply annoying. Sadly, it seemed like these people were adamant about joining him, rushing forth to surround him and block his path again.


    "I''m a strong fighter, I can even beat some people who have a cultivation one stage above me! You''ll gain a mighty and loyal ally if you let me join you, I''m even willing to do most things!"


    "I have connections with several smaller sects and clans across the continent, me joining you is like getting a small spy network that is loyal to only you!"


    "I know a powerful blacksmith who can create weapons with arrays, I can easily procure weapons and armors if you let me join you, I''ll be your loyalest subordinate!"


    They continued to flock around him and push up against him, doing their best to sell themselves. Some would consider their actions shameless, but a strong backing was one of the best things a person could have. And for these outer disciples, Li Yang was one of the strongest backings they could get.


    Their shouting and pushing only became more and more intense as Li Yang continued to push his way past them and moving toward his door until finally they completely blocked his path, as if they were refusing to let him enter his house. At this point, Li Yang decided that there was no longer any point in being polite.


    He used his law of lightning to control his arms, slamming his right fist into the stomach of a girl who was pushed against Li Yang''s shoulder, trying to use her bountiful chest to entice him. A burst of fire and lightning exploded forth from Li Yang''s fist, a rumbling sound resounding over the area as the girl was sent flying, pushing away the crowd of people. She eventually stopped when she crashed into a tree, sinking to the ground. Li Yang swept his narrowed eyes over the surrounding people, practically sneering at them.


    "Why did you all suddenly turn so quiet, didn''t you want to join me, be loyal to me? If you were going to be loyal, it shouldn''t matter that I hit one person."


    The surrounding people swiftly took a few steps back, hoping to avoid being the next one that was struck. Li Yang continued to sneer as he swept them all with his eyes. They said all these fancy things, but they simply wanted to use him as a convenient tool, use his name to scare others. It was pathetic, and Li Yang wasn''t afraid of saying that to their faces.


    "Procure me weapons, a strong ally, a spy network? What the fuck makes you think I need anything like that, especially from people like you? You just want to use my name for protection because you are too pathetic to stand up for yourself without anyone to back you up. Even if you could procure the things you said, I wouldn''t accept a single thing from people like you. Now fuck off, I have no need or interest in pathetic cowards like you."


    In Li Yang''s previous life, he had put his life on the line countless times in search for strength, fighting countless people and diving into ancient ruins in search for even the smallest increase in strength. Not once had he bent his knees and asked someone else to protect him, not once had he been too cowardly to stand up for himself using his own strength. He felt nothing but disdain for people like those around him, even Yuan Yijun was better than them, at least she relied on her own strength.


    After speaking his thoughts, Li Yang walked past Blackstone and the two other servants, entering his house and shutting the door behind him, leaving behind the stunned crowd. They had done offered as much as they could in hopes of latching onto him, but not only did he reject them, he also insulted them for their actions. Even if they offered it, he would just reject it? Just what level of arrogance, what level of disregard and self-confidence was this?


    Li Yang couldn''t be bothered with the thoughts of the stunned crowd that he left behind. A snake would never be able to understand the thoughts of a dragon, nor would a dragon have a need to bother with the thoughts or opinions of a snake.


    Li Yang sat down on his bed, crossing his legs and closing his eyes. The pill that Yuan Luoyang had given him had already dissolved into his body, the medicinal energy storing itself in various points around his body. He now drew upon that medicinal energy again, once again focusing on his healing. He guessed that he would be done healing in around a week, at which point he would be able to start cultivating his body and soul, something that would hopefully allow him to increase his strength by quite a bit.

 94 Body and soul cultivation.

    A week after Li Yang met the various elders of the clan, he finished healing his remaining injuries and could finally start cultivating again. He opened his eyes and stretched his arms and neck, his joints popping as he moved his body. He swiped his interspatial ring and took out a thin book that was crimson in color, muttering to himself as he opened the book.


    "Guess I''ll start with you."


    The book he took out was the one that detailed how to cultivate the first stage of the Bloody Shura technique, a soul cultivation technique. It was only the first stage, so it could only be used to cultivate to a realm equivalent to the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, but it was better than nothing. It also detailed the various cultivation realms that soul cultivation had, so Li Yang could learn quite a bit from this thin book.


    He opened the book and started to carefully scan the pages, making sure not to miss a single word. Each page was filled to the brim with tiny words, so one had to take care to not accidentally mix up sentences. The book was written by someone called Bloody Soul Monarch Long Jintu, Li Yang had never heard the title before, so it was likely someone who had risen to prominence after his death.


    The way to cultivate the technique sounded simple but was actually rather complex. One had to kill a cultivator or Demonic beast, the stronger the better, and use a very specific and complex utilization of Qi to compress all their Qi, blood, and soul into a single rune called a Blood Seal. This Blood Seal would then be led into the cultivator''s body, allowing it to travel through their veins so that it could get attuned to their Qi and blood so that the two wouldn''t reject each other in the future.


    Once the Blood Seal was attuned to your body, you had to fuse it into your own mind and allow it to disperse itself, strengthening your currently formless soul. After your soul was strengthened enough, it would materialize itself within your mind, allowing you to fuse future Blood Seals directly into your soul to strengthen it.


    Once your soul was materialized it would mean that you had entered the first soul cultivation realm, the Soul Materialization realm which was equal to the Human Rune realm. As you continued to implant Blood Seals into your soul and strengthen it, it would turn more and more corporeal. The more corporeal a soul was, the closer one was to enter the next realm of soul cultivation, the Heaven Reaching Soul realm.


    This stage was equal to the Ascending Heaven realm and it meant that a person''s soul would be able to leave their body and try to stretch towards the heavens above, the closer the soul could get to the heavens the higher you were in this cultivation realm. Once your soul became able to leave your body, it would automatically form a special type of energy called Vital Essence, the soul cultivation equivalent of Qi. This energy was ethereal and seemingly unreal, perfect for attacking souls and similarily ethereal things.


    The next realm was called the Heaven Touching Soul realm, the realm equivalent to the Immortal Rebirth realm, and to reach this stage one''s soul had to stretch so high into the skies that it managed to make contact with the heavens. Once it made contact with the heavens, the soul had to start absorbing the might of the heavens, greedily swallowing it and using it to evolve itself. Once the soul had swallowed so much of the heavens might that it had finished evolving, you would enter the next cultivation realm.


    This stage was called the Primordial Soul realm and was equal to the Primordial Rune realm. To cultivate through this stage, you had to use the might of the heavens that your soul had swallowed, using the might to hollow out your entire soul. Even though you hollowed out your soul, it would actually grow stronger as it got hollower, the outside of the soul becoming so compressed and strengthened that it would almost be like a physical body. Once the soul was fully hollowed out, one would enter the next cultivation stage.


    This stage was called the Heaven Imitating Soul realm, and the way to cultivate through this stage was exactly what the name implied. Using the might of the heavens that your soul had absorbed, you had to form your own pseudo-heaven within your hollowed out soul, filling your entire soul with that pseudo-heaven before you could enter the next stage, the Heaven''s Soul stage.


    The Heaven''s Soul stage was the equivalent of the True Deity realm, and to enter and cultivate through this realm, one had to disintegrate their own soul and fuse it into the pseudo-heaven that they had created inside their hollowed-out soul. During this fusion process, one also had to fuse all their laws into the pseudo-heaven, turning it into a true heaven once all your laws and your entire soul had been fused into the pseudo-heaven.


    After the pseudo-heaven had turned into a true heaven, one would enter the peak of soul cultivation, the Soul Empyrean realm. This stage was equivalent to the Empyrean realm and the two were much the same, the heaven that one''s soul had become would become an entire universe, spawning living and sentient beings. The soul cultivator could draw upon the strength, faith, and life-force of these living beings, infusing it into every single one of their actions.


    After reading through the thin book several times, making sure that he memorized every word, Li Yang put it down and let out a light breath. It sounded simple, but he couldn''t even begin to fathom just how many attempts it had taken people to come up with a cultivation system for the soul. How many Blood Seals had ended up wrong, how many of them had ended up being fatal to the one trying them out? Li Yang was arrogant, but even he had respect for people who carved open a new cultivation path for others.


    Reading through the description of the soul cultivation realms, it was clear that whoever had come up with the first soul cultivation system had used the standard Qi cultivation system as a blueprint. The last three cultivation stages were practically the same as the last three Qi cultivation stages, forming an entire universe within oneself and drawing strength from it. Just having one universe was enough to cause someone to reign supreme over all creation, Li Yang could not even imagine how strong someone who had two would be.


    Li Yang swiped his interspatial ring and took out a clay jug of wine, uncorking it and taking a few swigs. He enjoyed the sweet and fruity taste for a bit, closing his eyes and allowing his mind to get a bit of rest before he started reading through the next book, the Myriad Monarch technique. After taking a few more swigs of the fruity wine, he put away both the jug and the Bloody Shura technique, bringing out the rainbow-colored book that was the Myriad Monarch technique, the body cultivation manual.


    This cultivation manual was written by another person that Li Yang had never heard about before, someone known as Fiend King Xue Ying. Li Yang did the same as he did with the Bloody Shura technique, carefully reading every word and making sure that he memorized the entire thing.


    This body cultivation technique also used the standard Qi cultivation as a blueprint, so it wasn''t too hard to understand. The way one cultivated it was by fusing together multiple different laws using the complex principle of the cultivation technique, using the fused mass of laws to form a rune, a Monarch Rune, that one would then fuse into their body.


    To fuse together the various laws, one had to designate their strongest law as the core of the rune, fusing the other laws into this core and using it to stabilize the fused mass of laws. For Li Yang, the core of the rune would obviously be his law of destruction. Not only was it one of the strongest laws in existence, its special property was to swallow up all creation and turn it into a single thing, nothingness. As long as he made sure to control it properly and prevented it from fully swallowing up the other laws he used to form the Monarch Rune, there was no better law to use as the core.


    Cultivators of this Myriad Monarch technique couldn''t just fuse the Monarch Runes into their body as they pleased, they had to follow a certain pattern. First, they had to fuse Monarch Runes into their bone marrow, replacing all their bone marrow with such Monarch Runes. They could then do the same to their bones, then their blood and flesh, and then finally their organs and outer parts of their body, things like hair, nails, and skin.


    Once their entire body had become Monarch Runes, they could enter the final three stages of body cultivation, which were very similar to the last three stages of soul and Qi cultivation. Just like the Bloody Shura technique, this book also had a detailed list of all the standard body cultivation stages.


    The first stage of body cultivation was called the Core Forging realm and it required a person to strengthen their bones using Qi as well as their laws, engraving their bones with their laws. Once a person''s entire skeleton was engraved with runes signifying their laws, they would enter the next cultivation realm, the Heart Rune realm.


    The Heart Rune realm was much the same as the Core Forging realm, it required one to carve all their organs with their laws, forming runes that would cover all their organs. These runes would connect with the runes carved on the cultivator''s bones, the combined might causing the runes to resonate with the heavens and starting to draw down their might. This process will create a type of energy unique to body cultivators, Dark Star Essence, the body cultivation equivalent of Qi. Dark Star Essence is as heavy and strong as the core of a star, containing tremendous might and vitality. It''s not as versatile as Qi, but it contains far more power and is perfectly suited for body strengthening and physical attacks. The tremendous amount of vitality it contains also allows a cultivator''s body to quickly regenerate itself.


    Once a cultivator had engraved all their organs with their runes, they would enter the next cultivation realm, the Star Blood realm. In this realm, a cultivator would have to use their laws and their Dark Star Essence to engrave their runes directly into their veins and onto their blood, connecting these runes with the already carved runes on their bones and organs, drawing down even more of the heavens might.


    The next step was the Primordial Body realm, and it required a cultivator to carve the runes into their flesh and the remaining parts of their body, covering every inch of their being in the runes that signified their laws. With all the runes gathering together, they would call down a vast amount of the heavens might and use this energy to further evolve and strengthen the body, entering the next cultivation realm.


    This realm was called the Heaven Imitating Body realm, and just like the soul cultivation realm with the same name, it required the cultivator to hollow out their own body and form a pseudo-heaven within the hollowed out body. Once every inch of their insides had become a pseudo-heaven, the cultivator could enter the next cultivation realm, the Heaven''s Body realm.


    This realm required a person to disintegrate the remains of their body, fusing their laws and their disintegrated body into the pseudo-heaven they had created, turning it into a true heaven that was unique to them. And just like with Qi and soul cultivation, once your heaven had become completely real, you would enter the final body cultivation realm.


    This realm was called the Star Empyrean realm and it required the same as the other final cultivation stages, turning the heaven you had created into a new universe that could give birth to living and sentient beings from which you could draw strength. At this point, each of your actions would bring with them the might of an entire universe, and you would reign supreme.


    Li Yang put down the book and let out another light breath, putting away the cultivation manual and bringing out his jug of wine. He was both awed and amazed at these two cultivation manuals he had just read, at the description they gave of the various cultivation realms. How long had it taken for these cultivation systems to be created? How had people learned to turn their own souls and bodies into new universes? Who had even come up with such grandiose ideas?


    Li Yang knew that he himself was not smart or creative enough to come up with a completely new cultivation path, so he had great respect for whoever it was that came up with these new paths. He took a few more swigs of the fruity wine, savoring the taste for a few minutes as he finished up the remainder of the wine within the jug. Once the jug was empty, Li Yang stored the jug and the Myriad Monarch technique into his interspatial ring, closing his eyes again.


    He couldn''t cultivate the Bloody Shura technique since he didn''t have any fresh corpses he could use to cultivate it, but he could cultivate the Myriad Monarch technique as well as focusing on his normal Qi cultivation. The test to become an inner disciple was only a few months away, and Li Yang was determined to pass the test and receive the rewards for becoming an inner disciple.


    The competition where he would meet up with Fang Ying again was only a year away, so he had to gather up as many resources as he could so that he could increase his strength as much as he could. With this thought in mind, Li Yang ignored the outside world and immersed himself in his cultivation, focusing on body and Qi cultivation for now.

 95 Rank-up test.

    Li Yang sat in his room and quietly focused on his cultivation, his mind sinking deep into his own body, into the depths of his dantian. He started to draw out Qi from his Ascending Foundation, the platform that had been created when all 36 of his runes formed a circle and connected to each other.


    He drew out four different strands of Qo, one for each of his elements, and had them float in front of him. He first manipulated the pitch black strand of Qi that came from his law of destruction, using it to form a rune that resembled a black hole. He then slowly integrated his law of fire, his law of ice, and his law of lightning. Since his law of destruction would try to swallow and destroy them the moment they got too close, integrating them was the easy part, making sure that his law of destruction didn''t actually destroy the other laws was a tad bit harder.


    This was his first time attempting to form the runes needed for the Myriad Monarch technique, the Monarch Runes, so he failed in his first five attempts. Part of the reason behind his failure was his inexperience with the rune crafting process, but the main reason was the fact that his control over the law of destruction was still lacking. It was fine if he was just going to use a tiny sliver to wound an enemy or to block an attack, but now that he was using a slightly larger amount than usual, and even had to control it rather delicately, he ended up failing.


    But on his sixth attempt, his efforts were rewarded, a fully formed Monarch Rune appearing in front of him. The cultivation manual said that the Monarch Runes would take on an appearance that signified all the laws used to create it, but the Monarch Rune in front of Li Yang looked just like his destruction runes, a pitch black hole that swallowed up everything else.


    Now that he had formed the rune, the next step of cultivating the Myriad Monarch technique was to fuse this rune into his bone marrow, allowing it to completely alter his bone marrow. Li Yang gave himself a short moment to restore himself to peak condition, restoring the small amount of energy he had wasted during his first five failures.


    He then controlled the Monarch Rune and had it travel through his veins until it reached the pinky finger of his left hand, arriving at the very tip of his finger. He then had the rune slowly sink into the bone, having it enter his bone marrow. Now came the hardest part of the cultivation technique, altering his bone marrow and turning it into this black hole Monarch Rune.


    At first, everything went well, the Monarch Rune sank into his bone marrow and started to fuse with it, slowly taking it over and multiplying. But his control over the fusing process lapsed for a split second, causing the Monarch Rune to go amok and turn unstable, imploding in on itself and dissipating.


    With the rune collapsing, Li Yang could only let out a sigh and start over from the beginning. He was a bit more familiar with the rune crafting process now, so he didn''t fail as he drew up the new one, quickly transporting it to the tip of his left pinky finger. He once again had the Monarch Rune sink into his finger and start merging with his bone marrow, this time making sure that his concentration was fully focused on the rune and the fusing process.


    Before long, the Monarch Rune had merged with all the bone marrow in his left pinky, resulting in the bone marrow of that finger turning into a pitch black type of energy, a collection of several tiny black holes. This was a sign that he had succeeded in altering his bone marrow using his Monarch Rune, turning it stronger and more resilient.


    Li Yang didn''t immediately continue creating Monarch Runes and fusing them into his bone marrow, studying this new bone marrow for a short while, making sure that there were no problems with it. When one was dealing with something as unorthodox as the law of destruction, one had to make sure to always keep a close eye on it after doing something new.


    Luckily it didn''t seem like there would be any anomalies, his new bone marrow acting the same as his old one. Only once he was certain that there wouldn''t be any unexpected situations did Li Yang start crafting more Monarch Runes, beginning to fuse them into the rest of his bone marrow, slowly changing all of it into tiny black holes.


    But even if the process became simpler after succeeding once, it was still very time consuming, especially since he had to keep a close eye on the runes as he fused them into his bone marrow. Due to this, once the rank-up test to become an inner disciple rolled around, he had only managed to turn around 70% of the bone marrow into his body into Monarch Runes.


    But even though he had yet to finish the first stage of body cultivation, he still felt a slight increase in his strength. Thanks to Jinwu and Shenlong''s blood, Li Yang had become a humanoid Divine beast, his body strong enough to crush someone at the late stage of the Xiantian Rune realm using sheer brute force. Now that he had this body cultivation technique to back him up, his already strong body became even stronger, even if he hadn''t fully completed the first stage. If he were to guess, he would say that his body was strong enough to allow him to combat someone at the early stage of the Ascending Heaven realm using just his physical strength.


    Li Yang was going to participate in this rank up test, so even though he was a bit reluctant to leave his body cultivation incomplete, he still stopped his cultivation and opened his eyes. He stood up from his bed and stretched his body, enjoying the popping sounds that his joints produced after not moving for four months.


    He felt somewhat hungry, so he took out something quick to eat from his interspatial ring and started eating while preparing a bath for himself, creating and melting some ice in a large wooden tub. Once it was ready, he took a quick bath to clean himself and then changed into a fresh yellow robe that bore the mark of the Yuan clan, a wolf howling at a distant moon. After making sure that he had prepared everything, he stepped out of his house.


    When he left his house, he saw that there were still quite a few disciples gathered up in the area in front of his house. He could see a few tents, so it seemed like they had set up a camp, fully determined to become a part of Li Yang''s faction. A few of the disciples that were gathered up shrank back a few paces when Li Yang stepped out of his house, clearly remembering how he had viciously punched someone who was right next to him the last time they tried to join his faction.


    Li Yang swept them all with a calm gaze, still not interested in any of them, nor in creating his own faction for that matter. He didn''t even know how long he was going to stay in this clan, so he saw no point in making a faction. There was also the fact that he wasn''t suited for leading others, Fang Ying had always been far more adept at it than he was.


    Seeing his calm gaze, the ones that stepped forward to shout out their offers quickly shrank back again, none of them hoping to follow in the footsteps of the girl that had been hit last time. Thanks to this, Li Yang was able to leave without being disturbed, heading for the large mountain that stood at the center of the clan.


    Li Yang quickly reached the Ascending Carp Staircase, the staircase that went from the bottom of the mountain to the peak, following it a short distance up the mountain. The place where he had met with the elders was halfway up the mountain, but this time he only had to follow the staircase for a short distance, not even reaching a quarter of the distance up the mountain.


    When he stepped away from the staircase, he stepped onto a yellow-bricked winding path that led all the way around the mountain. He only had to follow this path for a short distance until he reached his goal, a square stone stage that was almost five kilometers in each direction. Standing on the stone stage was a small group of 20 disciples who were all between the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm and the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm. It wasn''t hard for Li Yang to guess that these were disciples who were here to undertake the same test as him, each of them aiming to become an inner disciple.


    None of these disciples were amongst the top five outer disciples, so Li Yang guessed that they were probably from some clan or sect that served under the Yuan clan, brought in specifically to see if they were talented enough to complete this test.


    Other than these 20 disciples, there were five disciples who had reached either the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm or the early stage of the Primordial Rune realm, most likely inner disciples who were there to oversee the rank-up test. And standing in front of these disciples was a single elder, a graceful woman with hair so golden it seemed to release an otherworldly glow, her pure white eyes made her look like she was blind, but looking at how they were sweeping over the gathered disciples, Li Yang guessed that she most likely wasn''t blind.


    The eyes of the people that had gathered up landed on Li Yang as he arrived, each of them carefully inspecting him. These disciples were arrogant, but they weren''t stupid, they knew how to assess other cultivators. Li Yang kept most of his energy hidden within his body, taking on a somewhat unassuming appearance, but all of these disciples knew of the things he had done within the clan, so none of them dared underestimate him because of his low cultivation. Li Yang joined up with the 20 other disciples, the golden-haired elder nodding her head and opening her mouth to announce the rules of the rank-up test.


    "Good, now everyone is here. I am Elder Su and I will be the one in charge of this rank-up test. The rank-up test that I am in charge of is very simple, yet very effective. It consists of two tests, one to check your strength and one to check your head. The test to check your strength will take place first, it will require each of you to fight one of these five inner disciples. You don''t have to beat them, you just have to either wound them three times or survive for five minutes, manage either of these things and you pass the first test."


    The first test was very standard, giving the disciple a chance to showcase his combat instincts as well as his strength. It might be a bit troublesome to leave three wounds on someone with much higher cultivation, but it was, in fact, the easier option of the two. Even when it came to people who had similar cultivation, battles could easily end in an instant, one single opening being the only thing necessary for someone to inflict a mortal wound. For a battle to go on for five minutes, both cultivators had to be nearly completely evenly matched in strength. After giving the disciples a quick second to digest the information about the first trial, Elder Su explained the second, and a bit more troublesome, test.


    "Those who past the first test will then move on to the second test. Every one of those who passed will receive one mission from among the countless team missions that the clan has stored up, and using only the other disciples that are taking the rank-up test, you must complete your mission. The catch is that you yourself are not allowed to take part in the mission, you are only allowed to give orders to the other disciples, delegating them in a manner that will allow you to best clear the mission. That means that each of you will take turns being subordinates and leaders, so this is also a good chance to see how well you deal with having to take orders from others."


    The second test was quite a bit more troublesome for these disciples than the first, mainly because there was no way for them to know what mission they would receive. There was also the fact that there was no way of knowing what sort of incidents might appear in the mission, so they had to show that they were good at giving orders during stressful situations. This type of test wasn''t Li Yang''s forte, but he was still confident that he could do well enough to pass it. After explaining the two tests, Elder Su didn''t waste any more words, stretching out her arm and pointing at a girl standing in the midst of the disciples taking the rank-up test.


    "You, step forward and fight him."


    The rest of the disciples took the hint, leaving the stone stage and making space for the girl and the male inner disciple that were pointed at, the first test starting immediately.

 96 Lightning fast trick.

    The fight between the girl and the male inner disciple quickly started, with the girl looking like she was going to do her best to survive for five minutes, clearly not confident in her ability to wound the inner disciple who had higher cultivation than her.


    The girl managed to show off why she had been chosen to take part in this rank-up test, she showed strength that was rather unusual for someone of her cultivation level, the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm. Her laws were a bit strange and hard to see, but Li Yang guessed that she used the law of rotation and the law of sealing, both rather strange laws.


    The law of sealing focused on just that, sealing everything up in an impenetrable prison, and the law of rotation was an off-shoot of the law of motion, focusing solely on rotating motions. It could be upgraded into the law of motion if one had enough talent or gained some inspiration, but most were stuck using the law of rotation for their entire lives.


    But no matter how strange her laws were and how adept she was at using them, she had picked the wrong strategy in this fight. When faced with someone who had higher cultivation, a defensive fighting style was never the correct choice, as they would quickly drain all your strength and beat you down. You had to use swift and brutal attacks to break through their defense and catch them off-guard, preferably killing them in one strike.


    She managed to last for about two minutes before the strain of having to block or divert the strong attacks of her enemy ended up draining all her energy, resulting in her being beaten unconscious and subsequently losing the right to take the second trial. Elder Su looked at the unconscious girl for a short second before snapping her finger, an elderly man in a white robe appearing next to her and taking the girl away. Elder Su then pointed at a middle-aged man who was taking on the rank-up test, beckoning for him to enter the stage.


    "You, fight against her."


    The man gave a solemn nod of his head and entered the stage, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out a two-handed hammer that had a sharp spike sticking out from the top. He tightly grasped the hammer, and the moment Elder Su signaled the start of the battle, the man charged forward with a loud roar, the entire stage trembling and roiling beneath his feet. The man seemed to have fused his law of water with his law of stone, as the entire stage started to act like a raging ocean, the stone occasionally turning into actual water when the man wanted to change his style of attack.


    Li Yang made sure to study the battle with great care, as he had a lot to learn when it came to using and fusing more than one law, he had only ever really used the law of lightning in his past life after all. The man had touched upon the right way to clear this trial, but Li Yang found that he was a bit too enthusiastic in his attempt to clear the trial.


    He was rushing at the girl with all his might, putting all his strength into every single one of his motions. But the girl had much higher cultivation than him, if she just focused on dodging or defending, there was little the man could do to have his attacks produce any effect. And the girl clearly knew this, as she continued to dodge and block until the man had wasted so much strength that she could easily beat him into unconsciousness, the white-robe elder appearing once again to pick up the unconscious man.


    This time, Li Yang was able to notice a faint fluctuation in the surrounding space as the white-robed elder appeared. He was clearly someone who was able to use the terrifying law of space, one of the highest laws in existence, only below creation and destruction. The white-robed elder brought along the unconscious man, and Elder Su continued picking out new people to fight without pause.


    As the fights continued to drag on, everyone got a chance to show off their skills and laws, clearly showing exactly why they had been picked to take part in this rank-up test. The first two people failed to clear the test, but it seemed like Elder Su had deliberately picked out the weakest people from the start, as the next 11 people were able to clear the first trial before another person failed.


    What Li Yang found even more surprising was that there were two people among these 11 that were able to complete the trial by surviving for five minutes. The first one was a girl who specialized in the law of sealing and the law of hardening, fusing both together to form a defense that even Li Yang felt would be tricky to break through. The other person was a somewhat older man who managed to last the full five minutes by using his law of speed, the law of motion, and the law of lightning to constantly dodge anything that was thrown at him.


    Out of the first 14 people, only three ended up failing the first trial. And it seemed the others were adamant about not increasing the number of failing people, as the next six people didn''t have a single person fail the trial. All 20 of the other disciples had taken on the test, so only Li Yang remained, calmly stepping onto the stage. Among the 21 disciples taking the rank-up test, he had the lowest cultivation but the most wide-spread reputation, resulting in the other disciples paying close attention to him once he stepped onto the stage.


    The man that Li Yang was set to fight against was the crimson-haired man who had caused the third person to fail this trial, the only inner disciple here who had reached the early stage of the Primordial Rune realm. Li Yang looked at the man with a calm gaze, having already come up with a plan on how to deal with this trial.


    If he used the law of destruction he would easily be able to wound this man and clear the trial. But with Elder Su, and most likely the white-robed elder, watching the battle, it would be too hard for him to explain which law he had used. So unless he wanted to attract unwanted attention, and maybe even suspicion, he would have to avoid using the law of destruction.


    The crimson-haired man closely inspected Li Yang, curious about just what was special about him. He had heard about the things Li Yang had done and wanted to see for himself just what gave Li Yang such great strength. He felt a certain pressure from Li Yang''s body, so he knew that the youth in front of him was certainly not someone easy to deal with. But that realization only fired him up more, by fighting someone else strong, a cultivator would be able to learn new things far faster than if he were to just read or hear about them.


    Elder Su announced the start of the battle and the crimson-haired man prepared himself for Li Yang''s assault, raising his defenses. But contrary to what he expected, Li Yang didn''t come charging at him, nor did he try to put distance between them. He simply stood still, calmly watching the crimson-haired man, he hadn''t even taken on a stance to prepare himself.


    The man narrowed his eyes, uncertain what Li Yang was planning. But the man had to do something, as Li Yang would win if the man did nothing and the five minutes ended up passing. So after observing Li Yang for a short few seconds, the man decided that he might as well just go for it, charging at Li Yang like a burning meteor, so fast that he was barely a blur.


    The man arrived in front of Li Yang in the blink of an eye, throwing a punch that contained all the might of his laws. This man used a law unique to him, a law he had created after fusing several laws together. He had fused the law of fire, the law of earth, the law of gravity, and the law of speed to form something he called the law of stars, giving him supreme strength, speed, and defense.


    The moment the man arrived in front of him, Li Yang burst into action. He had lightning flood into his brain, forcing it to operate far faster than normal, nearly pushing it to the point of overloading. The sole purpose of this action was to push his reaction speed to the peak, the world slowing down in front of his eyes as the man''s fist became clear.


    Li Yang then activated both the Burning Hope technique taught to him but Jing Yimu as well as his own lightning based strengthening technique to push his speed and power to the peak, lightning and fire dancing around his body like golden dragons and crimson crows. He didn''t dare use his golden flames in front of the elders, so he had to settle for using his normal crimson flames.


    Li Yang sent out a sideways slash with his left arm, his hand stretched out and shaped like a sword. There was no way he would be faster than the man in front of him, meaning that there was no point in approaching him or trying to run from him, having him come to Li Yang was the best option available.


    The man saw Li Yang''s sideways slash and decided that it was best to not risk anything, taking half a step back to avoid the brunt of the attack. Li Yang''s fingers slid past the chest of the man, barely grazing it thanks to the man taking half a step back. The man''s punch, however, was still perfectly on track, crashing into Li Yang''s now raised right arm.


    A thick layer of ice coated Li Yang''s right arm, absorbing some of the force contained in the man''s punch. But the ice was still shattered into dust, the man''s fist hitting Li Yang''s elbow and forcing Li Yang''s arm back so much that it crashed into his chest, pushing Li Yang back several steps with an aching chest and arm. The man was just about to chase after Li Yang when the voice of Elder Su rang out.


    "Three wounds have been inflicted, Li Yang has cleared the trial."


    The crimson-haired man couldn''t help but stop and tilt his head slightly, looking at Elder Su with a somewhat confused gaze. Elder Su didn''t give him a verbal response, pointing at the man''s chest. The man quickly checked his own chest, his eyes narrowing slightly when he saw that there were three small cuts on his chest, a few drops of blood running down his chest.


    The man cast a somewhat shocked gaze onto Li Yang, not able to understand how he had been cut. But the result was undeniable, so the man cupped his fists and admitted his defeat.


    "It seems like your reputation is not exaggerated, I don''t even know how you managed to wound me. It''s almost hard to believe that you are only at the early stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, I look forward to seeing how much stronger you become in the future. I am Teng Shentu, you can come look for me once you become an inner disciple, I would love to spar with you a few more times."


    Li Yang cupped his hands in return, nodding his head with a light smile. Teng Shentu was far stronger than Li Yang, so sparring with him was a good way for Li Yang to become more accustomed to his various laws. Teng Shentu was also someone who had fused several laws into one, so Li Yang could learn a lot about that from him as well.


    Li Yang undid his strengthening techniques and stepped down from the stone stage and joined up with the other disciples, who were looking at him with the same confused gazes as the one Teng shentu had used to look at Elder Su. Just how had he managed to wound Teng Shentu three times in that short moment?


    Li Yang didn''t pay attention to their gazes, not intending on telling them how he had done it. They couldn''t see it, but how could Elder Su and the hidden white-robed elder not see what Li Yang had done?


    To harm Teng Shentu, Li Yang had used his law of fire and his law of ice, using both in rather clever ways. In the short second where his fingers had grazed Teng Shentu''s chest, Li Yang had channeled as much fire as he could into his fingers, doing his best to send as much heat into Teng Shentu''s body as he could. He would be unable to wound the far stronger Teng Shentu using his fire, but his intention had never been to wound him using the fire.


    The heat caused a small portion of Teng Shentu''s blood to boil and evaporate, creating a small amount of steam. Li Yang had then used his law of ice to instantly freeze this steam before Teng Shentu''s Qi could come into contact with it, turning the steam into tiny blades of ice. He then called the blades of ice back to him, causing them to cut through Teng Shentu''s veins and chest, leaving three tiny cuts as they left his chest.


    The veins had been located right beneath Teng Shentu''s skin, which was the only reason Li Yang managed to have the blades of ice actually leave wounds. Had the veins been deeper in his flesh, it would have been impossible for Li Yang to give the blades enough strength to cut through Teng Shentu''s flesh.


    Some would consider this a trick, but a wound was a wound, so Li Yang was considered to have passed the first trial. And since he was the last one to attempt this first trial, it was now time to move on to the second trial, the team trial. Elder Su looked at the 18 people who were going to take on the second trial, speaking to them in a stern voice.


    "The second trial will start immediately, it will follow the same order of challengers as the first one. You will receive the details of the mission you have to clear an hour before the start of the mission, so you must come up with a plan quickly. And don''t forget, even though this is a trial, you are still representing the Yuan clan during these missions, do not tarnish our reputation!"


    After speaking, Elder Su took out a scroll from her interspatial ring and tossed it to the girl who was the first one to clear the first trial, allowing her to read through the details of the mission. The white-robed elder appeared next to Elder Su, Li Yang guessing that he would bring them to the locations of the missions. After casting a glance at the white-robed elder, Li Yang cast his eyes onto the brown-haired girl that was hastily reading the scroll, waiting for the orders she would give.

 97 Second trial of the rank-up test.

    Li Yang was currently sitting on a floating platform of ice, completely surrounded by water. This body of water was so large that Li Yang was unable to see the end of the water. Were it not for the fact that he could just barely see a tall mountain in the distance it might have looked like he was floating on the vast ocean that surrounded the continent.


    There were three more platforms of ice spread out in the area, each one carrying one of the disciples that had passed the first trial of the rank-up test. They were all sitting with crossed legs, their expression lax and bored as they swept the water around them with somewhat sleepy gazes.


    They were currently taking part in the second trial of the rank-up test, following the orders of the brown-haired girl, Han Fen. The mission she had received was to kill off a colony of Three-Finned Locusts that had invaded this lake, robbing a nearby city that focused on fishing and harvesting sea-plants a major source of incoming.


    As for why Li Yang and the three others were sitting on these platforms of ice, that was because they were in charge of preventing any of the locusts from escaping. Everyone else was already in the lake, sweeping through it and killing any locust that they came across, neatly wiping them out.


    There were a few of the locusts who had reached the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, but none of the disciples that had passed the first trial were weak, so the mission was practically a cake walk. Hence, the four which had been assigned this duty of preventing any locusts from escaping were bored out of their minds.


    But there was nothing they could do, Han Fen, Elder Su, and the white-robed elder were sitting on a flying carriage that floated above the lake, keeping a close eye on the situation. As she was the one undertaking the trial right now, Han Fen was forbidden from taking part in the mission, this was a test of her leadership skills after all.


    As he was sweeping the water with his eyes, the surface of the water about three kilometers away from Li Yang exploded outwards, several small Three-Finned Locusts jumping out of the water. Three-Finned Locusts looked like deep-blue locusts that had a round tail with three fins, almost like a strange mace. They had wing-like things on their back, but they couldn''t actually fly, the wings were only there to increase their speed underwater.


    Li Yang turned his gaze onto the eight locusts that were trying to flee from the slaughter at the bottom of the lake. He leisurely stretched out his arm and pointed at them, an azure bolt of light streaking out from his finger and roaring through the air. The lightning didn''t aim for the locusts, hitting one of the countless drops of water that they had thrown into the air. The lightning then propagated at a rapid pace, spreading out from waterdrop to waterdrop, forming a net of lightning that surrounded the locusts.


    Li Yang then clenched his hand and caused the net of lightning to shrink and cling to the locusts, electrifying them and overloading their brains, causing them to shut down. These locusts were amongst the weakest of the ones living in the lake, they had only been able to escape the slaughter for now because the other disciples didn''t see a need to chase them, leaving them to Li Yang and the others. After dealing with the locusts, Li Yang turned his gaze back onto the surrounding water, letting out a light sigh.


    "Can''t they finish up a bit faster?"


    Li Yang''s wish did not come to pass, the other disciples spending an entire three days at the bottom of the lake, giving it several sweeps to make sure they didn''t miss any locusts. The could only stay at the bottom of the lake for so long because one of the disciples could use the law of water, allowing them to stay beneath the surface for far longer than others of their cultivation would normally be able to.


    After the other disciples resurfaced and reported that they were done, Han Fen turned towards Elder Su and awaited her judgment. Elder Su swept the entire lake with her completely white eyes, nodding her head after a short moment of silence.


    "The mission has been completed. All the locusts have been dealt with and there have only been a few minor injuries. If there are no problems with your ability to follow orders in the upcoming missions, you will be considered to have passed the rank-up test and will become an inner disciple."


    The second trial wasn''t all about leadership, it was also a test to see how well you were at following orders, accepting that others might boss you around at times. After all, there were times where the clan would give the inner disciples missions and would require them to follow strict orders. Han Fen pumped her fist into the air after receiving the clear, already assured that she would become an inner disciple.


    Elder Su swiped her interspatial ring and took out another scroll, tossing it to the disciple who was in charge of giving orders for the next mission, a blue-haired man by the name of Xie Min. Li Yang and the other disciples also gave the contents of the mission a quick read-over, guessing at what roles they would be given. After everyone had read the contents of the mission, the white-robed elder, Elder Mujin, used his law of space to bring them all to the location of the next mission.


    Li Yang and the other disciples continued to complete the missions given to them, some taking longer than others. Even if some of the missions were somewhat hard, with the strength of these disciples there was no need to worry about the missions not getting finished, the only worry was how flawlessly they could complete the missions.


    And finally, a month after the rank-up test started, Li Yang was handed the scroll that contained the details of the mission he was in charge of. The mission was to exterminate a clan of bandits that had taken up residence in a mountain they had turned into a maze of caves and caverns. The bandits had kidnapped quite a few people from surrounding villages and cities, so they also had to rescue all the hostages that were still alive. Li Yang was thankful that it was a fairly standard mission, as it would make it easier to come up with a way to clear it in the best possible fashion.


    A silver light surrounded all the disciples, Elder Mujin bringing them to the location of the mission. They arrived in the air a few kilometers away from the mountain where the bandits had taken up residence, a craggy mountain that almost resembled a flickering flame. The mountain was about 15 kilometers high and about six kilometers wide, meaning that there was plenty of space inside it for the bandits, plenty of places where they could have carved entrances and exits.


    The mountain was surrounded by a small pine forest that was only a few kilometers in size, a circle of smaller mountains surrounding the entire area. Li Yang swept his eyes around the entire area, calmly observing and examining it as he started to plan on how to complete the mission. The other disciples quietly waited for Li Yang to give his orders. They didn''t underestimate Li Yang because of his age or low cultivation, each of them had seen his strength, they would have to be dumb to underestimate him. After spending a bit of time thinking, Li Yang turned his eyes onto a gray-haired female disciple, Bai Wei.


    "Senior Sister Wei, can you approach the mountain from underground and give the entire thing a scan? I want to know where all the caves and tunnels are located. Senior Brother Zhong, I want you to approach the mountain from the air and scan it as well. Find all the entrances and exits that they can use to flee."


    One of Bai Wei''s laws was the law of earth, she could easily dig a tunnel and scan the structure of the mountain, finding any hollow areas that might exist. The blonde Xing Zhong could use the law of wind, allowing him to fly above the mountain and feel where the wind entered the mountain, mapping any place that might be used to enter or exit the mountain.


    They both nodded their heads and set about completing the tasks they had been given, Bai Wei dropping to the ground and using her law of earth to dig into the earth. While she did that, Xing Zhong flew higher into the air and started to approach the mountain, making sure that there were no sentries or scouts in the area that might see him.


    Three hours later, both of them returned to Li Yang, delivering their reports. They had checked everything thrice, which was why it had taken them so long. The inside of the mountain was indeed a maze, countless tunnels and caverns filling it up, some which were filled with traps or lead to dead ends, prepared for invaders.


    Li Yang rubbed his chin slightly, wondering how he should deal with the situation. Were it not for the fact that he had to rescue the kidnapped people, he would have just had the disciples set up several arrays and turn the entire mountain into rubble, finishing it nice and quickly. After giving it a bit more thought, he gave a light clap and spoke up.


    "Alright, this is how we''ll do it. Senior Sister Wei, I want you to bring Senior Brother Liguo and Senior Brother Shiwu to rescue the hostages. Senior Brother Shiwu will be in charge of locating the hostages, you will dig an escape tunnel for them, and Senior Brother Liguo will be in charge of taking care of any wounds they might have. Once you have brought all the hostages out, collapse the tunnels you created."


    Zi Shiwu specialized in the law of lightning, allowing him to use a scouting technique similar to Li Yang''s, allowing him to discover who the hostages were. Chen Liguo, on the other hand, specialized in the law of water and the law of restoration, he was well-suited to healing any wounds that the hostages might have. The three disciples nodded their heads, Li Yang turning to Xing Zhong.


    "After that, Senior Brother Zhong I want you to show Senior Sister Xuefeng and Senior Brother Lei where the various entrances are located. Collapse all but two of the entrances, making sure that no one can ever use those entrances again. Just to be safe, use Senior Sister Xuefeng''s law of distortion to warp not only the stone but also the Qi around the entrances. The warping doesn''t have to last forever, only for around an hour."


    The law of distortion was a rather strange and unique one, with no one quite sure where they should rank it. It could distort and warp things, some powerful cultivators even able to twist other peoples laws into such distorted shapes that they were no longer able to properly control them. It was incredibly weird and powerful if one managed to master it, but no one really knew how to even go about gaining insight into it, making it one of the rarer laws that Li Yang had ever encountered. After Xing Zhong and the two others nodded their heads, Li Yang started addressing everyone at once, his calm and cold eyes locked on the distant mountain.


    "Once there are only two entrances left, split into these two groups, nine in one and eight in the other, and take up positions in front of the two entrances. Then I want you to muster as much fire as you can and flood it into the tunnels, filling every single cave and cavern with smoke. Then collapse the final two entrances and seal them up, we''ll suffocate the bandits and turn this mountain into their burial ground."

 98 Completing the mission and returning to the clan.

    After receiving their orders, the other disciples started moving into position. Bai Wei, the disciple among them who was most proficient with the law of earth, brought Zi Shiwu and Chen Liguo with her, digging another hole in the ground and heading for the distant mountain. While she was doing so, Xing Xhong was bringing the two disciples he had been assigned, Ma Xuefeng and Xuan Lei, showing them all the entrances that they had to collapse. Li Yang turned to Elder Su and Elder Mujin, pointing at the air above the mountain.


    "Could you bring us closer? It''s easier to give out orders if I am close enough to properly observe everything that''s going on."


    The two elders nodded their heads, bringing the flying carriage that everyone was sitting on to the spot that Li Yang had pointed at. From this spot right above the mountain, Li Yang would be able to see everything that went on around the mountain. It would be a bit of a strain on his eyes to closely observe such a large area, but it would be manageable.


    Other than the six disciples that had already been sent out to deal with their assigned tasks, the remaining 11 disciples were eagerly awaiting their turn to take part in the mission. This was the last mission in the rank-up test, so everyone was eager to use their full strength and show their best sides.


    Four hours after he sent out Bai Wei and the two other disciples to rescue the hostages, they returned with 17 people who had wounds of varying degrees. Most of the hostages were young and beautiful women so Li Yang and the others knew what they had gone through before Bai Wei had even delivered the report. Li Yang swept the hostages with a quick glance, turning to Bai Wei.


    "The mission summary stated that around 30 people had been kidnapped, are the rest dead?"


    The mission was to kill the bandits and rescue all the living hostages, so he wanted to make doubly sure that there were no more hostages left within the mountain before he started the second part of the plan. Bai Wei nodded her head with a grim expression, casting a disgusted sideways glance at the mountain.


    "No one else remains. Junior Brother Yang, I want everyone within that mountain dead, don''t you dare fail this mission."


    Bai Wei was a woman herself, so seeing what these female hostages had been put through filled her with nothing but endless disgust and rage. Of course, the male disciples were also filled with similar emotions, wondering how they would feel if their friends, family, or lovers had been among these female hostages. Li Yang nodded his head, his expression still as calm as it had always been, not a single one of his thoughts visible in his expression.


    "You don''t have to worry about that, their deaths were already set in stone when I received this mission."


    Li Yang had no intentions of allowing this mission to fail, as the odds of him becoming an inner disciple would fall drastically if he were to do so. So from the moment the scroll that contained the summary of this mission landed in his hands, the fates of all the bandits within this mountain were sealed.


    Li Yang handed all the hostages to Elder Su and Elder Mujin, directing Bai Wei and the remaining disciples to head out and meet up with Xing Zhong and the two other disciples that had finished sealing up all but two of the entrances. He had already decided on the groups earlier, so all the disciples split up into their designated groups and lined up in front of the two entrances, which were located only a very short distance away from each other.


    Elder Mujin and Elder Su brought the flying carriage closer to the two entrances so that Li Yang could give orders from only a few meters away, allowing him to quickly change his orders should it be necessary. Li Yang looked at the two groups that were eagerly waiting, nodding his head and giving the orders.


    "Senior Sister Fen, please fill both the caves with a plethora of plants."


    The brown-haired Han Fen didn''t specialize in the law of plants, but she had studied it a bit, enough to almost reach the Ascending Heaven realm with it. She nodded her head and took out a leather pouch from her interspatial ring, opening the pouch and revealing that it was filled with small seeds. She threw the seeds into the two caves that led into the mountain, using her law of plants to drastically increase the speed at which the plants grew.


    Before long, both caves were filled with colorful and slightly poisonous plants, so many of them that they made it nearly impossible to see further into the caves. The plants only filled the 500 meters of the caves, but it was more than enough. Li Yang turned to two other disciples, nodding his head at them.


    "Senior Brother Min and Senior Brother Cai, your turn."


    The blue-haired Xie Min and the black-haired Lie Cai nodded their heads, stepping forward and waving their hands at the caves. Deep crimson flames roared into existence inside the caves, the plants quickly starting to burn and filling the caves with noxious smoke. The two disciples then took a step back, Li Yang nodding his head at Bai Wei and another disciple by the name of Yan Hu.


    Bai Wei and Yan Hu nodded their heads, clapping their hands and causing the earth around the cave entrances to crumble and twist, forming a thick wall in front of the caves. They only left tiny holes that allowed the air to enter the caves, Li Yang stationing two disciples in front of the holes and having them use their law of wind to funnel air into the tunnels, blowing the smoke deeper into the mountain.


    With the smoke starting to fill the maze of caves that filled the mountain, Li Yang and the other disciples simply had to wait, occasionally throwing more flames into the caves through the small holes in the blockade. Sounds of shouting and coughing started to slowly echo throughout the caves, the sound of people running around barely audible.


    It seemed like the bandits within the mountain were looking for an exit they could use, but Xing Zhong and the others had made all the other exits completely unusable. The only exits that still looked like they might be usable were the ones where Li Yang and the others were currently waiting.


    It didn''t take long for the bandits to notice this fact as well, quickly flooding into the two caves that led to these exits. They saw the flames and the blocked exits, but they could only rush through the flames and do their best to smash down the blockades, the closed cave entrances starting to vibrate as more and more attacks landed on them.


    Li Yang continued to calmly look on as the blocked cave entrances were attacked, but it seemed like some of the other disciples weren''t able to be as calm as him. A few of them seemed to get a bit antsy, a middle-aged disciple with long brown hair, Kang Xia, turning to Li Yang.


    "We should just open the blockades and crush the bandits head-on with our overwhelming strength. Please open the blockade!"


    The four other disciples that were getting antsy mimicked Kang Xia''s sentence, not willing to just wait around. This was their last chance to show their cultivation and might, they weren''t content with just waiting here without showing-off. Li Yang cast a sideways glance at the five disciples, but he didn''t really bother with them or their proposal, shaking his head.


    "No need. Throw some more flames into the cave to increase the density of the smoke."


    The two disciples responsible for filling the caves with flames nodded their heads, using the small holes in the blockade to throw more flames into the caves. There were a few shrieking sounds coming from beyond the blockade so it seemed like a few bandits had been hit by the flames and were currently being roasted. The five disciples grew a bit antsier, Kang Xia seemingly getting an idea as he spoke out in a righteous voice.


    "We are representing the Yuan clan in this mission, to protect the pride and reputation of the Yuan clan, we should face these bandits in battle and show our superiority by crushing them!"


    Before the start of the second trial, Elder Su had reminded them that they were representing the Yuan clan in these missions so they had to do their best to not tarnish the reputation of the clan. It seemed like Kang Xia wanted to use this fact to force Li Yang to follow his proposal, giving him a chance to show off in front of Elder Su and Elder Mujin. But what a shame, Li Yang simply gave a cold snort and cast a disdainful sideways glance at Kang Xia.


    "If protecting the pride and reputation of the clan means that we must start needless fights and risk our lives in a secluded location like this where there isn''t even a single witness, then it''s better to throw away that pride."


    No one other than the people here would ever know how this mission had been completed, so what did it matter how they completed the mission? Besides, the Yuan clan was too large for something like this to tarnish its reputation. On the contrary, people might even praise the Yuan clan for coming up with a clever and safe way of dealing with the bandits if they were to find out about this.


    Kang Xia''s mouth twitched slightly as he swept the surrounding disciples and the two elders with a quick gaze, looking for others to support him. But other than the four that were already supporting him, the others didn''t even bother with him, they were agreeing with Li Yang. Kang Xia should realize that the best option was to relent, but he was too caught up with trying to show off, so he decided to open his mouth to protest some more.


    "You must think of the clan''s pride at all times, even if no one is looking. You have to open that blockade so that we can crush the opponents head on. If you won''t do it, then for the pride and glory of the grand Yuan clan, I will have to do it."


    He mentioned the pride and glory of the Yuan clan in an attempt to make himself look to be the righteous one, the one who was correct. But at this point, even Elder Su and Elder Mujin were rolling their eyes at him. Kang Xia was already expecting Li Yang to reject him, so he had already started working on another counterargument while he was still talking. Sadly, he didn''t understand how Li Yang acted and thought.


    The moment Kang Xia finished his righteous words, the loud rumbling of thunder rang out, Li Yang vanishing from his previous spot. He arrived in front of Kang Xia, his gaze cold and his body wrapped in glimmering lightning. His arm shot forward, his right hand clamping down on Kang Xia''s throat like a vice, lifting him up from the ground. Kang Xia struggled to free himself, but lightning and ice flooded into his body, dulling his movements and strength to a point where he couldn''t even resist. He hadn''t been prepared for Li Yang to attack, so he hadn''t even put up any defenses.


    The others turned to look at the spectacle, Li Yang looking at Kang Xia and the four other disciples who had mimicked his sentiment with a cold gaze. He clenched his fist slightly, his fingers starting to dig into Kang Xia''s throat and drawing a few drops of blood as he spoke.


    "If you bring up that stupid idea of yours one more time, if you threaten to open that blockade one more time, or if you try to bring up the fucking pride of the clan one more time, I will consider it not only insubordination but also an attempt to hinder the completion of this mission, and then I will act accordingly."


    Li Yang would not allow this Kang Xia or his little cronies to mess up this mission, he would not let them mess up his chance to become an inner disciple. The resources he would receive after becoming an inner disciple would allow him to greatly increase his strength before the competition where he would meet up with Fang Ying again, so he was quite unwilling to give up on them.


    Kang Xia tried to look at Elder Su and Elder Mujin for help, but neither of them moved to help him. Li Yang was the leader of this mission, so Kang Xia''s actions could indeed be seen as insubordination and an attempt to hinder the progress of the mission. Of course, they would not allow Li Yang to kill Kang Xia, but a bit of punishment was fine.


    In the end, Kang Xia could only give several nods of his head, showing that he understood that he had overstepped his bounds and could only relent. Li Yang let go of his throat and let him fall to the ground, coughing heavily and gasping for breath. Li Yang then turned to the other disciples, giving an order in such a calm voice that the previous threat had seemed like nothing but an illusion.


    "More fire."


    The disciples in charge of the fire nodded their head and threw more fire into the caves, no one else daring to even mention removing the blockades and facing the bandits in a head-on battle. With more and more fire being thrown into the caves, more and more smoke started to gather within the mountain, the sounds of shouting and coughing slowly dying out.


    Seven hours after they started throwing fire into the caves, the inside of the mountain had turned completely silent. Li Yang had everyone wait for another hour before he finally allowed them to remove the blockades and check if any bandits had survived. They blew away the smoke with some wind, starting to go through the caves one by one, checking up on all the bandits.


    But there were no bandits left alive, all of them having choked on the thick smoke and suffocating to death, the caves of this mountain truly becoming their burial grounds. They picked up any interspatial rings and other items that might be valuable, picking up the bandit bodies so that they could serve as food for the Demonic beasts that the Yuan clan reared.


    Once they finished this, Elder Mujin and Elder Su announced the successful completion of the mission, bringing all the disciples back to the clan to announce who among them would become an inner disciple and what rewards they would receive.

 99 Preparing for the grand competition.

    Li Yang and the 17 other disciples were brought back to the clan, to the same stone stage where the first trial of the rank-up test had taken place. After bringing them all back here, the elderly white-robed Elder Mujin had finished his role, so with one last wave of his hand, he vanished from the area, directly teleporting away.


    After Elder Mujin left, the golden-haired Elder Su swept the 18 disciples in front of her with a quick gaze. The various disciples tensed up slightly, straightening their backs and raising their heads to show themselves off a little bit more now at the last second. Elder Su swiped her interspatial ring and took out 12 orbs of emerald-colored jade.


    Back when Li Yang had first joined the Yuan clan, the elder overseeing the process had also taken out jade orbs, but those had been yellow in color. These jade orbs served the same function, tracking the contribution points of the disciple as well as notifying the clan if the disciple should die. The only difference between the two different orbs was that this emerald-colored one could only be used by inner disciples, it was a mark of honor of sorts.


    Elder Su stretched out her right arm, the 12 orbs spinning around each other in the air above her palm. The disciples looked at these orbs with wanton desire and excitement, wishing they could just jump forward and snatch one for themselves. Elder Su swept the disciples with her completely white eyes, calmly speaking up.


    "There are 18 of you, but only 12 of these orbs, meaning that there are six among you who have not passed this rank-up test. Yan Hu, Kang Xia, Ren Jie, Cao Jin, Quan Hao, and Feng Xue, please step forward."


    The six people who were called up stepped forward with bitter expressions, lining up a few steps away from Elder Su. Of the six that didn''t pass, five of them were actually Kang Xia and the four people who had joined him in speaking up against Li Yang''s plan. Elder Su looked at the six people with an encouraging expression, talking to them in a comforting tone.


    "You were all close to completing the test, but there are some things you must improve before you can become inner disciples. Yan Hu, you were good at following orders, but you lacked a little when it came to formulating a plan and reacting to unexpected situations, try to put yourself in situations where anything can happen, train yourself to be better to react and then come back to us. Kang Xia, Ren Jie, Cao Jin, Quan Hao, Feng Xue, the five of you were originally on track to completing the test perfectly, but you stumbled right at the end."


    The expressions of Kang Xia and the four others sank further, turning even more bitter. To hear that they had failed right at the finish line, how could they not be disappointed? Elder Su gave them a short moment to calm themselves again, continuing with her explanation.


    "You did well when it came to making plans and reacting to unexpected situations, but you are too hasty, too eager for glory. The glory and reputation of the clan mean nothing if they come at the cost of the lives of our disciples, the safer plan that ensures the lives of the disciples is always the better one, trying to ruin the plan just because you want to show off is foolish. Take a year to temper your minds, quell the fires in your hearts and aim for stability rather than glory. The clan expects great things from all of you, so we will call all six of you again next year, I hope you will have improved by then."


    She didn''t try to put them down or make them feel bad about how they had failed, she simply guided them in an earnest fashion, hoping that they would prove that they were as good as the clan believed them to be. The six that failed straightened their backs and then gave Elder Su a deep bow.


    "We are sorry that we failed your expectations, we won''t fail you again next year!"


    The six of them left the stone stage after bowing. Since they had failed, this was no longer a place they could stay, they would have to wait until next year before they would hopefully get the chance to stand here again. With the six failing disciples leaving, Elder Su turned her gaze onto the 12 that had passed, one of the 12 orbs floating over to each of them.


    "Congratulations, all of you have passed the rank up test. As inner disciples, you will only have to clear one clan mission every five years, and every month you will receive 100 Spirit grade Spirit Stones. As for the bowl of cultivation resources you used to receive once a year, you will receive an upgraded version of this bowl every three months."


    The disciples couldn''t help but bubble with joy when they heard the rewards, even Li Yang feeling somewhat surprised at how generous the rewards were. Just the amount of Spirit Stones they would receive was 10 times greater than that of an outer disciple. Elder Su pointed at the 12 orbs, continuing to talk.


    "Once you bind those orbs using your blood, they will fuse together with the ones you received earlier, officially marking you as inner disciples. They will also lead you to your new abodes, so take some time to familiarize yourself with your new environment. But don''t forget to cultivate, the grand competition organized by the Huo clan will start soon, and the clan still has two open spots for newer inner disciples like you."


    The disciples started to seethe with excitement again after hearing about the grand competition. Even if one ignored the rewards of the competition, just the chance to enter the hidden realm where it took place was a grand treasure, as the hidden realm contained countless rare beasts and herbs. Of course, the competition was also incredibly dangerous, with a very high rate of death. But to cultivate was to go against the heavens, one could not become a great cultivator if they feared death.


    Li Yang was a bit calmer than the other disciples, he had already secured a spot for himself in the competition after all. Now he only had to focus on his cultivation, strengthening himself as much as possible before the start of the competition.


    He sliced his thumb with his nail, dripping some blood on the emerald-colored orb. Just like last time, the orb split into two, half of it flying into his chest and the other half flying over to Elder Su. After half of the orb flew into his chest and fused with the other part that was already there, he felt the jade resonate with something in the distance, guiding him to the place that would be his new house.


    Li Yang didn''t head to his new house immediately, returning to his old one first to pick up the few items he had left behind there. At the same time, he also told Blackstone and the two other servants that he was now an inner disciple, meaning that they were no longer his servants. They were a bit downtrodden, Li Yang had treated them rather well after all.


    But thanks to the cultivation manuals he had gifted them early on, as well as the fact that they got to live close to his house, which was located in an area where the natural Qi was far denser than around their previous houses, they were all close to breaking through to the Ascending Heaven realm. They would become outer disciples once they broke through, receiving far better treatment than they had as provisional disciples.


    Li Yang picked up the few items he had left behind, a few robes and books, and then followed the resonating feeling unleashed by the piece of jade, heading to his new house. As an inner disciple, his house was located on the main mountain of the Yuan clan, a place where the surrounding Qi was at least three times as dense as the place where he had previously lived. Cultivating in a place like this would drastically increase one''s cultivation speed, so it was understandable that so many people wanted to become inner disciples.


    Li Yang''s new house was quite a bit larger than his previous one, reminiscent of a small palace. The house was circular in shape and the ceiling was in the shape of a pointed dome, the entire house painted a deep golden color. Two statues were placed in front of the double-doors that served as the entrance, one on each side. One was in the shape of a roaring tiger and the other was in the shape of a coiled up blue dragon, both statues looking quite life-like. There was a five-kilometer empty area around the house that served as a garden, giving him some privacy from the other inner disciple.


    Li Yang pushed open the doors to his home, entering a large hall decorated with a few couches and tables, as well as some plants and paintings that served to brighten up the atmosphere of the room. There were already a few people standing in the room, 12 young girls clad in the robes of the clan. Once Li Yang entered the room, the 12 young girls bowed to him in unison and spoke up.


    "Greetings, Senior Brother Yang. We are the ones who will serve you in the future, you may call upon us at any time of the day should you have any needs you want us to take care of."


    Li Yang swept the 12 girls with a quick gaze, recognizing two of the girls. They were Cheng Xun and Qiao Ping, two girls who had entered the clan alongside Li Yang, becoming outer disciples by taking part in the same tournament that he had taken part in. They had stood on somewhat equal grounds back then, but now they could only look up at his back and serve him as maids, or bedwarmers if he so wished.


    Li Yang understood what role these 12 girls were supposed to play, but just like with his previous servants, he didn''t really care. He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, crossing the hall and opening a door that was marked with the words ''Master Bedroom''.


    "You can do as you please, I won''t stay here for long."


    Li Yang had his own plans, and that was to once again leave the clan to undertake several missions at once. He needed a large number of resources and dead bodies to cultivate his three different cultivation techniques, and the resources he would receive every three months weren''t quite enough. He planned on accepting several missions and leaving the clan, only returning occasionally to hand in the completed missions and pick up some more resources. He was going to do this all the way until the Huo clan competition started, at which point he would head directly over to Broken Rapid''s city, the place where he had to go to head to the competition.


    The young girls thought that Li Yang might be joking with them, after all, what sort of young man could resist the allure of so many young and beautiful girls? But he proved that his words weren''t a joke, only dropping off a few items in the bedroom and then leaving the building, heading directly for the dome that was the mission control building, not even sparing the girls a second glance.

 100 The start of the grand competition.

    Li Yang quickly reached the dome that was the mission control building, accepting several missions that had rewards that were enticing to him. All of the missions were kill missions, meaning that they required him to kill either people or Demonic beasts, most of which were between the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm and the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm.


    There was a large leap of strength between each cultivation realm, with someone at the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm usually able to easily kill droves of people at the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm. Because of this, Li Yang was not 100% confident in his chances to kill someone at the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, but he was confident that he could escape even if he failed to kill them.


    He received the same pendant as last time, allowing him to use the spatial arrays that belonged to the Royal Dragon Pavilion to quickly move around the continent. After receiving the pendant and making sure that he hadn''t forgotten anything, Li Yang left the clan using one of their spatial arrays, appearing on the other side of the continent.


    He left the Royal Dragon Pavilion branch he had arrived at and took out the map he had bought before he joined the Yuan clan, checking how far away his current target was from his position. His first target was a rogue cultivator that had killed quite a few cultivators from the Yuan clan, and according to the rumors and some spies, he was currently hiding as an old merchant in a small town.


    After making sure that he had arrived in the right place, Li Yang left the city and headed for the town where his first target was hiding. He only had about eight months until the start of the grand competition, so he couldn''t afford to waste any time, not if he wanted to cultivate three different cultivation systems at once.


    What followed could only be called a furious marathon of murder and cultivation, Li Yang traveling all over the continent and leaving nothing but ruins in his wake. He didn''t even leave behind corpses, as all the corpses were taken by him to cultivate his Bloody Shura technique. Humans and Demonic beasts all had their blood and souls extracted to form Blood Seals, which had a rather peculiar appearance.


    They were made up fo two parts, an outer circle that looked like a dragon biting down on its own tail, and an inner part that looked like two serpents coiled around each other in ferocious combat. Li Yang failed in his first nine attempts to create these runes, as he had never really interacted much with souls before. But after becoming a bit more proficient with the technique, as well as receiving some aid from the strange property of Jinwu''s ice element, he managed to carve a successful rune and merge it with his soul.


    Of course, he didn''t just cultivate his soul, he also cultivated his Qi and used the Myriad Monarch technique to cultivate his body. As time continued to pass, and the number of missions he completed increased, the date of the grand competition crept closer and closer. Li Yang only returned to the clan twice in the eight months before the competition, and both times he only returned for a few minutes to hand in the completed missions and buy some resources. He then made a quick stop at his house to pick up all the resources that had been dropped off there and then picked up some new missions before leaving the clan once again.


    The last mission Li Yang completed was to kill a flock of scorpion-type Demonic beasts that had taken over a part of the outer edge of the Blood Swallowing Graveyard, one of the five most dangerous locations on this planet. The leader of the scorpions had reached the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm and he had five other scorpions at the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm serving him. It was the hardest of the missions, which was why Li Yang had saved it for last, completing it half a month before the start of the grand competition.


    After completing this mission, Li Yang returned to the clan for the second and last time in the eight months, picking up a few more resources and then leaving again. He headed directly to the Broken Rapid''s city, which was named this because it was located on an island located at the center of a massive river that was famous for how swift and ferocious its currents were.


    As it was a city owned and ruled by the Huo clan, the buildings were all colored various shades of red and orange. The insignia of the Huo clan was spread throughout the entire city, a solitary flame torching the sky. Normally one would have to use a specialized ferry to reach the city, but as Li Yang had the pendant of the Yuan clan, he could just head directly to the Royal Dragon Pavilion branch that was located in the city.


    Once he arrived within the city, he sought out the person he had been told about, Huo Guanting, and showed him the token he had received upon achieving the 10th spot in the tournament he took part in. Huo Guanting, a somewhat frail crimson-haired man with a slight stubble who looked to be in his fifties checked the token, and upon ascertaining that it was real, brought Li Yang to a house that had been prepared ahead of time, telling him how things would proceed.


    "Come to the center of the city in 13 days, an elder from the Huo clan will open a separate entrance to the hidden realm for us. Once you enter that hidden realm, you can only leave by surviving to the end of the competition, so make sure you have thought everything through and prepared for the worst case situation."


    Huo Guanting gave Li Yang a quick showcasing of the house as he spoke, making sure that he understood just how dangerous a competition like this was. They would enter the hidden realm through a separate entrance and arrive at the other end of it, quite a distance away from the people from the various clans and sects.


    The reason behind this wasn''t actually to ensure that the disciples of the clans found the best resources, it was to ensure that the disciples of the clans didn''t immediately kill all the competitors who didn''t come from a large clan or sect. Seeing that Li Yang didn''t show any reaction to his warnings, Huo Guanting started explaining about the format of the competition.


    "The competition will follow a very standard format and is technically split into three parts. During the first part of the competition, you must kill Demonic beasts and beat other cultivators to gather points, the points will be automatically counted by the token you received, so take good care of it. After about a year or two, the competition will enter the second part, the center of the hidden realm opening itself. Everyone who has gathered more than a certain number of points must defend their tokens and make their way to the city located at the center of the hidden realm to enter the third part of the competition. If you lose your token or are defeated and lose your points during this second part, you are of course barred from entering the third part. The third part is just as simple as the others, it is a more straight forward series of duels which will be used to decide the exact rankings. All in all, the competition usually takes between two to four years to finish, so don''t forget to properly cultivate while in the hidden realm."


    The duels that took place in the third part of the competition usually took just as long to complete as the first part of the competition, as the competitors were given at least a weeks break between each fight, more if they were wounded. They wanted to get an accurate ranking, so they made sure that each competitor was in peak condition before each fight.


    Li Yang nodded his head to show that he understood how the competition would take place, Huo Guanting responding with a nod of his own before leaving. He was only in charge of explaining the competition and preparing the lodgings for people like Li Yang, anything after that was no longer his business.


    After Huo Guanting left, Li Yang locked himself up in the house he had been provided, taking out all the resources he had bought as well as all the corpses he currently had on him. He only had 13 days left, in these 13 days he would focus fully on his cultivation and do his best to increase his strength as much as possible.


    The days continued to move onward without pause, the 13 days passing in what felt like a blink of an eye. Li Yang halted his cultivation and left the house, heading to the center of the city, which was already packed with people. Some of the people had only arrived to check out the people taking part in the competition, but most of the people present were there to take part in the competition.


    Li Yang''s cultivation had actually improved greatly over these last eight months. His Qi cultivation had reached the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, only a short step away from the late stage. After being baptized with countless Blood Seals, his soul had become corporeal and could even leave his body, meaning that he had reached the Heaven Reaching Soul realm and acquired the soul equivalent of Qi, Vital Essence. Mixing this Vital Essence with the ice element granted to him by Jinwu made it incredibly easy for him to kill people who didn''t defend their souls.


    His body cultivation had also improved greatly, entering the Heart Rune realm thanks to the large amount of Monarch Runes he had fused into his body. Thanks to this, his body had started creating Dark Star Essence, the body cultivation of Qi. He now had Qi, Vital Essence, and Dark Star Essence at his disposal, his Qi was devastating, his soul was strong, and his body was incredibly tough, he was perfectly well-rounded. All he had to do now was come up with a defensive technique using his law of ice, and then he could be considered truly perfect in all aspects of combat.


    His cultivation had improved greatly over the last eight months, his strength increasing by quite a bit. But even so, his cultivation was on the lower end among all the people gathered here, most of them having already entered the Immortal Rebirth realm. But Li Yang was nothing if not confident. He would meet up with Fang Ying again and the two of them would utterly dominate this competition. He would walk side by side with Fang Ying to the top, and he would crush anyone who tried to stand in their path.


    The orange-robed elder from the Huo clan arrived at the center of the city and drew up an array on the ground, using it to draw in all the Qi in the surrounding. He then used this Qi to open a new entrance to the hidden realm, a pure white crack appearing in space and sucking in the surrounding Qi at a ferocious pace.


    The Huo clan elder waved his hand, signaling that the competitors were to enter the crack. The sea of people waiting in the city swarmed into the crack, each of them sent into a random part of the outer edge of the hidden realm. Li Yang stepped forward at a more leisurely pace, his eyes closed as muttered to himself.


    "Just like I said, Ying''er. Through life and death, through time and space, I will chase after you."


    With his eyes closed, he felt like he could already hear the familiar song that she played on her zither and smell the sweet fragrance that he had grown so fond of. So long had passed, but now they would finally meet again.

 101 Finding a clue.

    A bright white light flashed past Li Yang''s eyes as he stepped into the entrance to the hidden realm, layers of space around him contracting as he was somewhat violently flung through space. A blast of hot air hit Li Yang from the front, the white light vanishing as he found himself standing in a vast desert, what appeared to be a small oasis visible in the distance.


    The dark-yellow sand beneath him was so soft it almost acted like water, making it hard to maintain his footing unless he made sure to constantly move his feet. There were several pillar-like cacti spread through the area, long and thin needles covering their surfaces. Other than these cacti, the only other plants that existed in abundance were a type of round bush that had strangely brown leaves that were completely flat and round, the edges appearing somewhat sharp. Li Yang swept his surroundings with a curious gaze, muttering to himself.


    "Now then, just where are we going to meet up?"


    The last message he had gotten from Fang Ying didn''t contain a very descriptive mentioning of where they were to meet, it only said ''Down by the river, where the ocean meets the sky.'' He was currently standing in a desert, just about as far from an ocean as he could get. After giving his surroundings a few more sweeps, he shrugged his shoulders and muttered to himself once again.


    "Let''s see if we can''t find anyone else first, they might know a bit more about the layout of this place than me."


    He had been fully focused on his cultivation recently, so he hadn''t prepared as much information about this place as he should have, he could only hope that someone else had prepared more thoroughly than he had. He closed his eyes and sent his Qi into the surroundings, taking this chance to also test out his new scouting technique.


    His new scouting technique was an improvement of his old one, which discovered living beings by having his lightning resonate with the electricity in their body. This new one mixed in his law of ice and fire as well, allowing it to also detect places where the temperature was slightly different. This meant that even if someone concealed the electricity in their body, he could still discover them thanks to the fact that their body wasn''t the exact same temperature as their surroundings.


    Since he was in a desert, there were plenty of heat sources around him that he discovered, but he simply filtered them out one by one, focusing on the places that were somewhat colder than their surroundings. Coupled with his lightning, he was able to discover that this desert was actually home to quite a wide variety of Demonic beasts, some large and some small. Most of them were hiding beneath the sand, lying in ambush for any living being that might move close enough.


    Li Yang ignored these Demonic beasts for now, killing them could earn him points, but he was more interested in finding Fang Ying. He slowly increased the range of his scouting technique, scouring more and more of the desert in search of people. After increasing the range of his scouting technique to around 25 kilometers in each direction, he finally discovered other people, a small group of four people.


    Li Yang narrowed down the range of his scouting technique, locking on to this group of four people. Their cultivations were all in the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, so it was clear that they had grouped together because they were worried that someone would attack them due to their rather low cultivation. This cultivation allowed anyone beneath the Primordial Rune realm to take part, so Li Yang guessed that it was fairly common for weaker cultivators to gather up in groups.


    Li Yang guessed that it wasn''t a coincidence that he had ended up so close to someone who had cultivation so similar to his. The Huo clan said that they sent people to random places in the outskirt, albeit a bit away from the competitors from the clans, but that was probably a lie.


    After all, if a bunch of Ascended Heaven realm cultivators ended up arriving close to an Immortal Rebirth realm cultivator, they would all be taken out instantly. The Huo clan probably wanted the competition to be a bit more exciting than that, so they probably sent people to the various places based on their cultivation. Of course, these were all just Li Yang''s guesses, he had no way of actually knowing if they were right or not.


    After locking on to the group of four, Li Yang wasted no time in stepping forward and turning into a blur as he dashed, leaving a trail of lightning in his wake. None of the Demonic beasts that were lying in ambush were able to react in time as he dashed past them, they could only look on as he vanished from sight.


    The group of four, which consisted of one woman and three men, were able to hear Li Yang approach thanks to the subdued sound of thunder. But by the time they heard the sound and realized that something was approaching them, he had already arrived in front of them. They hurriedly stepped back and drew their weapons, but Li Yang simply swept them with a nonchalant glance.


    "You wouldn''t happen to have a map of this hidden realm? I''m looking for a place that fits this description, Down by the river, where the ocean meets the sky."


    He felt like he was polite enough with his question, but the four people didn''t seem too interested in answering him, looking at him with tense expressions. The one who seemed to be the leader of the group, a somewhat lanky man with a bald head and a goatee, whispered a quick order to the three others and then dashed forward and tried to deliver an overhead slash with his shortsword.


    The three others also moved at the same time, the woman stepping back a bit more and waving her hand, causing the sand beneath Li Yang to rise up like tendrils, coiling around his body and trying to drag him down. The two others dashed forward, heading to different sides of Li Yang in a pincer attack. Li Yang could only let out a sigh and give a light shake of his head. He had been in a good mood, so he wanted to resolve this without using violence. But since they clearly didn''t want that, he could only oblige them.


    A horrifying heat spread out from his body, the sand coiling around him melting and dripping down his body. The sand beneath the woman in the back, as well as the sand beneath the two that were trying to catch him in a pincer attack, melted thanks to an influx of high heat, the feet of the three people sinking into the molten sand. The heat was enough to completely fry their feet, their bones cracking due to the heat as they screamed in agony.


    The moment they cried out, the molten sand became icy cold and froze, turning into murky glass that trapped their roasted feet and prevented them from moving. At the same time as Li Yang did this, he also stepped forward and faced the attack of the leader.


    He stretched out his arm and grabbed onto the sword of the leader, crushing it between the fingers on his left hand and punching out with his right arm. His fist made contact with the man''s chest, causing it to shatter and cave in, the fragments of his ribs just barely missing his lungs and heart. The man vomited out large amounts of blood and flew back, only stopping when he crashed into the woman, who was doing her best to stifle her screams of pain.


    Li Yang looked at his hands, very pleased with how things had gone. He had used his Qi to deal with the woman and the two other men, but against the leader, he had only used his Dark Star Essence, the body equivalent of Qi, and the strength of his body. It was the sheer might and weight of the Dark Star Essence that let him grab and easily crush the sword with one hand.


    Now, even if he used just his body or his soul cultivation, he would be able to beat other cultivators at the middle stage of the Ascended Heaven realm, his strength had indeed grown quite a bit over these last eight months. Li Yang moved his gaze away from his hands, casting it onto the leader, who was struggling to sit up.


    "Are you an idiot? I was able to approach all of you before you even got the chance to properly react, what made you think that you had even the slightest chance of beating me? Now answer my question, do you have a map or know about the place I''m looking for?"


    Even if Li Yang had been weaker than them, the sheer advantage his speed gave him would make it so that there was nothing they could do to him. They should have attempted fleeing the moment they saw him, trying to fight him was the same as committing suicide. The leader got some help from the woman behind him, who still had her roasted feet trapped in the glass, just barely managing to sit up and lean against the woman. He spat out more blood, glaring at Li Yang.


    "Why the fuck should we give you anything? You''ll get nothing from us, just kill us and get it over with!"


    The three others winced slightly at his words, especially the woman, but there was nothing they could say, their lives were in the hands of Li Yang. As for Li Yang, he looked at the bloody leader as if he was an idiot, slowly walking forward.


    "You really are an idiot. You make it sound like I won''t get what I''m looking for if I kill you, but are you so dumb that you can''t even realize that me killing you means that I will acquire everything you have on you, meaning that I can easily check if you have a map. Killing you would be the easier option, you are only alive right now because I''m in a fantastic mood because I soon get to see my wife again. Now answer my questions before my patience runs out."


    The leader turned a little pale after having the truth stated to him so simply. He looked at the three others, who were just as pale as him, mostly because of the pain of having their feet roasted in molten sand. He grit his teeth and continued to glare at Li Yang, letting out a defiant laugh.


    "I know a place like the one you are looking for, but as it isn''t properly marked on the maps you''ll never get to hear about it if you kill us. Promise me that you''ll protect us for one year and then I''ll tell you about the place and how to get there."


    The man''s thoughts were racing faster than they ever had before. It might be risky to ask this of Li Yang, but he could see that Li Yang was very anxious to find this place, so he hoped that he might be able to profit a bit from this. If they could be protected by Li Yang for an entire year, they would be able to enter quite a few places they otherwise wouldn''t dare enter. But sadly for him, he had picked the wrong target. Li Yang''s expression didn''t change much, he simply crouched down in front of the man, glancing at him and the three others.


    "You know, about five kilometers to the east of here, there is a small group of Demonic beasts hiding under the sand. If I''m not wrong, they should be Frozen Mind Scorpions. Nasty little things, they paralyze the bodies of other Demonic beasts and people, planting their eggs inside the frozen yet conscious people. Since the people are only paralyzed, their bodies stay nice and fresh for when the eggs hatch, allowing the babies to eat a nice meal right after being born. The body is also only paralyzed, not numbed, so you feel every little thing as you are slowly eaten alive. A gruesome way to go really, used to be a torture method long in the past, I''m not sure if its still in use."


    Li Yang cast a nonchalant glance to the east as he spoke, pointing at a spot beneath one of the round bushes where the sand was a bit lower than the surroundings. The four people turned so pale that it looked like all blood had vanished from their bodies, their limbs trembling uncontrollably. Li Yang raised his eyes slightly, using his eyebrows to beckon towards the woman behind the man as he continued to talk.


    "You have 30 seconds to hand me the map and tell me the information I want to know. If you do the smart thing, I''ll hand you some pills so that the four of you can heal up quickly. But refuse, or stay silent for too long, and I will start bringing your companions over to the scorpions. I''ll do it one by one, forcing you to watch as the eggs are implanted in their bodies and they are eaten alive. You seem rather close to this woman, so how about we start with her? Or would you prefer I save her for last?"


    Li Yang''s voice was as cold as the wind of the netherworld as he spoke, showing the man that this was no joke. Li Yang was far from a good man, he was selfish and could be very cruel and evil, only when he was with Fang Ying could be he considered a decent man. The man continued to hesitate slightly, seemingly unsure if he could trust Li Yang''s words. But he quickly changed his tune when Li Yang stood up and reached out to grab onto the woman.


    "Wait! Wait! I''ll talk! I''ll talk!"


    Li Yang stopped reaching out with his arm, casting a downwards glance at the man, who scrambled to take something out from his interspatial ring. He took out a thumb-sized slip of orange jade, handing it to Li Yang as hastily spoke out.


    "Map! It''s a map! It shows most of this hidden realm, every inch that my Crow''s Nest sect has mapped in the past! The place you are talking about sounds like the Cloud God''s Garden, a floating continent located very close to the center of the hidden realm! It has a long river that one can follow to reach an ocean that stretches out to the very edge of the floating continent! Rumors have it that if one stands on the largest island in that ocean, the scene looks like the ocean is touching the sky, the two melting together into one!"


    Li Yang accepted the jade slip and sank his mind into it, inspecting the contents. While he was doing this, one of the men that had his feet trapped in glass, slowly drew back his arms, preparing to throw his spear. But just as he started pulling back his arms, he felt something shock his mind. It felt like someone had hit him in the head with a hammer and shattered his mind. His thoughts were thrown into disarray as he violently vomited, unable to keep anything in his stomach.


    Li Yang cast a sideways glance at him and pulled back the Vital Essence, the soul equivalent of Qi, that he had tossed at the man to shock his soul. He continued to check the contents of the jade slip, which contained a surprisingly detailed map of this hidden realm. It seemed like this Crow''s Nest sect had a somewhat close relationship with the Huo clan, being able to enter this place so many times that they could create a map like this.


    Li Yang spotted the place the man had talked about, a massive continent floating in the air close to the center of this hidden realm. Unless one was able to fly, they had to head to the city below the continent, Cloud King city, and use a special array there to head up to the continent. Li Yang put the jade slip into his interspatial ring and took out a vial filled with a few good pills. He placed the vial in front of the man and then left, turning into a blur as he dashed away. Now that he had a clue as to where he should go, he didn''t want to waste any more time here.

 102 Cloud King city.

    Li Yang left behind faint trails of lightning as he dashed, practically ignoring everything else as he moved. There were some places he had to move around, as the map he had taken warned him that there were rather powerful Demonic beasts or other natural hazards present in the area. But other than these few detours, he cut a straight line through the hidden realm, heading directly for Cloud King city.


    If he was allowed to dash without being stopped, he calculated that he would reach Cloud King city in about a month, a testament to how large this hidden realm was. Of course, given how many people had entered this hidden realm and were currently taking part in this contest, as well as the myriad of Demonic beasts already living here, it was impossible for Li Yang to run the entire distance without being stopped.


    He was forced to stop a total of five times, three times due to human groups and twice due to Demonic beasts. The Demonic beasts managed to stop him by swarming him in a manner that left him with no choice but to stop what he was doing and kill them, allowing him to gather up a few points as well as a few Demonic beasts corpses that would be useful for cultivation or arrays.


    As for the humans that stopped him, two of the groups stopped him by chasing after him for so long that he found it easier to just turn around and kill them. The final group managed to ambush him thanks to an array they had set up ahead of time, probably preparing it to trap anyone who might move past their area. The array turned into thick chains that coiled around his body and forced him to stop, nearly sealing up his movements as the ones who set up the array charged at him.


    Sadly for them, their array was unable to fully stop Li Yang, so he could dodge their attacks and divert part of his mind to finding the weak point of the array. Finding the weak point was far easier than unraveling an array like this so it didn''t take too long for him to find a spot a bit weaker than the rest of the array. A well-aimed bolt of lightning and fire pierced through the spot and caused the array to crumble in that area, giving Li Yang enough room to kill off the assailants.


    Due to these interruptions, as well as the fact that he often stopped running so that he could rest and restore himself to peak condition, it took him almost three months to actually reach Cloud King city. It took quite a bit longer than he first calculated, but he didn''t regret stopping to rest. There was no telling what he might encounter in this hidden realm so it was best to always maintain his peak state.


    He stood at the top of a tall hill covered in waist-high grass, looking down at the distant Cloud King city. High in the sky above him floated a massive continent, so large that he couldn''t even see the end of it from his position. The bottom of the continent was covered in a massive array that released a bright light, acting as a type of replacement sun to cast light on everything beneath it.


    Cloud King city was a very large city, almost filling up the entire horizon. The entire city was surrounded by a tall wall that seemed to be made from some type of bone, every inch of it covered in runes that gathered together to form a massive array that looked like a coiling dragon. The buildings in the city were made using a type of white stone that looked rather porous, the buildings were tightly packed right past the wall, but the distance between them grew longer as you got closer to the center of the city.At the very center of the city stood five golden towers that stretched towards the sky, with the tower at the center almost twice as large as the other four towers.


    Li Yang only gave the city a quick sweep from his vantage point before he descended the hill and headed for the city, passing through the large metal gates that served as the entrance. Just by looking at the layout of the city, he was able to easily guess that the array needed to head up to the floating continent was likely located in the largest of the five towers.


    --


    What Li Yang didn''t know was that shortly after he entered the city, there was movement in the fifth golden tower. A somewhat burly man clad in the gray robes of the Puppet God sect was walking through the hallways of the tower, passing through a door made from a type of strange crystal and entering a rather large room. The room was rather exquisitely decorated, the couches and chairs in the room draped with the furs of Demonic beasts, a few rather rare flowers lined up against the walls.


    There were several more people from the Puppet God sect seated on a pair of long couches that were separated by a wooden table covered in fresh food and wine. The man gave the people sitting around the table a courteous bow, delivering his report.


    "I have received a report that a member of the Yuan clan has entered the city. He came from the opposite direction of the other Yuan clan members so I don''t think that he belongs to the group that has been given a spot by the clan, he has likely earned his spot in one of the minor competitions. I have come to ask how I should deal with him?"


    The Yuan clan and the Puppet God sect didn''t have a cordial relationship, especially not amongst the lower ranks of the clan. It was very common for inner and outer disciples of these two organizations to battle and kill each other. One of the disciples that was currently eating, a man with short brown hair and blue eyes that looked to be in his twenties, raised his eyes slightly and gave it a bit of thought before giving a dismissive wave of his hand.


    "If he''s below the Immortal Rebirth realm, send Sun Ling to deal with him. If he''s in the Immortal Rebirth realm then just ignore him for now. It''s nice to thin the numbers of the Yuan clan, but it won''t be worth it if we risk losing one of our stronger members, nor do we want to alert the other clans and sects that something is going on. We need as many of our people as we can get when we ascend to the Cloud God''s Garden, otherwise, we might not be able to hold back the other sects when the Ocean God''s Graveyard opens."


    The Puppet God sect had brought all their forces to Cloud King city, preparing to ascend to the floating continent with all their members. The reason behind this was that they had learned that the Ocean God''s Graveyard was opening once more.The floating continent, the Cloud God''s Garden, was a very special place in this hidden realm, it was one of the main reasons the Huo clan could become one of the strongest clans. It was also the existence of this continent that forced the Huo clan to allow the other sects and clans to take part in this competition time after time.


    The Cloud God''s Garden did not come from this planet, in fact, it didn''t even come from this universe. It had been discovered countless years ago by someone whose name had already been lost to time, drifting from owner to owner before eventually being bought by the people who would one day found the Huo, Tian, and Duan clans. They had then joined forces to create this hidden realm around the continent, using it as the core of the hidden realm.


    Of course, very few people actually knew the truth of the Cloud God''s Garden, only the very top disciples of each sect and clan were ever told the full truth. Most people didn''t even know about the existence of this continent, they were simply told that the Huo clan allowed others to enter this hidden realm out of the kindness of their heart.


    Of course, this ''kindness'' only existed as long as none of the others that entered this hidden realm found any good resources. It was one thing for a member of a large clan or sect to acquire any good resources, but once an unaffiliated cultivator found anything good, he might be thoroughly ''convinced'' to sell what he had found.


    There were countless strange places that spawned wondrous resources on the continent, but there were some that stood out from among the rest. One of these places was the Ocean God''s graveyard, a part of the continent that was usually locked up by an array that had existed on the continent since it was first found. After being used as the core of this hidden realm, it had only opened once before, and it was using the resources found in this graveyard that the Tian clan had managed to take the top position amongst all the other clans and sects.


    Now that the Ocean God''s Graveyard was opening again, and seemingly none of the other sects and clans knew about it, there was no way the Puppet God sect would miss this chance. They had prepared for this for several years already, there was no way they would let anything go awry now. The burly man gave another courteous bow and then left the room, handing the order over to Sun Ling.


    --


    Li Yang was currently walking through the streets of Cloud King city, heading for the five towers at the center of the city. He gave his surroundings a few sweeping glances, somewhat surprised to see that there were actually quite a few non-cultivators living in the city. But giving it a bit more thought, it only made sense that the Huo clan would have some non-cultivators living here, someone had to run the various inns and shops in this city after all.


    It didn''t take Li Yang long to reach the center of the city, which was a circular plaza only containing a few small vendors and the five towers that lined up side by side. Li Yang could see a few people standing guard in front of the four smaller towers, their robes seemingly representing which sect or clan currently controlled which tower. Li Yang''s eyes landed on the center tower, the largest one and the only unguarded one, but before he could start walking towards, someone called out to him and stopped him.


    "That''s as far as you''ll go. Sorry, but I have my orders, so you''ll have to die for me here. I don''t know if it brings you any comfort, but let me at least tell you the name of the one who killed you, I am Sun Ling of the Puppet God sect."


    Li Yang turned his eyes slightly, his gaze landing a man who was currently walking out from the tower to the far right, the fifth tower. The man was rather tall and had a handsome face, a large scar going diagonally over his nose giving him a heroic look. He had white hair that was tied into a neat ponytail that hung down to his hip and green eyes that glimmered with a faint light. He was clad in the same gray robes as the guards standing in front of the tower, robes that Li Yang recognized as those of the Puppet God sect. Li Yang swept the man, Sun Ling, with a quick glance before pointing at the floating continent above them.


    "You wouldn''t happen to know how I can head up there, would you? The map I have only says that I have to use a special array in this city but it doesn''t mention if there are any requirements."


    Li Yang had been too hasty after receiving the map so he had forgotten to ask if there were any other requirements to use the array to head up to the Cloud God''s Garden. He had heard Sun Ling''s words, but he wanted to at least get some information out of him before dealing with him. Sun Ling had the same cultivation as the Yuan clan''s Xiang Wuying, half a foot into the Immortal Rebirth realm. He might be strong to others, but Li Yang did not consider him a threat.


    Sun Ling''s eyebrows pricked up slightly after hearing Li Yang''s reply, somewhat caught off guard. He swept Li Yang with a quick glance, seemingly trying to figure out if there were any hidden plans behind the question. Not figuring out any hidden intentions behind the question, Sun Ling decided to answer, it was the least he could do.


    "I wouldn''t exactly call them special requirements, its more of a difference in privilege. The token you received to enter this competition, if it''s one of the tokens given out by a sect or clan, you can enter the middle tower and use the array to head directly up. But if the token is one provided by one of the minor tournaments, you have to wait for at least 99 other people with such tokens to gather and head up with them. The reason it''s like this is because of the fact that the array requires quite a bit of energy to activate, so if it had to be activated for each and everyone one of the unaffiliated cultivators who came here one by one, it would cost too much in the long run."


    Contrary to what Li Yang expected, Sun Ling actually gave a very detailed answer. He couldn''t help but click his tongue when he heard that he had to wait for more people to gather, but there was nothing he could do, this was the difference brought about by status. Had he chosen to compete for one of the remaining Yuan clan spots after becoming an inner disciple, he might have been able to just head directly up. After Li Yang clicked his tongue, Sun Ling spoke up once more.


    "Now then, please don''t hate me for this."


    Sun Ling gave a light wave of his hand, four puppets appearing in front of him. The puppets all clearly used humans as a base but had been altered slightly using some Demonic beast parts to increase their strength. Sun Ling was from the Puppet God sect, and even though not all the members of this sect specialized in puppets, Sun Ling was one of those that did specialize in puppets. His own strength was a bit lower than he would like, but as long as he had his puppets, he was nearly unbeatable beneath the Immortal Rebirth realm.


    The four puppets charged at Li Yang, one spewing out flames, one causing the earth beneath him to explode upwards, one turning the air around him into a prison of sharp needles made from air, and the final one causing spears of metal to spawn into existence around him, sealing off all his escape routes. The surrounding onlookers backed up to give the two space to battle, looking on with interest and amusement.


    Sun Ling''s attack could be said to be rather exquisite, sealing off all of Li Yang''s escape routes and even hindering his dodging by causing the earth beneath him to explode. But was something like this enough to deal with someone like Li Yang? No, it was far from enough to deal with a freak like Li Yang.


    Li Yang activated both his fire and his lightning based strengthening techniques, barely even glancing at the incoming attacks. When dealing with a puppet user like Sun Ling, the best tactic would always be to go directly for the puppet master.


    Li Yang took a step forward, an icy gust billowing forth from his body and swallowing up the four puppets and their attacks. He used the special property of his ice element to freeze the thin strings of Qi and law that Sun Ling used to control his puppets, causing them to collapse like marionettes that had their strings cut. Just to make sure that there wouldn''t be any unexpected attacks, he also flooded the bodies of the puppets with his fire, mixing in a tiny amount of golden flames to turn the defenseless dolls into ash.


    By the time Li Yang finished his first step, the attacks had been neutralized and the puppets turned to ash, Sun Ling unable to even touch Li Yang''s robes with his attack. Li Yang was strong enough to even kill people in the Immortal Rebirth realm, very few people below that cultivation realm were even worth a second glance from him now. This was the strength he acquired after cultivating three different cultivation systems and having the body of a humanoid divine beast, a type of strength that could only be called freakish.


    He took another step forward, arcs of azure lightning crackling around him as he turned into a faint blur that vanished from Sun Ling''s sight. Before Sun Ling even had the time to blink, Li Yang had arrived in front of him and grabbed onto his throat. Sun Ling didn''t even have the time to properly process everything that had happened before he heard Li Yang''s voice.


    "Sorry, but I have no intention of dying here. If I fail to fulfill that promise, she''ll keep pestering me until my ears fall off."


    Li Yang tightened his grip on Sun Ling''s throat, lightning and thunder flooding into his body and gathering up in his chest, forming a highly concentrated ball. He then lifted Sun Ling up from the ground and jerked his arm, violently throwing Sun Ling at the fifth tower. Sun Ling crashed into one of the windows on the tower, the fire and lightning that had gathered up in his chest running rampant and exploding with a bright light and a thunderous sound. Sun Ling''s body was blown apart, but the tower remained unharmed, it was clearly built using a very sturdy material. Li Yang cast a glance at the tower and spoke out.


    "Don''t bother sending fodder like that. If you want some respect, at least come for me yourself."


    Some of the onlookers didn''t understand who he was talking to, but some realized that there was someone looking at the plaza from the window that Sun Ling had just hit. Li Yang continued to look at the tower, but there was no movement from the one standing in the window. It seemed like he wasn''t interested in making a move against him, so Li Yang turned his gaze away and stepped towards the center tower, entering it and waiting for enough people to gather up so that he could ascend to the Cloud God''s Garden.

 103 Once again, that sword.

    After stepping through the gates of the tower, Li Yang entered a circular hall where the walls were lined with doors. The hall itself was sparsely decorated, with only a few wooden tables and chairs covered in silk placed around for people to sit on. Clearly, the ones who built this tower didn''t want people to wait around in this hall for too long. There was an ornate spiral staircase to the right of the entrance, leading the way up to the higher floors of the tower.


    Li Yang''s gaze landed on the door located at the other end of the room, mainly because it was the only door guarded by two men. The two men had both reached the Immortal Rebirth realm, one the early and one the late stage, and both were clad in the orange robes of the Huo clan. Each carried a long halberd, crossing them in front of the door and preventing anyone from getting close to the door. One of the guards had black hair and blue eyes while the other had brown hair and black eyes, both of them having somewhat slim and toned bodies. There was no one else currently in the hall so Li Yang decided that he might as well ask these two guards.


    "Is the array to head up to the Cloud God''s Garden located behind that door?"


    It made some sense for there to be guards in front of the spatial array, as there were differences between when people could use the array. Their job was likely to prevent people like Li Yang from using the array before enough people like him had gathered up. The blue-eyed guard swept Li Yang with a quick gaze and then nodded his head.


    "Aye, but you''ll need to show your token before we let you pass and use the array."


    Li Yang swiped his interspatial ring and took out his token, which was shaped like an orange cloud, showing it to the two guards. They only took a short glance at it before shaking their heads, the blue-eyed one speaking out again.


    "With that token, you''ll have to wait for more people with a similar token to gather. There are currently 48 people waiting so it should only take another two or three weeks. You can find an empty room in this tower to wait in, we will sound a loud bell when 100 people have gathered. Of course, you can try to charge past us, we''ll even let you use the array if you can get past us and activate the array. But in accordance with the rules and our duty, we will try to kill you with everything we have."


    Li Yang looked the two guards up and down, gauging them with his eyes. But eventually, he gave a light shrug of his shoulders and headed for the staircase that led to the second floor. Trying to deal with two people at the Immortal Rebirth realm would be far from easy, there was no need to take a risk like that right now.


    All the rooms on the first floor were locked and marked as occupied so he ascended to the second floor, which looked practically the exact same as the first floor, and found an empty room he could use. The rooms only contained a bed and a closet, not even a single table or chair. Li Yang walked over to the bed and sat down on it, crossing his legs and closing his eyes in quiet cultivation.


    --


    A week after Li Yang started quietly cultivating, a group of people arrived at Cloud King city, immediately drawing the attention of the citizens. The group consisted of five people, three men and two women, each of them clad in the light green robes of the Tian clan. Walking at the back of this group was the round-faced and black-haired Tian Gong, the green-haired and blue-eyed Tian Shui, as well as the green-haired and black-eyed Tian Zedong. All three of these people were at the middle stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, yet they were walking respectfully behind the pair walking ahead of them.


    The two walking at the front were the emerald-haired and brown-eyed Tian Zheng and the white-haired and emerald-eyed Fang Ying, both of them exuding an aura of elegance and dignity. With the silvery-gray wolf Langshen walking at Fang Ying''s side, the two painted a beautiful picture that made it seem like they were to not be approached by anyone. One was the future leader of the Tian clan and the other was the woman who was to become one of his wives. With this group walking through the city, how could they not attract the attention of everyone?


    Tian Zheng ignored the gazes of the surrounding people, chatting with Fang Ying while they were heading towards the five towers at the center of the city.


    "We''ve almost reached the transportation tower, soon we''ll be able to reach the Cloud God''s Garden. Junior Sister Ying, would now perhaps be a good time for you to tell me why you wish to head up there?"


    The moment they had entered this hidden realm, Fang Ying had immediately started rushing towards this city, saying that she had to get to the Cloud God''s Garden. She had always kept a respectful distance from him, barely sparing him a second glance, so Tian Zheng saw this as a good chance to get closer to this future wife of his. But sadly, she had yet to even give him the slightest hint about why she wanted to go to the Cloud God''s Garden. Fang Ying smiled slightly but didn''t give Tian Zheng a proper answer.


    "Why are you always in such a rush to pry into the privacy of a fair maiden? Won''t you see why I wish to go there once we reach it? Are you perhaps so impatient that you can''t even wait for a bit longer?"


    The eyebrows of Tian Gong and the two others in the back couldn''t help but twitch slightly when they heard Fang Ying''s words, which could be considered somewhat insulting, but Tian Zheng still kept a graceful and charming smile on his face.


    "Indeed, forgive me for my hastiness, it seems I am unable to rid myself of that nasty trait. I''ll just patiently wait, that way I will be able to be perfectly surprised when I finally see what has riled up Junior Sister Ying like this."


    The group quickly reached the center of the city, the citizens and cultivators wandering around it making space for them. Tian Zheng glanced at the four other towers, his eyes narrowing faintly, a silent warning that the ones within the towers better stay quiet. The group stepped into the center tower and faced the two guards, showing them their tokens while Tian Zheng smiled sweetly at Fang Ying.


    "Junior Sister Ying, I have notified the other disciples that we will be heading up to the Cloud God''s Garden, I imagine that more of them should be arriving fairly soon. What do you say we wait for them here and travel up in one group?"


    The Cloud God''s Garden was after all one of the better places in this hidden realm to gather resources, having more of his fellow clan disciples arrive would only make things better for them. But clearly, Fang Ying did not share his sentiment.


    "You may wait for them if you wish, but I will head up immediately."


    Fang Ying did not even give Tian Zheng a chance to prepare a counterargument before she brought Langshen and stepped past the two guards, entering the empty room that laid behind the door they were guarding. Tian Zheng could only let out a breath and follow Fang Ying, the three others swiftly following him into the room, the array that covered the entire room quickly activating after being fed some Spirit Stones.


    --


    Li Yang opened his eyes and put a temporary halt to his cultivation, standing up from the bed and stretching his body. A week had passed since he entered this room, and in that week these breaks were a common occurrence. He didn''t take the breaks because he needed them, he took them so that he could check how many people had arrived, he didn''t want to be snubbed out of his chance to use the array after all.


    He sent out his Qi and Vital Essence, mixing them with his various laws so that he could get a clear view of the floors of this tower as well as the various rooms. As the first floor was already full when he first arrived, he started his counting from the higher floors and made his way down. Now that a week had passed, the previous 48 waiting people had grown to 67 people waiting, only 33 left before they could head up.


    After counting the new arrivals, he did a cursory sweep of the first floor, just a casual check to see if anyone new was currently arriving. The previous seven times he had checked the first floor revealed nothing new, but as he checked it this time, his breath caught in his throat. The door to the room with the array was slightly open, and thanks to that he was able to just barely catch a glimpse of a tuft of silvery-white hair and an exceedingly familiar aura that struck directly at his heart. But just as he noticed her, the array fully activated and she was sent away, up to the Cloud God''s Garden.


    There was no way he would mistake that aura for anyone else, he was completely certain of that. She had been here just a few seconds ago, in the same building as him. Had he done his usual sweep a bit earlier, or just done it a bit faster, he would have noticed her before the array activated, he could have notified her of his presence, they could have instantly met up.


    A thunderous sound rang out and the door to Li Yang''s room exploded outwards, turning into tiny fragments that dissolved into dust in the process. An indistinguishable blur shot out from his room while the door was exploding outwards, instantly descending the spiral staircase and arriving in front of the two guards. The two guards tightly grasped their halberds, shouting out as their Qi started to billow forth from their bodies.


    "Halt! If you try to take another step forward, we will attack with the intent to kill!"


    Li Yang stopped in front of the two guards, his eyes firmly locked on the door behind them. He could still chase after her if he used the array behind that door, it was unlikely that she had managed to get far away on such short notice. Li Yang cast a slight glance at the two guards that were currently inspecting him, somewhat curious why he was so agitated.


    "I''ll only say this once, let me pass. If you don''t, I won''t show you any mercy."


    He wanted to see her. More than anything else, he wanted to see her again, to hold her. All other thoughts had been tossed to the back of his mind, everything else forgotten. The only thing that remained was an intense desire and an unyielding determination to fulfill his desire. The two guards didn''t respond, simply tightening their grasp on the halberds and pointing the tips at Li Yang. Their actions spoke more than words, Li Yang''s eyes narrowing as a result.


    "So be it."


    The moment after he spoke, Li Yang unleashed his full strength, even drawing out what little golden lightning and golden fire he could use.. The right side of his body started to crackle with golden lightning while golden flames started to gather around the left side of his body, the ground beneath his feet freezing and cracking. Tiny droplets of ice started to appear in the air within the room, dropping to the ground and shattering. These droplets weren''t frozen water, they were a result of Li Yang''s strange ice element freezing even the Qi within the room. Once he grew strong enough, a simple wave of his hand might be enough to freeze all the Qi on an entire planet, rendering most cultivators powerless.


    A violet-golden light flashed in his right palm, a simple sword appearing in his grasp. The hilt of the sword was bound in black leather that had thin violet veins running through it, the blade itself was deep golden in color, a violet wavy pattern running along the back of the blade. As the golden lightning his body unleashed sank into it, the blade unleashed a joyous screeching sound, the air around it distorting as the power the sword unleashed grew frenzied. For the second time since he acquired it, Li Yang brought out his actual sword.


    He didn''t care that they saw his golden flames or golden lightning, he didn''t even care that they saw his sword. Right now he just wanted to rush to Fang Ying''s side at his fastest speed, everything else could be dealt with afterward.


    The previously confident guards faltered slightly when they saw Li Yang''s state, their hearts clenching slightly. They were filled with a sense of dread when they looked at him and the elements he unleashed, something that shouldn''t be possible given the difference in their cultivation. They further tightened their grasps on the halberds, stepping forward to face Li Yang.


    But just as they took their step, Li Yang made his move. Whether it was his golden flames and lightning, or his actual sword, neither were things he could use for too long. If he let this drag out for too long, it would not end well for him. So his plan was to end it all in one attack, he would carve open a path with a single swipe of his sword.


    All his laws, his Qi, his Vital Essence, and his Dark Star Essence all gathered in his right arm, sinking into his sword and forming a tiny pitch-black dot at the tip of the blade. His law of fire was about to start fighting with his law of ice and law of lightning when they came into contact, but thanks to his law of destruction he was able to force the other laws to quiet down and obey in silence.


    He swung his sword in a sideways slash, the tip of his blade tracing a thin black line in the air. And as he slashed out, all sound within the tower vanished, drowned out by a screeching sound that seemed to pierce into one''s mind. The frozen ground in the hall completely shattered and sank down, as if a meteor had crashed into it. Every door on the first floor of the tower disintegrated under the force of the attack, the screeching sound leaking into the city through the now open entrance.


    When the screeching sound died down, the two guards had been sent flying into the walls of the hall. The weaker one had both his arms and several of his ribs shattered, a deep gash on his chest bleeding profusely, several smaller cuts on his body drenching him in blood. The wounds were slowly growing, the law of fire and the law of destruction causing them to get worse and worse as time passed.


    The stronger of the two guards was better off, he was covered in his own blood, but his bones weren''t broken and his cuts weren''t as deep. But his legs were trembling fiercely, nearly unable to support his body as he looked at the ruined floor and the cultivators who were looking at the room with curiosity and shock.


    He turned his head slightly and saw that Li Yang was already standing in the room with the array, using several Spirit Stones to power it up. The array wasn''t unscatched after being so close to the attack he launched using all his might. Several cracks were spreading through the room, causing the array to be somewhat unstable. But even if it could no longer send him to the same place as it had sent Fang Ying, it was not so damaged that it would send him too far away from that location.


    Li Yang''s face was rather pale after putting all his might into that one attack, but he didn''t let it stop him from feeding several Spirit Stones to the array, not even casting a glance at the onlooking people as the array activated and sent him away in a flash of white light.


    He could feel the array fold space around him into a cocoon that shielded him as he was sent through space. The cocoon was rather unsteady, the ride far from comfortable as he felt like he was being tossed around in stormy waters. After what felt like several minutes, the unstable cocoon around Li Yang dissipated, allowing him to see that he was currently standing in the midst of a dense forest. He could see clouds not far above him so he knew that he had reached the Cloud God''s Garden, now he just had to quickly find the place that Fang Ying had been sent.

 104 A different appearance, the same look.

    Li Yang swiped his interspatial ring and took out a few pills and Spirit Stones, swallowing the pills and absorbing the Qi within the Spirit Stones to restore his lost energy. This could be considered an extremely wasteful way of refilling his drained Qi, but right now he didn''t care about that in the slightest. After stuffing a few pills into his mouth he jumped up onto the closest tree, quickly jumping from branch to branch until he reached the top of the tree and could get a clearer view of his surroundings.


    The forest he was in stretched out for quite a distance in each direction, at least a few tens of kilometers. At the northern end of the forest stood a tall and incredibly wide mountain that stretched into the clouds at about its halfway point, making it impossible to see how tall it truly was. The southern, western, and eastern ends of the forest all ended in separate cities that were very similar to the one Li Yang had just been in, the main difference between them was that these cities only had three towers standing at the center of the city.


    Li Yang swept all three cities with narrowed eyes, carefully examining them. Fang Ying was most likely in one of these cities, he only had to figure out which one. He inspected the cities for a few seconds before his gaze locked onto the eastern one, the edges of his mouth curling up.


    "Trouble always did have a penchant for following us."


    It was a bit hard to see from his position but he was able to just barely see a small plume of smoke and dust rising up from the center of the eastern city, the air around the plume distorting slightly, a clear sign that someone was battling there. He swallowed some more pills and took out a few more Spirit Stones to further increase the speed at which his Qi refilled, jumping down from the tree and dashing towards the eastern city.


    --


    Fang Ying felt like she sensed a warm sensation sweep over her just before the transportation array activated, but she was unable to ascertain if she truly sensed anything because the array activated the moment she felt it. As such she chose to drop it and focus on the important task she had ahead of her, reaching the meeting point that she had set up. She wanted to see that warm smile again, she wanted those black hole-like eyes to look at her with that loving gaze that warmed her entire body.


    The array brought her group of five away from Cloud King city and sent them up to the Cloud God''s Garden, to the city known as Wind''s Wave. The room they arrived in was an exact copy of the room they had just left, completely empty with nothing but the lines and runes of the array covering the walls and floor.


    The five of them stepped out of the room and walked past the two guards, Fang Ying taking the lead as they left the tower and entered a somewhat busy star-shaped plaza. But just as Fang Ying wanted to tell the others that she was going to move faster, a group of people stepped in front of them and stopped them.


    "Fairy Ying, Brother Zheng, I did not expect you to choose to come here."


    Standing in front of them was a group of people from the Puppet God sect, all of them neatly lined up behind the one man standing at the front. The leader of the group was very familiar to Fang Ying, he was Xiong Xieren, the future patriarch of the Puppet God sect. Xiong Xieren was a tall man who was a little over two meters tall, he had a stubble of white hair on his chin that produced a nice contrast to his black eyes and shoulder length black hair. Fang Ying didn''t wish to chat with him, but due to Xiong Xieren''s status and her current relationship with the Tian clan, she had to at least give him the bare minimum politeness.


    "I am just as surprised to see you here, Elder Brother Xieren. I hope you''ll forgive me, but I have something I must do, so I won''t stay here for long."


    Fang Ying smiled politely, but in truth, she did not care much for this Xiong Xieren. He had the same black eyes as her beloved, but the look in them was completely different. Li Yang always looked at her with love and care, even when he died because of her did he look at her with nothing but love and care. He also never pretended, he was straightforward and direct, his pride higher than the heavens.


    This Xiong Xieren, on the other hand, pretended to be cordial and humble when in front of others, hiding his scheming personality beneath a layer of fake kindness, a perfect patriarch for a large sect. And his eyes were filled with lust and greed whenever he looked at her, he was like a child who saw a treasure and decided that he had to keep it for himself. Fang Ying stepped forward to walk past him, but Xiong Xieren stretched out his arm, stopping her with an apologetic expression before casting a sideways glance at Tian Zheng.


    "I''m sorry Fairy Ying, but I must ask that you return to Cloud King city and go somewhere else. My Puppet God sect has decided that it is time that we are allowed to harvest some resources here. Brother Zheng, I am sure that you don''t need me to tell you anything else?"


    Xiong Xieren wanted to place his hand on Fang Ying''s shoulder, but Langshen bared his teeth and started to growl the moment Xiong Xieren started to move his arm closer. Tian Zheng''s expression twisted slightly after hearing Xiong Xieren''s words, their meaning very clear, stay here and we will fight you.


    The group of people standing behind Xiong Xieren was almost three times as large as their group, and considering that Tian Zheng would have to put all his focus on Xiong Xieren, there was really no way for their group to win if they were to fight. There was also the fact that there wasn''t really a need for them to fight with Xiong Xieren''s group, the only reason he had chosen to come to this continent was that Fang Ying wanted to come here. With all these facts clear to him, Tian Zheng shrugged his shoulders and shook his head lightly at Fang Ying.


    "It''s a shame, Junior Sister Ying, but it seems like we will have to return. Why don''t you tell me what you wished to acquire by coming here, I will have the clan use all our resources to find it for you once this competition is over."


    If he had the entire clan search for whatever she was looking for, there should be no way that they would be unable to find and acquire it for her. He could show her his charitable side and she would get what she wanted, Tian Zheng saw it as the perfect trade. But Fang Ying proceeded to take an action he had never expected from her, she pulled out her weapon, a pure white Jian sword covered in red veins.


    "No, I will not leave. If you are adamant about making me return, then you leave me no choice but to carve a path directly through you."


    As she spoke, the Qi within Fang Ying''s body started to seethe and churn, the blood of the weaker cultivators in the area starting to be affected, almost flowing in the opposite direction. Tian Zheng''s expression distorted further due to the unexpected actions of Fang Ying, Xiong Xieren''s expression, on the other hand, sunk and turned a bit colder.


    "Fairy Ying, I like you quite a bit, but that does not mean that I will not use force if you decide to act against us. I advise you with all my heart, just leave, nothing up here is worth fighting against us."


    Even if he somewhat fancied Fang Ying, he would not allow her and the Tian clan to throw a wrench in his sects plans to enter the Ocean God''s graveyard, he would kill Fang Ying and Tian Zheng here if he had to. Xiong Xieren was the future patriarch of the Puppet God sect, he had reached this position not by birthright but by fighting for it. Among the various future sect and clan leaders, he was among the stronger ones. He was only at the peak of the Immortal Rebirth realm, but even if he were to fight without using any of his puppets, he could still match someone at the middle stage of the Primordial Rune realm. He would be even stronger if he used his puppets, he was what one would call an extremely rare prodigy.


    Fang Ying was only at the middle stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, and although she had shown that she could match someone at the early stage of the Primordial Rune realm, she was not Xiong Xieren''s match. Tian Zheng wanted to say something, but before he got the chance, Fang Ying raised her sword.


    "If I get to meet him again, I won''t mind even if I have to end up fighting your entire sect. Move."


    Not only Xiong Xieren was somewhat shocked when he heard her reply, Tian Zheng and the others were also shocked. She had come here not to find a rare resource, but to meet a man? And her statement made it clear that this man was tremendously dear to her, to the point where she would even go against the entire Puppet God sect just to meet him. Whoever this man was, he was clearly more than just a friend or a family member.


    Tian Zheng''s and Xiong Xieren''s expression distorted even further, especially Tian Zheng''s. Fang Ying had already been decided as one of his future wives, so he thought that even though she was distant to him now, she would warm up in the future. But now it seemed like she had never actually intended to follow the orders of the sect, she would never marry him. To someone as proud and arrogant as Tian Zheng, this was a tremendous blow to his confidence.


    Xiong Xieren narrowed his eyes, his message clear, they would not back down. The atmosphere of the area immediately grew tense, the citizens quickly fleeing from the area so that they didn''t get dragged into the ensuing fight. Fang Ying looked at Xiong Xieren for a short second before giving a fractional nod of her head, her right arm turning into a blur as she slashed out with her sword.


    A crimson tidal wave followed her sword, the stench of blood spreading through the area as the tidal wave descended onto Xiong Xieren and his group, the blood within two of the weaker cultivators violently ejecting itself from their bodies and becoming part of the tidal wave. Langshen let out a loud howl at the same time, invisible blades made from compressed space appearing amidst Xiong Xieren''s group, instantly killing three people by slicing them into tiny pieces. Fang Ying was not as fond of fighting as Li Yang was, but when she truly started fighting, she was just as ferocious as he was.


    Xiong Xieren''s group of 16 instantly shrunk down to 11, his brows furrowing slightly as he looked at the tidal wave. He waved his right hand, a puppet in the shape of a slim man who had green hair and wore violet armor appearing at his side. He had the puppet deal with the invisible spatial blades while he himself dealt with the tidal wave of blood. He clapped both his hands, causing a shockwave to ripple through the air and tear the tidal wave apart, turning it into a bloody mist.


    He then stepped forward, vanishing from sight and instantly appearing directly in front of Fang Ying. He stomped the ground with his right leg and pushed out his right arm, aiming his palm directly at Fang Ying''s chest. The palm contained so much force that it even caused space around it to tremble, a faint black mist seeping out of Xiong Xieren''s skin.


    But before the palm managed to touch Fang Ying, it was intercepted by a different palm that came from behind Fang Ying, twisting around her body and blocking the attack. A circle of fire burst forth as the two palms made contact, the stone ground in the city melting under the heat of the fire. Xiong Xieren looked at the man who had blocked his attack, Tian Zheng, his eyes narrowing faintly.


    "Brother Zheng, are you really planning to get in the way now?"


    Xiong Xieren''s group had already lost five people, but that was mostly due to the fact that they had been caught unprepared, the battle was still heavily in their favor. Tian Zheng could only let out a sigh, putting on a pair of gloves made from tiny brown scales.


    "A, what can I say? I can''t just let you kill someone from my Tian clan in front of me, so I have to take action. Junior Sister Ying, you should focus on fleeing as fast as you can, they should calm down somewhat after you have left the area."


    Tian Zheng''s pride had undeniably been hurt when he learned that Fang Ying loved someone else, but he was Tian Zheng, the future patriarch of the Tian clan. There was no point in dwelling on this, he would simply move past it and focus on his actual task, protecting and securing the future of the Tian clan. Xiong Xieren''s expression turned from grim to calm as he gave a slight nod of his head, a gray trident appearing in his grasp.


    "So be it. Today I will see how much your strength has improved since our last duel."


    With Xiong Xieren''s words as the signal, the rest of the disciples in the area pulled out their weapons, Fang Ying''s group of five plus one Demonic beast facing Xiong Xieren''s group of 11. Xiong Xieren clenched the trident and focused his gaze on Tian Zheng, preparing to stab out when a sudden cough behind him caught his attention, causing him to glance behind him, his pupils shrinking as he did so.


    Of the 10 people remaining behind him, the six weakest had blood pouring out of their eyes and ears. But the strange part was that besides the one who had just coughed, a mixture of blood and organ pieces spewing out of her mouth, the others didn''t seem to notice that they were bleeding. The one who coughed looked like she wanted to scream after seeing that she had coughed up blood and pieces of her organs, but no sound came out as she opened her mouth, only more blood.


    Her eyes then turned dull and lifeless, her body collapsing to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Less than a second after she collapsed, the five remaining people also started to cough, blood and small pieces of their lungs spewing forth. They too wanted to scream, but it seemed like it had already become impossible for them to make any sound. They quickly collapsed to the ground, dead.


    Even worse, after they collapsed, their skin started to dissolve in front of the shocked eyes of all the onlookers, revealing that their flesh had turned a light pink in color and was in the process of melting. Xiong Xieren''s eyes landed on the bloody mist that Fang Ying''s tidal wave had become. He drew in a quick breath, the faint scent of fragrant apples tickling his nose, causing his expression to violently distort.


    "Poison. You know how to use poison?!"


    Xiong Xieren could not help but be utterly shocked. He knew that Fang Ying could use the law of blood and even fuse with Langshen to utilize the law of space, but he had never received any reports that she was able to use the law of poison, much less that she was so proficient in it that she was able to hide it in her law of blood while attacking. Xiong Xieren quietly started to get a bit nervous, tapping his interspatial ring and connecting his mind to a communication jade he was keeping inside it, quickly calling for the other disciples of the Puppet God sect to come to him.


    It wasn''t just Xong Xieren that was shocked, Tian Zheng and the others were too. Fang Ying had been part of the Tian clan for several years already, but even they had never heard that she could use the law of poison. Just how long had she been hiding it from them, and what else was she hiding? Fang Ying did not care about their surprise, setting her eyes on one of the four people who remained after she poisoned the others, a chubby and brown-haired man at the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm. If too many of these people remained when she fled, they might chase after her and prevent her from meeting up with Li Yang, so it was best to kill as many as possible before she fled.


    She took a step forward, space around her rippling as Langshen teleported her through space, making her appear directly behind her target. Fang Ying slashed out with her sword, the man quickly reacting by turning around and using his handaxe to deflect the attack, the power behind Fang Ying''s attack forcing him to take a step backward. He also felt his mind grow a bit lighter after blocking the attack, the faint scent of roses tickling his nose.


    The man quickly channeled his Qi through his body to get rid of the poison, charging forward and raising his arm at the same time, slashing his axe downward towards Fang Ying''s skull. While this was taking place, Tian Zheng had started fighting with Xiong Xieren, the other people also finding opponents of their own, chaos breaking out in the city.


    Langshen let out a low growl, space above Fang Ying turning completely solid for a short second as the axe collided with it. The man managed to shatter the solidified space after a short second, but it had bought Fang Ying enough time to dash into the bossom of the man, aiming an upwards diagonal slash at the man''s waist. At the same time as she slashed at him, space behind the man rippled, Langshen appearing behind him and attempting to bite onto the man''s neck.


    The man''s expression turned completely solemn as he let go of his axe and twisted his body to the left. He punched downwards with his right fist and sent out a backhanded punch with his left arm. A thin layer of metal surrounded the man''s right fist just before it made contact with Fang Ying''s sword, protecting it as he pushed her sword down. A layer of sharp wind spinning at high speed surrounded his left fist as it approached Langshen, threatening to slice him up if it were to hit him.


    Langshen let out a somewhat unwilling growl, space around him distorting as he vanished before the attack could hit him, appearing again a few meters away. With the man''s metal coated fist pushing down her sword, Fang Ying decided to simply let go of the sword, grabbing onto the man''s arm with her left arm, violet and crimson light covering her hand as she poured poison into the man''s arm, using her control over the law of blood to rapidly spread it through his body.


    While her left arm was poisoning the man, she stretched her right arm towards his neck. As she stretched our her right arm, the sword she had dropped suddenly vanished into a ripple in space, appearing in her grasp again, the tip of it right in front of the man''s throat.


    The man quickly tilted his head to the side, a layer of metal covering his throat as a strong gust of wind pushed the tip of the blade to the side. But with Fang Ying''s poison trying to corrode his body from the inside, he had to divert a large amount of his Qi to negate the poison, resulting in his defense being weaker than it should be. The sword was pushed to the side, but not enough to completely miss his throat, the blade slicing through the metal defense and leaving a cut on the side of the man''s throat.


    The man jumped backward and used his law of metal to stitch up the wound with fine threads of metal, temporarily slowing the bleeding while he focused on dealing with the poison that entered his throat due to the attack. The man''s expression was grim as he looked at Fang Ying. He wasn''t weak, he was someone who could even resist someone at the middle stage of the Primordial Immortal realm if he gave it his all. Yet now, when he was facing Fang Ying and Langshen, he couldn''t help but feel suppressed.


    Xiong Xieren also saw that things weren''t going too well for the man, waving his hand and causing two puppets to appear at his side, one in the shape of a spider and the other in the shape of a tiger. He needed to use two of his four main humanoid puppets to suppress Tian Zheng, the other two were currently away on a mission he had given him, so these were the only puppets he currently had on him that he could spare to help the man.


    But just as he was about to send the puppets to aid the man, a thunderous sound resounded over the city, catching everyone''s attention. A simple metal spear pierced through the buildings around the plaza, heading for the man that Fang Ying was fighting, its speed so fast that it had turned into a gray blur.


    The spear looked simple, but the man was not dumb enough to believe that a simple spear would be able to move so fast that it could cleanly pierce through the buildings like that. He took several steps back, two black handaxes appearing in his grasp as he crossed them in front of his chest. He wanted to play things safe, so he also swiped his interspatial ring and caused a puppet in the shape of a stone turtle to appear in front of him. He didn''t specialize in the law of puppets so he was unable to use puppets in combat, but he was proficient enough in the law to use the puppets for defense like this.


    The spear collided with the turtle, the tip of the spear disintegrating and unleashing a violent burst of golden flames that turned the outer layer of the turtle into nothingness. The flames immediately drew the attention of all the cultivators in the area, as these flames could only be used by a Demonic beast or cultivator who had a thick bloodline of the Golden Crow. They of course also drew the attention of Fang Ying, but for a completely different reason. She could feel a very familiar aura from these golden flames, an aura that was very near and dear to her.


    After the flames scorched away the outer layer of the turtle''s defense, the middle part of the spear disintegrated, an icy mist spewing forth and assaulting the turtle. The icy mist not only froze the parts of the turtle that hadn''t been scorched by the golden flames, but even the surrounding Qi and air also started to freeze, dropping to the ground as small droplets that shattered when they hit the ground. Fang Ying once again sensed that familiar aura, her heart starting to run completely rampant.


    After the mist froze the turtle, the last piece of the spear disintegrated, a thick bolt of golden lightning roaring forward and piercing through the frozen turtle. The bolt flew toward the man standing behind the turtle, roaring as if it was the wrath of a vengeful dragon. The golden lightning crashed into the man''s crossed axes, lifting him off his feet and throwing him backward until he crashed into one of the towers. He was unharmed, but quite badly shaken.


    Had he not used the turtle to block, he was uncertain how much damage he would have taken from blocking the attack. The burst of fire and ice would eat away at his defense, weakening it so that the bolt of lightning could pierce through it, a rather clever attack.


    Seeing this golden bolt of lightning, Fang Ying felt her heart skip a few beats as it nearly stopped, a pair of black hole-like eyes surfacing in her mind. She quickly turned towards the direction the spear had come from, calling out in a loud voice.


    "Langshen!"


    Langshen could easily understand what she meant, space around the two of them rippling for a short moment before they vanished from the area, leaving behind the shocked disciples of the Tian clan and the Puppet God sect.


    Fang Ying and Langshen appeared just beyond the walls that surrounded the city, at the edge of the forest. And standing only a few steps away from her was a young man with hair that looked like it was made from silky ice and crimson eyes that looked like scorching flames, three scars going diagonally down over his right eye. He looked quite different from how he did in the past, the colors of his hair an eyes completely different. But that loving look that she knew, that she had longed for all these years, was still the same.

 105 Nice, grand, and quick.

    Li Yang wanted his reunion with Fang Ying to be perfect, so he had come up with thousands of different scenarios for their reunion, hundreds of things he could say. He had prepared jokes, snappy remarks, loving words, witty stories, all so that no matter what circumstances they met in, he would be ready for it.


    But when he saw her jump out of a ripple in space in front of him, his mind went completely blank. She was clad in the light green robes of the Tian clan, her silvery-white hair tied into a somewhat disarrayed ponytail, and her emerald eyes were looking directly at him. She was three years older than him so she was almost a full head taller than him right now. She was just as beautiful as the day he lost her, just as breathtaking as he had always remembered her when he closed his eyes.


    His eyes grew red before he knew it, tears starting to run down his face as his vision grew blurry. His feet moved on their own, pulling him forward and towards her, completely ignoring the silvery-gray wolf that was standing at her side and vigilantly inspecting him. Fang Ying also moved forward, her eyes as red as Li Yang''s, both of them crying just from seeing each other.


    The two met and embraced each other after taking a few steps, Li Yang burying his head in her chest and Fang Ying burying her face in his hair, both of them greedily taking in the presence of the other. The silence of the embrace didn''t last for long, Li Yang speaking up in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.


    "Ying''er... I missed you... I truly did."


    Li Yang was a man whose pride was higher than the heavens, a truly arrogant man who would always show others his strength and cunning. Only when he was alone with Fang Ying or his friends would he show his weakness like this, only with them would he cry this freely, only with them would he show his fear and pain and lean on them for support. Fang Ying buried her face even harder into his hair, her voice somewhat unsteady from crying.


    "Thank you...Thank you for coming for me again, thank you for finding me."


    The two had spent countless years at each others side, they had already become dependent on each other, they needed the other to be the light in their life. If one lost the other, even if they still had their other friends, life would be mostly bleak, black with shades of gray. They wanted to say so much to each other, but just when they were about to open their mouths and continue talking, a loud crashing rang out very close to them, a shout quickly following.


    "There you are! Don''t think that I will let you simply flee like that!"


    The chubby brown-haired man that Fang Ying had been fighting, Zi Yanwu, burst through the wall that surrounded the city, a small axe in each hand, a thin layer of metal covering his entire body. His eyes were bloodshot and the flow of Qi in his body had grown stronger than before. But by looking at how chaotic his Qi had become, Fang Ying and Li Yang were able to easily guess that he must have eaten a pill to temporarily increase his strength.


    Zi Yanwu noticed Li Yang and how intimate he was currently acting with Fang Ying, but the thing he paid attention to was Li Yang''s aura. It was the same aura that had been on the spear that had hit him, meaning that it was likely this youth that had launched the attack, his vigilance swiftly rising. Zi Yanwu had indeed taken a pill, Xiong Xieren giving him the order to chase and kill Fang Ying before she managed to flee too far away. Zi Yanwu did not know what sort of other tricks Li Yang might have hidden away, so he didn''t underestimate him despite his low cultivation.


    With Zi Yanwu interrupting them, Li Yang and Fang Ying separated, wiping their tears and cleaning their faces. Fang Ying pulled out the sword she had stored away when she hurriedly left to meet with Li Yang, tilting her head at him.


    "What do you think, are you able to take him on?"


    Li Yang''s cultivation was quite a bit lower than Zi Yanwu''s, only at the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm. But she knew that one should never judge a person''s strength based on their cultivation, especially if that person was Li Yang. Li Yang finished wiping his tears, his mind had returned to its normal calm and his entire body felt as light as a feather, all his worries dissipating after meeting Fang Ying again. He looked at Zi Yanwu for a short second before shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.


    "Not a chance in hell. He can''t stop me if I want to flee, but even if I were to pull out my very last hidden trump card I would still not be able to handle him in single combat."


    Li Yang had one last trump card hidden away, one that he did not wish to use unless everything was at stake, he could activate the Demonic beast bloodline he now had after getting Jinwu''s and Shenlong''s blood. While this would drastically increase his strength, it would clearly show others exactly what Demonic beast bloodlines he had, making them chase him so that they could drain his blood.


    There was also another reason he did not wish to activate the bloodline unless he absolutely had to, his body was simply too weak to handle the strain. Activating the bloodline as he was right now would result in his body quickly breaking down if he kept it active for any period over a few seconds.


    Normally this wouldn''t be much a problem for him, but with Jinwu and Shenlong laying dormant inside his own body, his body would use the connection he had with them to draw out more of their blood to heal his body as it was breaking down. If he kept using his bloodline and drew out too much of their blood, they would die, and that was something Li Yang refused to allow. Fang Ying nodded her head, making a mental note to have Li Yang spill the beans on this hidden trump card later on.


    "It''s a good thing you''re not alone now then. We''ll do it like usual, but this time I''ll take the lead. Let''s make it nice, grand, and quick, before any more interruptions can show up."


    Fang Ying took a step forward, Li Yang''s lips curling up as he nodded his head, having Fang Ying be the one taking the lead didn''t feel all that bad. Fang Ying took her eyes off Zi Yanwu, who was happy with letting the two of them talk and waste time, it would give Xiong Xieren and the others more time to finish up their fights and chase after him. She cast a sideways glance at Langshen, nodding her head at him.


    Langshen returned the nod, raising his head and letting out a long howl. His body turned into a silver stream of energy that entered Fang Ying''s body. A silver robe covered her body as the energy entered her, the image of a howling wolf covering the back of the robe. Her silvery-white hair turned completely silver and her eyes became the same amber color as Langshen''s. She had clearly formed the same blood bond with Langshen that Li Yang had formed with Jinwu and Shenlong, allowing the two to fuse.


    Fang Ying tightly grasped her sword after the transformation was complete, stepping forward and vanishing as she teleported to the spot directly in front of Zi Yanwu, slashing down at his head. The moment she made her move, Li Yang did the same, golden fire and golden lightning bursting forth from his body as he activated both his strengthening techniques.


    He had already used quite a bit of golden fire and golden lightning today so his body was starting to complain about the strain. But since Fang Ying said she wanted to make their reunion grand, even going as far as fusing with Langshen, how could he let her down? He stepped forward and turned into a blur, the sound of rumbling thunder resounding over the area as a small shockwave spread out when he broke the speed of sound.


    He moved in a zigzagging arc around Zi Yanwu, appearing behind him and aiming a sideways kick at the left side of his waist. Zi Yanwu''s eyes grew solemn when he saw the scene, slashing the axe in his right hand upwards to intercept Fang Ying''s attack and slashing downwards with the axe in his left arm to intercept Li Yang''s kick. He covered the axe in his left hand with a reinforced layer of metal to give it the power to slice through Li Yang''s leg and surrounded the axe in his right hand with a layer of strong wind to dissipate some of the force in Fang Ying''s attack.


    Li Yang created a small plate of ice in front of kick, blocking his own attack and using the rebound force to dodge the downward slash. He then created another place of ice behind his now recoiling foot, putting more force into his foot as he kicked the plate and used the rebounding force to send his foot forward again, changing his sideways kick into a downwards kick in the process, aiming for Zi Yanwu''s wrist. At the same time, he also took the chance to chat a little with Fang Ying, not willing to wait until later.


    "I''m guessing your part of the Tian clan, since you''re wearing that robe and all?"


    Both of them had jade pieces fused into their chests that gave off a certain energy to let others with similar jade pieces know which clan or sect they were part of. But Li Yang had never really interacted with people from other clans after getting this jade piece so he didn''t know which clan had which type of energy.


    Fang Ying didn''t even bother blocking Zi Yanwu''s interception of her attack, she simply let go of her sword and threw herself forward, dodging past his axe and into Zi Yanwu''s bosom, almost as if she was trying to lay down flat on the ground. Zi Yanwu instantly realized what she would try to do, but it was too late to stop her now. The sword she had let go vanished, appearing again in her grasp and allowing her to aim a sideways slash at his stomach, responding to Li Yang while she was doing so.


    "Yup, I was picked up by one of the Tian clan elders while I was still a child, I''ve been her disciple ever since. What about you? Looking at those robes, I guess you joined the Myriad Beast sect?"


    Li Yang was still wearing the violet-furred wolf-skin robes he had custom ordered, and as robes like these were very common in the Myriad Beast sect, one could easily see why Fang Ying would make that guess.


    Faced with the two attacks coming at him, Zi Yanwu showed that he had an abundant amount of fighting experience, and that he was rather flexible despite his chubby appearance. He let go of both his axes and leaned back so far that he could touch the ground with his left hand, digging his entire fist into the ground and lowering himself so much that Fang Ying''s sword went over his body, Li Yang''s kick missing his wrist because Zi Yanwu had moved his hand slightly before digging it into the ground.


    He then used his left hand as support and kicked off the ground, both his legs lifting above his head as he did a cartwheel, his feet stomping down on Fang Ying''s sword when they touched the ground. He pulled his left hand out of the ground and gave his body half spin to the left, raising his right leg as he was doing so. He aimed a quick stomp at Fang Ying''s right elbow with his right leg and used his left arm to send out a backhanded punch aimed at Li Yang''s head.


    Li Yang stepped forward and ducked down, dodging beneath Zi Yanwu''s fist and stepping closer. He used his right arm to send a sideways punch at Zi Yanwu''s waist and his lift arm to send an upwards punch aimed at Zi Yanwu''s elbow, aiming for the two largest openings Zi Yanwu currently had. AT the same time, he also responded to Fang Ying.


    "Bzzt, wrong. I''m actually part of the Yuan clan right now, I''m wearing these robes because I got rather fond of this style of clothing while I lived in the tribe as a child. That''s a nice sword you got there, but try this one."


    While punching out, Li Yang also sent a bit of his mind into his dantian, causing his sword to come flying out like a blur, heading directly for Fang Ying. Fang Ying used her left hand to grab onto the hilt of the sword that Li Yang had sent at her, somewhat surprised when she recognized it as his old sword. But she could also see that it wasn''t the same as it was in the past, it had absorbed and fused with her poison.


    She slashed upwards at Zi Yanwu''s incoming foot, the purple wavy pattern on the sword releasing a faint light as deep purple lightning started to dance around the blade. At the same time, she responded to Li Yang and sent her Qi into the sword she was still holding in her right hand, using the special array inside it to cause the blood within Zi Yanwu''s left foot to flow in a chaotic manner.


    "It''s rather pretty, isn''t it? It was gifted to me by Master when I broke into the Immortal Rebirth realm, the array within it helps me control the blood in other cultivators who are normally too strong for me to control their blood. And oh, you''re a tribe savage, are you?"


    Zi Yanwu didn''t know what he found worse, that he was unable to get an edge over these two even after he ate a strength-enhancing pill or the fact that the two were seemingly flirting while fighting him.


    He used his law of wind to alter the direction of his right foot, turning his stomp into a sideways kick to deflect Fang Ying''s sword attack. Li Yang''s attacks were a bit more troublesome, as Fang Ying controlling the blood in his left foot made it hard for him to step aside while he dodged. In the end, he realized that he had no choice but to let one of Li Yang''s attacks hit him if he wanted to properly avoid the other.


    He covered his waist with even more reinforced metal, hastily creating a wall of wind in front of it to soften the blow as much as possible. As for his currently mid-swing left arm, he created a thick wall of wind in front of it, a loud banging sound resounding out as his fist slammed into the hardened wind, forcefully stopping his attack and causing Li Yang''s upward punch to miss him.


    Li Yang''s fist slammed into the wall of wind that Zi Yanwu had created in front of his waist, his law of ice flooding into the wind and freezing it, allowing his fist to shatter it. His punch landed on Zi Yanwu''s waist, a thunderous boom ringing out as Li Yang unleashed as much fire and lightning as he could, the metal on Zi Yanwu''s waist turning completely white from the heat, a few drops of molten metal dripping to the floor. Of course, he did not forget to respond to Fang Ying at the same time.


    "A tribe savage, eh? Just you wait till it''s just the two of us, I''ll show you just how savage I can be."


    Zi Yanwu''s eyes shot up slightly when he saw that the metal on his waist had gotten so hot that parts of it were even starting to melt. He was quietly thanking himself for not underestimating Li Yang, otherwise, he might have suffered a small wound now. Some of the lightning penetrated the metal and entered his body, but he quickly crushed the lightning with his far stronger Qi, so he didn''t suffer any damage.


    Things went far worse for his right foot, which kicked into the side of the sword that Li Yang had tossed to Fang Ying. Zi Yanwu recognized the danger, but he had to kick the sword aside, there was no way for him to block it or dodge it without touching it. His foot made contact with the side of the sword, and he did succeed in kicking it to the side, but his foot started corroding the moment it touched the purple lightning.


    The first to corrode was the flesh on his pinky toe, it turned black and simply slid off the bone, his other toes and the rest of his foot swiftly following. The poison in this sword wasn''t the same as the poison Fang Ying could use right now, it was the poison she used while she was at her peak, her strongest poison. It was only a small miscalculation, believing that even if he got poisoned he wouldn?t be affected immediately, but it was this miscalculation that led to Zi Yanwu''s downfall.


    Fang Ying let go of the white sword she was holding in her right hand, using the force of Zi Yanwu''s kick to spin her entire body around and direct a sideways slash into the waist of the panicking Zi Yanwu. The golden-purple sword dug into Zi Yanwu''s waist, Fang Ying letting go of the sword and thrusting her now empty right hand towards the other side of Zi Yanwu''s waist. The white sword he was still standing on vanished into a ripple in space, appearing in Fang Ying''s hand again, the tip of the sword piercing into Zi Yanwu''s waist and throwing all his blood into a chaotic frenzy. Despite all these actions, Fang Ying still responded to Li Yang, even letting out a cute giggle.


    "You say that as if it''s a threat, but all I''m hearing is the makings of a good time. Path''s open, make it grand."


    Li Yang immediately knew what Fang Ying meant, quickly standing up from his ducked position. Zi Yanwu was panicked and doing his best to deal with the poison in his right waist and his chaotic blood, his defenses were completely lowered. Li Yang sprung up from the ground and placed his hand on the back of Zi Yanwu''s head and channeled his law of destruction into it, taking great care to properly control it.


    His law of destruction gathered inside Zi Yanwu''s brain, forming a miniature black hole that started to devour and twist apart everything around it. Zi Yanwu''s struggle immediately ended, his expression becoming blank for a short second before his entire head imploded, sucked into the miniature black hole. Parts of his neck and shoulders were also starting to get sucked into the black hole, which used the energy contained within Zi Yanwu''s flesh to grow larger. Li Yang didn''t want this black hole to run out of control so he quickly dissipated it, causing Zi Yanwu''s mutilated body to collapse to the ground. Li Yang picked up his golden-sword, sending a smile at Fang Ying.


    "Nice, grand, and quick, just like the lady ordered. Any complaints can be taken to our customer department, but you cannot expect a response for at least a few weeks."


    Li Yang was completely at ease now that he was with Fang Ying, he could drop his perpetually cold and calm demeanor and crack a few jokes. Fang Ying put away her sword, casting a sideways glance at the corpse before undoing her fusion with Langshen and nodding her head.


    "I''m fine with waiting a few weeks if it means I can complain as much as I want."


    The two locked eyes, their faces lighting up with smiles. Li Yang stepped over Zi Yanwu''s body and was just about to open his mouth when another loud crashing sound drew his attention. Turning his heads he could see that two more groups had reached the area, one group clad in the robes of the Tian clan and one group clad in the robes of the Puppet God sect. They all had a few wounds so it was clear that they had been battling just recently. Looking at the interrupters, Li Yang only felt like cursing.


    "Oh for fuck''s sake, more of you?"


    Li Yang looked at the two groups with exasperation and annoyance, but they looked at him with a mixture of interest and shock. Fang Ying had stepped forward and was standing by his side, both of them standing over the mutilated body of Zi Yanwu, whose flesh had started falling off due to the poison. It wasn''t hard for them to guess that Li Yang was the one who had thrown the spear earlier, he had the same aura as the spear after all. And looking at the scene, it seemed like the two of them had joined forces to kill Zi Yanwu.


    They couldn''t help but wonder, was this youth the one that Fang Ying had come here to find? Li Yang''s gaze landed on Xiong Xieren, who was looking at Fang Ying with furrowed eyebrows. Xiong Xieren was about to open his mouth and say something, but Li Yang opened his mouth first.


    "If I were you, I wouldn''t look at my wife like that. It''s a real easy way to end up losing your eyes or your life."


    How could Li Yang let anyone look at Fang Ying with eyes like Xiong Xieren, eyes filled with nothing but greed and lust? He was fine with people looking at her with loving or worshipping eyes, she was the best woman in the universe after all. But looking at her with that type of lust and greed was something he would not allow. The eyes of everyone in the two groups shot up after they heard Li Yang''s words, and looking at the smile on Fang Ying''s face, it was clear to them that she didn''t reject his words. Xiong Xieren''s expression sank and he opened his mouth, but before he got the words out, he was interrupted by Fang Ying.


    "Alright, now''s not the time to cause trouble. Let''s find a more secluded place first."


    She placed her hand on Li Yang''s shoulder and nodded her head at Langshen, who let out a growl and caused space around the three of them to ripple. The three of them vanished, leaving behind not only two groups of shocked people, but also a news story that would cause quite a bit of commotion.

 106 Lets cause some chaos.

    Space a few tens of kilometers away from Xiong Xieren and Tian Zheng''s group warped slightly, Li Yang and Fang Ying appearing there. Fang Ying didn''t say anything, simply giving Langshen another nod and having him teleport the three of them further away, getting as far away from the others as possible. The three did this a few times, mostly because there was a limit to how far Langshen could teleport, especially when he had to teleport three people at once.


    After teleporting seven times in quick succession, Langshen was forced to throw in the towel, unable to call forth any more power. He was a Divine beast, but just like Jinwu and Shenlong, he was still little more than a child, there was a limit to how much power he could call forth. They were now standing on a vast plain filled with rolling hills covered in blue grass that seemed as soft as the clouds above them.


    Tian Zheng and Xiong Xieren were several hundred kilometers behind them, but Li Yang and Fang Ying still felt it was better to play it safe before they took their time chatting. Fang Ying removed the top layer of the earth around them and used one of her more acidic potions to corrode the remaining earth and form a cave. The three of them dropped into the cave, Li Yang covering the walls and top of the cave in a thin layer of ice to keep it stable, covering the top layer of ice with the earth they had put aside, creating an underground cavern. Li Yang created a few orbs of fire and had them float in the air, serving as lamps that illuminated the cave.


    Langshen laid down on the ground with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, clearly exhausted, but he still kept an eye on Li Yang, curiously and vigilantly examining him. Li Yang and Fang Ying also sat down, facing each other and taking a few seconds to simply look over their partner, relishing in their reunion. The first one to break the silence was Fang Ying, her lips curling into a sweet smile as she stretched out her arm and placed her hand on Li Yang''s head.


    "You''ve gotten shorter. You used to be about half a head taller than me, but now I''m an entire head taller than you."


    Fang Ying pat him on the head with great vigor, like a big sister comforting her younger sister. The corner of Li Yang''s mouth twitched slightly as he clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, not making an effort to push away her hand.


    "I was born in a poor tribe, what do you expect? I only got to start cultivating again three years ago, there''s a limit to how much that can make up for the years of malnourishment. Just you wait for me to finish growing, I''ll shoot right past you again."


    Fang Ying simply giggled at Li Yang and his attempts to preserve his face, completely ignoring him and continuing to pat his head and ruffle his hair, clearly very happy with the fact that she was taller than him for once. Li Yang simply rolled his eyes again, his gaze landing on the silvery-gray Langshen.


    "So that''s the Void Wolf I heard about in the past, eh, Miss Wolf Queen?"


    Right after Li Yang left his tribe, he hitched a ride with a caravan and met an old man named Xun Zhi, who ended up telling Li Yang about someone known as the Wolf Queen, a girl who had tamed a young Void Wolf and been adopted by the Tian clan. At this point, he would have to be an idiot to not realize that this Wolf Queen was, in fact, his Fang Ying.


    Fang Ying''s arm suddenly halted, her mouth twitching slightly when she heard the name Li Yang used. She had never been one for titles, especially ones that were as grand as Wolf Queen, it was almost as bad as the title she had been forced to bear in her past life. She quickly took a breath, her lips curling into a smirk as she took back her arm and softly stroked Langshen''s head.


    "Yup, his name''s Langshen, he''s been with me for years now. What''s the matter, are you jealous that I got lucky? If you ask him reeeaal nicely, he might just agree to let you pet him once or twice."


    It was incredibly rare to tame a Divine beast, forming the same blood bond like the one she had with Langshen was even rarer, it was enough to drive almost all cultivators mad with jealousy. But sadly for her, Li Yang was not like most cultivators. He raised his head high, his lips forming into a smirk of their own.


    "jealous, why would I be? Not only is my own bloodline better than his, but I also have something of my own."


    Li Yang''s current bloodline was a fusion of his human bloodline and Jinwu and Shenlong''s Divine beast bloodlines. The bloodline was a bit diluted since it contained his human blood, but it was still a tiny bit stronger than a normal Divine beast bloodline. Li Yang stretched out his arms, two golden lights flashing out from his abdomen as Jinwu and Shenlong appeared on his hands. They were still in their comatose state, Jinwu covering himself with his wings and Shenlong automatically coiling around Li Yang''s hand.


    They were comatose and didn''t release any of their energy, but Fang Ying and Langshen could still easily tell just how strong their bloodlines were. It was easy to tell what sort of Divine beast Shenlong was, but Fang Ying found herself unable to tell just what sort of Divine beast Jinwu was. His golden eyes were closed since he was in a comatose state, meaning that she could only see his black feathers and the blue tips of his wings, and she knew of no bird-type Divine beast with traits like that.


    "Who are these two? Tell me everything."


    Ignoring the fact that both of them were comatose, the fact that they were residing within Li Yang''s dantian meant that they had an incredibly close bond. She didn''t tell him, but this fact actually made her very happy. In their past life, Li Yang had never made any other friends after he became friends with Zhao Feng and the others, it simply didn''t seem like he had any interest in making any more friends. She was afraid that it would be the same in this life, so knowing that he had gotten this close to someone else, even if they were Divine beasts, made her very happy. Li Yang returned the two sleeping Divine beasts to his dantian, a light smile appearing on his face as he reminisced.


    "It''s a long story, so you better prepare yourself."


    Li Yang had known Jinwu for three years and Shenlong for two, and even though this couldn''t be considered long, they had done a lot of things together. Li Yang started from the beginning, telling Fang Ying about the tribe he had been born, about the two people of the Liang tribe that he considered friends, Liang Xinyi and Liang Zhou, how he met Jinwu and ended up regaining his memories.


    He told her every little detail of his life so far, every little thing that he had done and seen. Fang Ying couldn''t help but let out a burst of laughter when she heard about how Li Yang had traveled through the hidden realm that Zhao Feng and the others had left behind, and then she let out a long breath when she heard about how he killed Jing Yimu. After Li Yang finished telling her everything, Fang Ying let out another deep breath.


    "So Xue''er is buried there? I want to go visit her once we leave this place, will you accompany me?"


    Fang Ying had been inside the hidden realm left behind by Zhao Feng, but she had never entered the place where their previous daughter, Fang Xue''er was buried, so she had no idea she was there. Li Yang nodded his head, stretching out his arm as a purple light flashed out from his dantian.


    "I''ll accompany you wherever you want to go, you already know that. Here, she should be with you, she wanted to be with you."


    The comatose Huanglong appeared in Li Yang''s palm, automatically coiling around his arm like Shenlong had. Huanglong was the other half of Shenlong, the one that was born after Fang Ying''s remaining poison fused with the energy of a dragon corpse. If she was with Fang Ying, she would be able to grow much faster and unleash more might than she could if she was with Li Yang. He had also asked her about this right after he picked up her and Shenlong so he had already received her approval.


    She was comatose now after joining Shenlong in giving Li Yang some of their blood, but just like he would wake up the other two, he would wake up her one day as well. Fang Ying stretched out her arm and grabbed a gentle hold of Huanglong, holding her close as she looked at her with caring eyes. How could she not look at her with care, Huanglong was born of her energy, she could almost be considered her daughter.


    There was also the fact that Huanglong had joined Shenlong in giving Li Yang some of their blood, allowing him to greatly strengthen his body and cultivation. Fang Ying brought Huanglong up to her abdomen, absorbing her into her dantian and keeping her safe inside her own body, something she could do thanks to the fact that Huanglong was born of her blood and energy. After Fang Ying put away Huanglong, Li Yang checked his interspatial ring, suddenly slapping his forehead.


    "Ah shit, I forgot to pick up that man''s interspatial ring before we ran away."


    Li Yang had remembered to pick up his golden sword again, but he had completely forgotten to snatch Zi Yanwu''s interspatial ring. Zi Yanwu was at the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, there was no telling how many resources he might have that Li Yang could use. Fang Ying couldn''t help but burst out giggling after hearing Li Yang''s complaint, wiping the edge of her eye.


    "The grand and mighty Thunder Monarch complaining that he forgot to snatch the interspatial ring of someone at the Immortal Rebirth realm. I wonder what the people you knew in the past would feel if they heard this."


    Li Yang''s statement and Fang Ying''s giggling served to lighten up the atmosphere that had turned somewhat somber after Li Yang had told her about his life so far. Li Yang rolled his eyes once more, clicking his tongue.


    "Well excuse me for not being the princess of some large clan, resources don''t just drop into my lap, I gotta take everything I can get."


    Fang Ying''s giggling only grew louder when she heard Li Yang''s sulking, turning from giggling to full blown laughter. Having reunited with Li Yang, she felt better than she had done for several years, laughing simply came naturally to her. She wiped the corners of her eyes again, swiping her own interspatial ring and stretching out her arm.


    "Well, you''re in luck, I''m not as forgetful as you."


    A yellow ring appeared between Fang Ying''s fingers, Zi Yanwu''s interspatial ring. She said that she wasn''t as forgetful, but it was, in fact, Langshen that had snatched the ring just before leaving, she herself had completely forgotten about the ring thanks to Li Yang''s presence. But of course, there was no need for her to tell Li Yang this, and Langshen certainly wasn''t planning on selling her out. Li Yang looked at the rings, a smile forming on his lips.


    "Did I ever tell you how wonderful you are?"


    Li Yang accepted the ring, rolling it around in his palm while looking at Fang Ying. He was in dire need of resources to cultivate his three different systems, so losing this ring would have been quite a loss to him. Fang Ying nodded her head with a self-satisfied expression, raising her head slightly.


    "You did, but feel free to keep telling me."


    Li Yang didn''t say anything, the two of them starting to search through the ring and organizing its contents. There weren''t as many resources as Li Yang hoped for in the ring, it was mostly filled with various types of medicines that could be used to cure wounds, poisons, or restore Qi. They did, however, find a jade slip that Xiong Xieren had filled with orders on what Zi Yanwu was to do in regards to the Ocean God''s Graveyard. After reading the orders, the light of understanding flashed in Fang Ying''s eyes.


    "This should be why Xiong Xieren wanted us to leave the Cloud God''s Garden, he probably didn''t want news of the Ocean God''s Graveyard to spread. If others were to know that it was opening, there is no telling how much chaos it would cause."


    Fang Ying saw that Li Yang was a bit lost so she quickly told him everything she knew about the Cloud God''s Garden and the Ocean God''s Graveyard, giving him a somewhat better image of how big of a deal it was. Li Yang slowly understood, weighing the jade slip in his hand as his lips slowly curled up.


    "Chaos you say? Well then, how about wego about setting a bit of chaos into motion?"


    Fang Ying understood what he meant. It was unlikely that they could sneak into the Ocean God''s Graveyard and steal some resources from the Puppet God sect if it was just the two of them. But if they spread these news and alerted all the other clans and sects, there would be so many people coming that it would be far easier for them to sneak in. Fang Ying''s lips also curled up slightly, one of her hands swiping her interspatial ring and taking out a jade used for communication. The two had only been reunited for around a day, yet they were already going to cause chaos, it truly reminded her of the past, ti was almost as if they had never been separated.

 107 Opening of the Ocean Gods Graveyard.

    Fang Ying had quite a few contacts in the Tian clan, her communication jade carrying the marks of almost all the disciples that entered this competition. And these people, in turn, would have contacts of their own in both the Tian clan and the other clans and sects. All she had to do was send out one or two messages which would then end up being spread further and further, each new person that learned of the news would send them along, causing it to spread even faster.


    Li Yang had nowhere near as many connections as Fang Ying, there was only one mark in his communication jade, only one person he could contact. And that person was Xiang Wuying, a Yuan clan disciple that hadn''t even entered this competition. As such, Li Yang spread the message in a different, but much simpler fashion, he sent the news directly to the Yuan clan using the jade that they had fused into his chest. The Yuan clan could not afford to disregard news like this so they notified the other disciples in the competition, having all of them check the validity of the news.


    According to Fang Ying, Tian Zheng or the others had yet to send over any news about the Ocean God''s Graveyard, so they either didn''t know or they had come to an agreement. Even if they had come to an agreement to work together, Li Yang didn''t really care. He would throw any wrench he could into their plans, and it would be and Fang Ying who snagged all the best resources from the Ocean God''s Graveyard.


    The news quickly spread, every single person in the hidden realm quickly learning about the opening of the Ocean God''s Graveyard. And what spread along with the news was utter chaos, countless cultivators rushing to Cloud King city so that they could head to the Cloud God''s Garden. The Ocean God''s Graveyard was what had allowed the Tian clan to take the top position among all the clans, none of the clans and sects would allow their disciples to miss this occasion.


    Of course, an added benefit of this chaos was that even if Tian Zheng and Xiong Xieren had made some type of agreement, they would most likely be forced to break it now. If Tian Zheng gave up on the Ocean God''s Graveyard and helped Xiong Xieren and the Puppet God Sect, he would be branded a traitor to the Tian clan the moment they learned of it, he had no choice but to compete with Xiong Xieren the moment the Ocean God''s Graveyard fully opened.


    As for Li Yang and Fang Ying, none of the chaos affected them in the slightest. Fang Ying knew where the Ocean God''s Graveyard was located so there was no need for the two of them to locate a map first, they could quietly wait for it to fully open. Only after it opened could they enter it and figure out what to do next, after all, neither of them actually knew what to expect inside the Ocean God''s graveyard, the only other time it had ever opened was many years ago.


    As such, right after sending out the news about the Ocean God''s Graveyard, Fang Ying grabbed onto Li Yang''s hand and the two left the underground cave they had created. Fang Ying chose their direction, saying that she had something she wanted to show him in the place where they were supposed to originally meet. They walked hand in hand, keeping a leisure gait as they took their time, Langshen sauntering a bit behind them.


    Li Yang had already told Fang Ying about his life after he was reborn so now it was her time to tell him what she had experienced. She told him about her life in the valley village where she met Langshen and was then picked up by her master, she told him about her somewhat challenging first years in the Tian clan, about the hunting mission where she had awakened her past memories, as well as about all the things she had done to look for him.


    With their cultivation, even a leisure gait made it so that they moved faster than a galloping horse, it only took them a little over two days to reach the spot that Fang Ying had picked out for their meeting. The place she had picked was rather close to the eastern edge of the Cloud God''s Garden, only about two days walk away from the actual edge of the continent, it could easily be reached if one followed one of the countless rivers that meandered across the continent.


    This part of the continent was covered in a vast ocean that was as blue as the sky above them, not a single cloud visible over the ocean. But strangely enough, despite going all the way to the edge of the continent, none of the water fell over the edge, it seemed to be held in place by some strange force. There were several small islands dotting the ocean, Fang Ying leading Li Yang to one of the smaller islands, no larger than a hundred meters across. The island was covered in small orange flowers that waved about in the gentle ocean breeze, making for quite a captivating sight.


    Fang Ying swiped her interspatial ring, a completely open and circular pavilion made from white wood appearing in front of the two. The pavilion didn''t have any decorations or engravings and it only held a single table in the center, a circular bench encircling the table. Li Yang looked at the pavilion, letting his hand slide over the wood, which had been neatly polished and cleaned.


    "You prepared one of these, huh? It really has been a while since we got to use one."


    When the two of them had first met, Fang Ying had been sitting in a pavilion just like this one. It was in pavilions just like this one that the two of them had spent quite a long time together, sometimes spending days or even weeks just sitting in one, just enjoying the presence of each other without saying a single word. Fang Ying also traced the pavilion, a gentle smile on her face as she sat down by the table and took out a small clay jug and two glasses.


    "Of course I prepared one. Unlike you, I know how to prepare properly ahead of time. Come, I think you''ll enjoy this one."


    Li Yang didn''t comment on her statement, sitting down on the other side of the table, accepting one of the glasses, which Fang Ying had filled with a light red wine that released the faint scent of apples. Langshen looked at the two entering the pavilion, rolling his eyes for a short moment before vanishing into a ripple in space, checking out the surrounding islands. Li Yang sipped the wine, his eyes opening wide when he recognized the flavor.


    "Old Man Chao''s wine? Is that old goat still kicking?"


    The taste of this wine was exceedingly familiar to him, he had drunk it with Zhao Feng and the others quite a bit in the past. The only one who had been able to make the wine was a wrinkly old man called Situ Chao, but they simply called him Old Man Chao due to his wrinkly appearance and unknown age. Fang Ying finished her cup of wine in a single sip, looking at the scene in front of her with a content smile.


    "No, I don''t think he still lives, I haven''t heard anything at least. This wine is a replica I had the best winemaker in the Tian clan make. She was rather annoyed at how much I pestered her, but it ended up pretty good in the end, almost the exact same as in the past."


    She poured herself another cup, filling up Li Yang''s again at the same time. Both of them proceeded to savor the wine and the scenery, none of them needing to say a word, just their presence was enough for the other. The hours quietly passed, Fang Ying pointing towards the edge of the continent once the sun started setting.


    "Look, that''s what I wanted to show you. Familiar, isn''t it?"


    Li Yang turned his head slightly, his gaze landing on the scenery Fang Ying wanted to show him. The sun was just moving below the edge of the continent, the orange light dyeing the ocean and the sky a deep orange. The sky and the ocean blended together, the line between the two of them becoming completely indistinguishable. Li Yang looked at the scene with a soft expression, his expression somewhat distant.


    "Of course it''s familiar. We killed Su Qing on a planet that looked just like this area. What was it called again, Ocean''s Heart?"


    Ocean''s Heart had been one of the stranger planets they had ever visited, it was a completely square ocean just floating through the universe, a large sun rotating around it. As for Su Qing, she had been a very strong cultivator who had wounded Bai Yawen and Ye Ning in a battle. He and Fang Ying had tracked her down and killed her after having chased her over several planets. Fang Ying''s lips curled up slightly, her eyes staring intently at Li Yang.


    "Bzzt, wrong. We killed Su Qing on the Western Sun planet, the one controlled by those strange fire porcupines. There was something else that took place on Ocean''s Heart planet, I''m sure you''ll remember it if you just give it a bit more thought."


    Li Yang rolled his eyes slightly, thinking back to the past in an attempt to remember what she was talking about. After a bit of time, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he remembered things properly.


    "Right, that did happen on Ocean''s Heart."


    Fang Ying''s lips curled up even more as she leaned on the table and pushed her face closer to Li Yang, who in return turned his head to the side, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. Fang Ying tilted her head slightly, continuing to push with a faint smile.


    "Come on now, tell me, just what happened on Ocean''s Heart?"


    Li Yang glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, trying to come up with some sort of excuse. In the end, he could only let out a sigh and down his cup of wine.


    "It was on Ocean''s Heart that you beat me in a duel for the first time."


    The two frequently dueled each other, it was a good way for them to test out new moves and see if they had any weaknesses. But as Li Yang had been more suited for combat, he had won most of the duels. But the duel on Ocean''s Heart became his first loss, quite a bad one too, it could be said to be a stain on his previously stellar achievement. Fang Ying''s face bloomed into a faintly victorious smile, filling up Li Yang''s cup with some more wine while talking.


    "Yup yup, quite badly too, you didn''t even stand a chance from the start, did you? If I remember correctly, you never even got to land a hit on me, am I wrong?"


    The loss could only be called disastrous. There was no need to even talk about landing a hit on her, he hadn''t even been able to touch the hem of her robes before losing. Li Yang drank some of the wine, clicking his tongue in defiance.


    "Tch, that''s only because you cheated. Had we fought like normal, I would have won."


    Fang Ying had won because the moment the battle started she had used her poison to have all the living beings in the ocean beneath them to enter a frenzied state, just barely having them listen to her orders. Facing the simultaneous attack of all the living beings on a planet was too much, especially for the caught off-guard Li Yang. Fang Ying burst into a light giggle when she heard his response and saw his pouting face, pouring herself some more wine.


    "Don''t whine just because you didn''t think about using the terrain to your advantage, a win is a win."


    Had Li Yang just been given a second to react, he could have used his lightning to kill everything living in the ocean beneath them, rendering Fang Ying''s efforts moot. Fang Ying leaned even closer, looking intently at Li Yang while slightly tilting her head.


    "Or what are you saying, do you wanna have a duel right here and now? You were always so adamant about neither of us ever holding back, so I''ll make sure to treat you, someone who can''t even tell me his location, really gently and thoroughly."


    Only now did Li Yang understand why she had insisted on meeting here and digging up that shameful loss of his, it was because he hadn''t told her his location when he sent her the messages. Truly, a woman was a being that would hold a grudge. Li Yang could only raise his arms in defeat and do his best to placate the beast in front of him, the days quickly passing while he was appeasing Fang Ying.


    A week after the two reached the promised spot and sat down in the pavilion, the seal on the Ocean God''s Graveyard had reached its weakest point, it would temporarily vanish in a few days. Fang Ying and Li Yang put away the pavilion, Langshen joining them again before the three of them headed for the location of the Ocean God''s Graveyard.


    The Ocean God''s Graveyard''s location was actually rather close to their current location, only a three day run away. It was located in the vast ocean that made up the eastern part of the continent, the only sign that something was strange about the area being countless glowing runes that formed a massive array. Normally these runes would be hidden, but as the seal was weakening, the runes became visible, marking the location of the Ocean God''s Graveyard.


    Fang Ying and Li Yang were sitting in the air high above the runes, using a piece of solidified space as a platform they could sit on. Five days after their arrival, the last of the light-green runes vanished, a massive whirlpool appearing in the ocean, sucking in everything in the surroundings. Li Yang and Fang Ying could feel that there was a thin membrane of space located at the halfway point of the whirlpool, there was clearly another hidden realm located past that membrane, the actual Ocean God''s Graveyard. The moment the last rune vanished, the expressions of Li Yang and Langshen changed slightly, turning solemn. Fang Ying, not having felt what they had, quickly questioned them.


    "What is it?"


    Li Yang didn''t immediately respond, his eyes narrowing as his gaze nearly drilled a hole into the whirlpool. After a short moment of silence, the corners of his mouth curved up slightly.


    "Divine Beasts, several of them even. They probably forgot to hide the aura of their blood after having been locked up here for so long. They retracted their auras as quickly as they could, but I was still able to sense them thanks to my own bloodline."


    He had sensed the auras of several Divine Beasts the moment the last seal vanished. He hadn''t been able to check how strong they were, they had pulled back their auras too fast for that. But he had been able to sense at least six different auras, meaning that there were at least six different Divine Beasts within the Ocean God''s Graveyard, a rather incredible number. Li Yang''s lips curved up further, revealing his sharp canine teeth as his smile turned ferocious.


    "Ying''er, those Divine Beasts, I need as much of their Essence Blood as possible. With it, I should be able to awaken Jinwu and the Shenlong twins."


    It would be a while before Li Yang could kill a cultivator at the Celestial Immortal realm and steal his Essence Blood, so he thought he would have to wait for quite a while before he could wake up Jinwu and Shenlong again. But now, with the presence of several Divine beasts confirmed, he could kill them and harvest their Essence Blood for Jinwu and Shenlong. Fang Ying nodded her head, her brows furrowing slightly.


    "You say that, but I don''t think just the two of us are enough to take on several Divine Beats."


    They didn''t know just how strong these Divine Beasts were, but no matter how low their cultivation was, they would still be Divine Beasts, killing them would not be easy. Li Yang continued to smile, stretching out his arm and pointing at the countless groups of people that had gathered around the whirlpool.


    "Why should we do it with just the two of us? There''s plenty of people here, I refuse to believe that not one of them will be drawn to the Divine Beasts and try to fight them out of greed. With so many people here, I expect that the Divine Beasts are going to have quite a rough time."

 108 Silver Dragon Prince.

    Li Yang and Fang Ying stayed on their platform above the whirlpool, waiting for the larger groups to send in scouts to check if it was safe to enter the whirlpool. Once the other groups received the reports from their scouts that it was safe, they sent in everyone else. Countless people jumped into the whirlpool, vanishing past the thin membrane of space and entering the Ocean God''s Graveyard. Once most of the people had entered the whirlpool, Li Yang and Fang Ying stood up, flashing each other a quick smile.


    "Once again, off we go."


    "Let''s stir up some trouble."


    How many times hadn''t the two of them said these words before entering hidden realms or other dangerous locations? To finally get to say them again, it filled both of them with boundless joy. They both stepped off the platform and plummeted downwards, directly into the whirlpool, holding hands just in case the whirlpool tried to separate them. Langshen quickly followed after them, stepping into a ripple in space and appearing directly above the whirlpool, all three of them entering it at the same time.


    They felt a strong force tear at them while they were passing through the upper portion of the whirlpool, but it vanished the moment they passed through the spatial membrane. There was no flash of light or cocoon of space, they simply appeared in a completely different place the moment they passed through the membrane.


    Directly beneath them was a large island, a vast city covering the entire island. The city was built almost like a pyramid, the closer you got to the center of the city the more elevated it became, a hexagonal palace made from ocean blue stone standing at the tallest part of the city. The island was surrounded by a vast ocean that spread out as far as the eye could see, various islands that had different environments spread out all over the area.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying were currently falling towards the city, giving them a good view of the surrounding ocean. They could see several shadows within the water, some as small as a person while others were as large as some of the islands, several kilometers in each direction. Clearly, one had to be very careful if they wanted to traverse this ocean and move from island to island. They could see that the other people who had entered the Ocean God''s Graveyard before them were currently within the city beneath them so it seemed like everyone would end up in this location upon entering this place.


    The two glanced at each other before nodding their heads, pushing each other slightly so that their direction changed. Rather than fall towards the eastern outskirts of the city, they were now falling towards the southern outskirts of the city, a bit away from the other people. Langshen let out a subdued howl as they were a short distance away from the city, surrounding the three of them in a thin cocoon of space and teleporting them directly down to the city, saving them the trouble of having to decrease their speed before landing.


    The two inspected their surroundings after arriving in the city, checking out the buildings and the road beneath them. The roads followed a spiraling pattern around the entire city, tilting upwards so that it could follow the elevation of the city. The murky blue buildings followed a rather strange architecture, they were all perfectly square and the same size, slowly growing larger as one got closer to the center of the city. They looked like large building blocks that had been hollowed out and spread around to form a city. After inspecting their surroundings, Li Yang glanced at Fang Ying out of the corner of his eye.


    "Do you want to follow the other groups to the palace at the center of the city or should we check out some of the other islands first? No point in going after the Divine Beasts just yet, it''s better to wait for the other people to discover them and form groups to take them down."


    Li Yang had only discovered the Divine Beasts thanks to his bloodline, it would take a bit of time for the others without Divine Beasts bloodlines to discover the Divine Beasts. Trying to find the Divine Beasts now would only lead to him and Fang Ying having to spend a lot of time waiting for the others to find them, it was better to spend their time searching for resources and increasing their strength. Fang Ying tapped her chin slightly, her gaze moving between the palace at the center and the other islands in the distance, her lips slowly curving up into a teasing smile as she glanced at Li Yang.


    "Let''s head for the center tower first, the best resources should be there. If we don''t increase your strength there''s a chance that you''ll just drop dead at the first signs of battle."


    Li Yang''s cultivation was currently only at the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, and while he did have the strength of someone at the Soaring Immortal strength, it was indeed a little low, especially when they had no idea what sort of enemies they might face. Li Yang looked at Fang Ying''s smile, clicking his tongue.


    "Tch, you can only say that because you''re three years older than me. Had we been born at the same time I guarantee that my cultivation would be higher than yours, even with you being the favorite of the Tian clan."


    Fang Ying wasn''t just three years younger than him, she had awakened her memories three years before him as well, giving her plenty of time to increase her strength. She was also a member of the Tian clan, the resources she had access to were far better than Li Yang''s. Fang Ying giggled lightly, grabbing hold of Li Yang''s hand and following the road to the center of the city, waving her free hand in a nonchalant manner.


    "Right right, whatever makes you sleep better at night. Don''t worry, I''ll make sure to protect you from all the scary people."


    --


    Located at the center of the Cloud Wilderness, the largest wilderness and one of the five most deadly places on this planet, was a massive city. The city mixed a wide variety of architectures, some buildings were made from normal material, some buildings were built directly into the trees, while other buildings were constructed inside mountains located around the city. This city was known as Myriad Roars city, the capital of the Demon race, the rulers of the Cloud Wilderness.


    The people of the Demon race were in fact just people born between a Demonic beast and a human, most of them weren''t all that different from normal humans. But they had still gathered together here in the heart of the Cloud Wilderness, forming a nation of their own that lived in relative harmony with the Demonic beasts of the Cloud Wilderness, neither hunting the other.


    At the northern end of the city stood a tall and thick tree, almost resembling a pillar that connected the earth with the clouds. Built amidst the crown of this tree was a large rectangular mansion that was a deep silver in color, glimmering in the light of the sun. A wrinkly orange-haired man was making his way through the hallways of the mansion, which were carpeted with a golden carpet made from a soft type of fur that had been shed by a rather rare Demonic beast known as the Gold-Furred Tree King.


    The man stopped in front of an ornate door carved with the images of a Nine-Tailed Fox and a Green Dragon gazing at a distant moon. The man kneeled in front of the door and lowered is head, speaking out in a low voice.


    "My prince, some of our spies have sent back an important report."


    This man was the spymaster of the man residing in this mansion, the Silver Dragon Prince of the Demon race. Unlike his brother, the Golden Dragon Prince, the Silver Dragon Prince seemingly had no interest in taking over as the ruler of the Demon race, he focused all his time on cultivation and gathering information. The Demon race didn''t interact much with humans, they didn''t even have that many scouts or spies in the human race. It was only after the Silver Dragon Prince started to grow up that the Demon race sent out more spies and gathered more information about the human race, all based on the orders of the Silver Dragon Prince. The spymaster didn''t have to wait long for a response, the door swinging open of its own.


    "You may enter."


    The room beyond the door was a very simple circular room, it only contained a single chair and a small table. Other than this chair and table, every other inch of the room was filled with books, only a small path from the door to the room free of books. Sitting in the chair was a handsome youth with a somewhat burly body and chiseled features, he had silver hair tied into a neat bun and piercing golden eyes filled with a tranquil pride. The Silver Dragon Prince put aside the book he was currently reading, looking at his spymaster while taking a sip from the jar of wine placed on the table next to the chair.


    "Alright, Old Shisen, what have you got for me?"


    The words of the Silver Dragon Prince were calm and casual, but just listening to them made it feel like they were digging into your very soul. The spymaster, Old Shisen, quickly stood up and entered the room, kneeling again in front of the chair and delivering his report.


    "The spies we placed into the clans and sects have reported that the Ocean God''s Graveyard has opened once more. Countless people have already flooded into it, some of our people among them."


    The Silver Dragon Prince gave a slight nod of his head, but he didn''t seem too interested in the news. He knew about the Ocean God''s Graveyard and how significant it was for it to open, but since they already had spies amongst the people that had entered the place, he didn''t care too much about it. Old Shisen quickly continued his report, giving as many details as he could.


    "The Puppet God sect tried to hide this information and keep it for themselves, but thanks to a girl from the Tian clan and a boy from the Yuan clan, the information was quickly spread. This is one of the stranger parts of the information. The girl is called Fang Ying, the princess of the Tian clan and the fiancee of Tian Zheng, and before sending out the news to everyone she could, she fled from Tian Zheng with another man, the other person who spread the news. The boy''s name is Li Yang and our spies say he is from the Yuan clan, but he doesn''t have any grand status in the clan, he didn''t even get one of the guaranteed tokens to enter the competition, he won his in one of the smaller tournaments. According to the spies, the two fled practically as quickly as they met each other, one of the spies in the Tian clan even said that it looked like Fang Ying loved this boy."


    Old Shisen stopped talking and raised his head slightly, his eyes opening wide when he saw that the Silver Dragon Prince had crushed the cup he had been holding, the wine staining his silver robe. The Silver Dragon Prince looked at Old Shisen with a piercing gaze, quickly speaking.


    "These two people, do you have a description of them? Any images? Anything?"


    Old Shishen had never seen the Silver Dragon Prince this agitated, he had always been calm and cool, no one able to understand what was hiding behind his faint smile. He didn''t dare waste any time, quickly taking out a jade orb and filling it with his Qi.


    "We have an image of both of them, it was taken mere moments before the two of them fled from Tian Zheng and Xiong Xieren."


    The jade orb lit up, using Qi to draw an image in the air above it. The image showed Li Yang and Fang Ying right after killing Zi Yanwu, right after the people from the Tian clan and the Puppet God sect arrived. Clearly, one of the people in the two groups had been a spy for the Demon race and had used a special jade to capture the scenery in front of him. The Silver Dragon Prince looked at the image, his mouth twitching for a bit before he suddenly broke out into loud laughter.


    "Hahaha! I knew it! I fucking knew it! Seems like it''s time for things to get lively again now, eh?! That''s three down, only three to go!"


    The Silver Dragon Prince stood up from his seat, a wide smile covering his entire face. He completely ignored the stunned look on Old Shisen''s face, storing the jug of wine on the table into his interspatial ring and stepping over the books to leave the room, waving for Old Shishen to follow him.


    "Old Shishen, prepare our backchannels and do whatever it takes, I want to be part of that competition before this day is over!"


    Old Shishen was even more stunned upon hearing this. The Silver Dragon Prince, who seemingly found conflict distasteful, was going to take part in the Huo clan competition? But Old Shishen could not go against the orders of his prince, he quickly nodded his head and got to work. The news quickly spread through the city, and before long, everyone knew that the Silver Dragon Prince, Zhao Feng, was on the move.

 109 Palace garden.

    Li Yang and Fang Ying weren''t in much of a rush, they took their time as they walked, curiously inspecting the city around them. It wasn''t often that one could enter a place like this so even Langshen was curiously looking at the surroundings while walking, using his sharp nose to see if he could sniff out any resources. After they had spent a few hours walking, Li Yang glanced at one of the surrounding buildings and spoke up.


    "Hey, Ying''er, have you noticed?"


    While speaking, Li Yang let his finger run along the wall of the closest building, tracing the edges of one of the windows. Fang Ying looked at the building he was glancing at, nodding her head and casting a sweeping glance at the other surrounding buildings.


    "Yeah, it really is a rather curious thing. All the buildings seem to have been carved out of a single massive rock, most of them likely created using the bare minimum of strokes. I''m not sure if that palace is the same, but if it is the same as these buildings then the one who made this place is truly skilled."


    All the buildings they had seen so far didn''t have any signs that they were made up of several smaller stones, causing the two of them to guess that the houses might have been made by someone using the law of stone or the law of earth. But when they gave the houses a few closer looks, they saw traces along the edges of the houses that showed that they had been carved into this shape using a very sharp weapon. They also saw that some of the buildings had natural markings like cracks or spots of different coloration that suddenly stopped at the edge of the house and then started again on the edge of the next house.


    For it to be like this, the only explanation was that these houses were once part of the same greater whole. And looking at how many buildings were sharing such natural markings, it was likely that all the buildings they had seen so far were once part of the same greater whole, either a massive rock or a large mountain. Li Yang nodded his head, looking through the window and into the house.


    "Yeah, whoever did it was probably on the same level as the past us, they might even have been at a higher level. I also wonder where all the people in this city went, it seems like they just suddenly left, or vanished."


    In the past, the most dextrous and artistically inclined one of Li Yang''s friends, Ye Ning, would have been able to carve a mountain into a city using his dextrous skill with the sword. But he would not be able to do it as neatly as the one who had carved this city, there would be quite a few places where he would have ended up leaving a mark, like a chip in the stone or a slight tilt in the cut. This fact, coupled with the number of Divine Beasts he had sensed here earlier, made Li Yang grow more and more curious about this Ocean God''s Graveyard.


    Fang Ying nodded her head and followed his gaze, seeing what appeared to be a dining room, a short rectangular table surrounded by five chairs. There were plates and cups still standing on the table, some brown mushrooms growing out of what appeared to be the ancient remains of food on the plates. Two of the cups contained what appeared to be wine while the other three contained a clear liquid that smelled like sweet fruit, all of them untouched. It seemed like the people who had once lived here had simply left after setting up the dining table.


    This house wasn''t the only one that contained this strange scene, all the other houses they had entered and examined were the same. The closest still contained the rotting remains of clothes, there were items such as tools and weapons hanging on some walls, what appeared to be the remains of leather shoes still remained in the entrances of the houses. It seemed like the people here had simply disappeared while preparing for their day, which was why Li Yang corrected himself to say that they might have vanished.


    The two of them spent two days following the roads before finally arriving in front of the blue hexagonal palace, which they now saw actually had a small golden orb-like building located on the ceiling, a small spire sticking up from the orb. The entire palace was surrounded by a tall stone wall covered in runes Li Yang had never seen before, a blooming garden just barely visible through the bars of the metal gates.


    There were quite a few people gathered up in front of the gates, several of them closely inspecting the runes that covered the walls and gates. From the looks of it, an array seemed to be sealing up the palace, the people here currently busy with trying to break through the array. Li Yang and Fang Ying saw a few places on the gates which were scratched out, the marks appearing very recent, so it seemed like they were making rather good progress in breaking the array.


    The two of them attracted quite a bit of attention when they arrived, Fang Ying was the princess of the Tian clan after all. Seeing the princess, and future wife of Tian Zheng, walking hand in hand with another unknown man, how could these people not help but stare? Of course, there were some people here that were enemies of Tian Zheng so they were perfectly fine with seeing him cucked like this. The moment the two of them arrived, someone called out to them.


    "Junior Sister Ying! I''m so glad you entered this place as well!"


    A man with silky black hair who looked to be in his twenties and was clad in the robes of the Tian clan pushed his way through the crowd of people that had gathered up in front of the gates, running over to Fang Ying with a bright smile. There were a few other people here clad in the robes of the Tian clan, but they didn''t follow the running man, they simply looked at Li Yang with narrowed eyes. The man ran forward and reached for Fang Ying''s hand, glaring at Li Yang.


    "Come, Junior Sister Ying, you must leave that fiend. Senior Brother Zheng left for a different island, but I''m sure we can still catch up to him if we leave now. He misses you oh so much, so you best retur...!"


    Li Yang got enough of the youth''s mindless dribble before he even finished his sentence. He let go of Fang Ying''s hand and took a step forward, grabbing onto the outstretched wrist of the youth with his left hand and then stepping into the youth''s bosom and driving his right elbow into the chest of the youth.


    His elbow unleashed an explosive burst of fire that threw the youth backward, but since Li Yang was holding onto his wrist he didn''t get very far. Li Yang used the momentum that the youth had gained to give his own body half a twist to the left, the youth dragged along as Li Yang was performing the motion. The moment Li Yang completed the half-twist, he let go of the youth''s wrist, flinging him into the wall that surrounded the palace and launching a second attack.


    The youth crashed into the wall but didn''t leave as much as a scratch on it. The moment he crashed into the wall, Li Yang''s second attack reached him. Arm-thick spikes of ice grazed the youth''s skin before striking the wall and shattering, the small fragments landing on his arms and freezing, crucifying him to the wall, blood leaking out from the sides of his lips.


    After dealing with the youth in a swift and brutal manner, Li Yang swept his narrowed eyes over the other people that had gathered there, lightning and fire dancing within his pupils while a chilly mist started to coil around him. His eyes eventually stopped on the group of the Tian clan, the corners of his lips curling into a sneer that contained hints of a challenging intent.


    "Ying''er is MY wife, she has nothing to do with that wastrel you call your future patriarch. You can try to take her back to him, but the next time anyone here makes a move on her, I won''t be as merciful as I was just now."


    Some might consider his words to be arrogant and outrageous, but the strength he had shown was the real deal. The youth that had run up was only at the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, but he was after all chosen by the Tian clan to take part in this competition, he could be considered somewhat of a genius. For Li Yang, who was only at the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm to manhandle him like that, the spectators were able to guess that he likely had the strength of someone at the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, he might even have more strength hidden away.


    The one who seemed to be the leader of this group of Tian clan disciples, a slightly wrinkly pink-haired woman that had reached the middle stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, gave Li Yang a sideways glance, waving her hand to get one of the other disciples to free the crucified one.


    "You can speak grandly all you want, our Young Master will still come to reclaim his fiancee in the future. I would like to see if you are still going to be so arrogant then."


    She was downright furious that Li Yang had dared call Tian Zheng a wastrel, but she knew that there was nothing she could do now. She might be able to get the upper hand in a battle against him, but Li Yang had Fang Ying and Langshen at his side, her side would lose heavily should they try to fight. Li Yang raised an eyebrow at the woman, opening his mouth to respond when he was suddenly interrupted by a scoffing sound coming from Fang Ying.


    "Reclaim his fiancee? I have never agreed to become his future wife, you simply decided that I would love the arrangement and settled the matter between yourselves. Let me make it clear here then. This is my husband, Li Yang, I will never marry Tian Zheng."


    After speaking, Fang Ying grabbed onto Li Yang and pulled him close, planting a deep kiss on his lips, as if she was underlining her words while simultaneously marking her territory. The mouth of the pink-haired woman twitched furiously when she saw this, but a few of the other people looking at the spectacle whistled loudly to cheer them on, taking this chance to mock the Tian clan a little.


    By saying these words here, she made certain that no matter what happened, everyone would know that Fang Ying belonged to Li Yang, not even the mighty Tian clan could change that fact. After Fang Ying ended the kiss and pulled away from him, Li Yang gave his lips a quick lick before they curled into a disdainful smile.


    "You''d like to see if I can still be arrogant when I meet Tian Zheng? Heh, all he will be is another person joining the long list of people I''ve already killed. And if I had to rank him on that list, he would be pretty close to the bottom. My arrogance remained strong even in the face of the heavens, it''ll take far more than just a little wastrel to crack it."


    Even if he ignored his previous life, Li Yang had killed Jing Yimu in this life, someone countless times stronger than Tian Zheng. There were quite a few factors involved that allowed him to kill Jing Yimu, but there was no need for him to mention any of that. The eyes of the pink-haired woman twitched quite a bit, but she chose to swallow her anger, turning her head away to ignore Li Yang and Fang Ying.


    The two found an empty corner and sat down on the ground, Langshen resting his head on Fang Ying''s lap while sending Li Yang a slight nod, clearly rather pleased with how he had handled things. It didn''t take much longer for the people to crack the array that sealed the palace, Li Yang and Fang Ying only forced to wait for another two days before the array was broken and the gates flung open, the thick scent of precious herbs wafting out from the garden around the palace.


    The people gathered in front of the palace quickly flooded into the garden, a few people lagging behind so that they could use the ones that were acting hastily as gauges for how dangerous the garden was. Li Yang and Fang Ying also stood up, Langshen following them as they started walking towards the entrance, preparing to pick up as many resources as possible.

 110 Devils Grasp Vine.

    Li Yang and Fang Ying looked through the open entrance, inspecting the garden that surrounded the hexagonal palace, giving the various plants a closer look. The garden seemed to surround the entire palace, just as hexagonal as the palace itself. The threes were somewhat bent, their trunks almost twisting in a circle around the middle part of the trees, the bark on the trees was a very light brown and surprisingly smooth, as if the trees were still very young.


    There were various fruits growing on the trees, and looking at how orderly the largest trees were lined up this place might have been an orchard once in the past. But now there was knee-high grass growing everywhere, colorful flowers, mushrooms, and strange shrubbery peeking over the top of the grass. There were a few smaller trees growing in the empty space between the trees, a few fruits had likely fallen and eventually started growing into new trees that ruined the organized aesthetic the garden once had.


    There were a few places where deep green vines covered in finger-sized thorns grew out of the earth and coiled around some of the trees, the bark of these trees was far gnarlier than the bark of the other trees, their leaves not as verdant or lush. Contrary to what Li Yang and Fang Ying expected, the scent of herbs wasn''t as thick as it had been earlier. There might be an array here that prevented the scent from becoming so thick that it became noxious, it wouldn''t be fun to become nauseous whenever one entered their own garden after all. After sweeping every part of the garden they could see, Li Yang''s eyes landed on the thorny vines.


    "Ying''er, don''t those vines look rather familiar?"


    Fang Ying had also noticed the thorny vines, her brows furrowing slightly when she first saw them. Langshen also looked at the vines with a wary gaze, his instincts had likely warned him that the vines weren''t as simple as they looked. Fang Ying nodded her head, tracing the vines and inspecting the place where they came out from the earth.


    "Yeah, but they aren''t quite the same as the ones we saw, their color is wrong, they don''t have the characteristic growths around the base, and the thorns are a bit smaller. Although, if it really is one of those, it seems like the people of this city didn''t just up and vanish into thin air."


    Fang Ying and Li Yang had lived for quite a few years in their past lives, they were already approaching their millionth year when they died. They had seen countless things in their long lives, some which they remembered fondly and some which still terrified them when they thought about them now. And if the vines in front of them were what they were suspecting them of being, they would belong to the latter category. Li Yang cast a sideways glance at a group of four people who were wading through the grass, quickly getting closer to a tree that was rather close to one of the vines.


    "They''ll enter the range soon, we''ll see whether or not we''re wrong once they do."


    Fang Ying''s eyebrows twitched slightly, but she didn''t say anything against it, keeping a vigilant eye on the four people. There were other groups spreading through the garden, but this group was the one closest to the vines, the others were still a bit further away. Looking at the robes that the four people were wearing, it seemed like they were unaffiliated cultivators who had earned their spot in this competition by taking part in the tournaments hosted by the Huo clan. It was likely that they were hoping to quickly snatch up some resources before the stronger groups had a chance to take everything.


    The group scoured the area around them for any useful herbs or flowers, only casting a fleeting glance at the vines before ignoring them. They eventually spotted an orange flower with ten petals that had potato-like fruits growing along the stem, each of the fruits releasing a small fluctuation of Qi. The four people locked eyes for a short second before making sure that no one else saw the flower, quickly moving closer in a nonchalant manner.


    The moment they got within 10 meters of the flower, parts of the earth around them exploded upwards, thorny vines rising up from the ground and surrounding them. After surrounding and imprisoning the group, the vines quickly closed in on them, aiming to turn the encirclement into an iron maiden. The tips of the thorns opened slightly, revealing that the thorns were in fact completely hollow. The attack had been launched too fast, the group wasn''t even able to put up a defense in time to block the vines. But luckily for them, Fang Ying had been watching them intently. She quickly called out to Langshen, her white sword appearing in her grasp.


    "Langshen! Get me over there!"


    Fang Ying had no problem with killing people or letting others die, but that was if they were enemies or people she deemed evil. She would not just sit back and watch other people, who might be innocent, die. Space around Fang Ying rippled for a split second before she suddenly vanished appearing in front of the group of four and slashing down with her sword, large blades of blood appearing around her and attacking all the other vines. Li Yang looked at her actions, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out one of the countless swords he had accumulated after killing other cultivators.


    "Good grief, she really can''t just leave people alone. Then again, that was one of the reasons I ended up becoming attracted to her. Oy, Wolf, bring me 200 meters to the right of that tree over there, the one that splits in half in the middle. Once I stab the ground, send me over to that tree that''s 175 meters to the north, you yourself can head to that tree over there, the one that''s 60 meters to the left of the split tree."


    Li Yang knew that if Fang Ying weren''t here, he wouldn''t make a move to save these four people, he would watch as they died and use their deaths to gather more information. Langshen cast a sideways look at Li Yang, growling in dissatisfaction at the name Li Yang had given him. But even so, Langshen still did as he asked, space around Li Yang rippling for a split second before he vanished and arrived in the exact spot he had pointed out, 200 meters to the right of a tree that was cleaved open in the middle before connecting again at a higher part.


    He tightly grasped the double-edged sword he had removed from his interspatial ring, channeling as much of his energy into it as he could. The blade quickly turned crimson from the heat of the energy he poured into it, small drops of molten metal starting to run down the blade. He stabbed the sword into the ground, the entire blade sinking into the ground with a sizzling sound.


    The moment his blade entered the ground, space around him rippled and his body vanished, appearing in the other spot he had told Langshen about, right next to a small tree that carried a few fruits that looked like small yellow stars. The moment he vanished, the energy within the sword was fully unleashed, a golden pillar of fire and lightning stretching into the sky and turning all the trees around it to ash.


    The pillar of fire, as well as Fang Ying''s blades of blood and the moving vines, caught the attention of every person present, no one noticing that Li Yang grabbed onto it and uprooted the entire tree and quickly stored it into his interspatial ring. Langshen wasn''t standing still at this time, he was doing as Li Yang had said, appearing next to a small herb that looked like green and white mint but released the faint scent of peaches. He didn''t use the same brute force procedure as Li Yang, using sharp blades of compressed space to cut out the earth around the herb and then sending it into a ripple in space, causing the herb to appear in front of Li Yang.


    Li Yang stored away the herb and then returned to the place where he had stabbed the sword into the ground, inspecting the hole that was a result of the sword exploding. After a bit of digging, he pulled out some ginger-like roots covered in fine spines, his brows furrowing. Despite being badly scorched by the flames, the roots were squirming slightly, almost wriggling like worms. Li Yang scorched the roots with some more fire, turning them to ash while he clicked his tongues.


    "It really was one, seems to have mutated a bit as well."


    He waved his hand to disperse the ash, turning his gaze onto Fang Ying, who was currently being thanked profusely by the group of four. She raised her hands to show that it was nothing, moving away from them and heading over to Li Yang. The other groups were looking at the area with a vigilant gaze, immediately realizing that the thorny vines were likely very dangerous. Fang Ying looked at the scorched hole, raising an eyebrow.


    "Looking at your expression, I guess that it''s safe to say that our guess was correct? Was this enough to deal with it?"


    At the same time as she spoke, she swiped her interspatial ring and took out the ten-petalled flower with the potato-like growth, showing that she had snagged the flower while protecting the group of four. Langshen walked over to them, vigilantly examining the area while Li Yang shook his head, casting his gaze out of the garden and onto the city.


    "Yeah, we were correct, it''s a Devil''s Grasp Vine, but this one has likely mutated somewhat. And no, this was far from enough. I pulled out some roots, but they were only the roots of a tertiary type heart, I suspect that all the hearts in this forest are only tertiary."


    A Devil''s Grasp Vine was, in fact, a plant type Demonic beast that could be born in one of two ways, an existing Devil''s Grasp Vine could split off a small portion of itself to create a child Devil''s Grasp Vine, or it could be born in a place where vast quantities of blood have been spilled and stained both the plants and ground, forever tainting them. It sounded easy to birth one with this second type of birth, but it was actually incredibly hard, as there were quite a few minute factors that had to be right for this Demonic beast to be born.


    But once it was born, it would become a terrifying existence. It would first feed on blood and flesh, slowly evolving and reaching a stage where it could absorb any type of lifeforce. Once in the past, Li Yang and Fang Ying had encountered a Devil''s Grasp Vine that had taken over several planets, its vines stretching out and invading the other surrounding planets, sucking them completely dry of all life so that the plant could continue to grow and spread. Even at their peak, the two had no choice but to flee from a Demonic beast like this.


    Not only was this Demonic beast terrifyingly strong, but it was also incredibly resilient and hard to kill. It had multiple different types of hearts that could each serve as a new main heart, the amount of hearts differed depending on how old and how large the beast was, some only had three while others could have several thousand, and all of them had to be destroyed if they truly wished to kill the beast.


    A tertiary heart was the smallest and weakest type of heart the beast could have, they were considered throwaway hearts that could serve as a distraction while the beast moved to protect its secondary and primary hearts.


    But all the Devil''s Grasp Vines they had seen in the past were as red as blood, small black roots growing out from the ground around the vines. Their thorns were also larger, some as long as a grown man''s arm, they had never seen any with thorns as small as these. The thorns also shouldn''t be hollow, they should be filled with a flesh-like substance that absorbed the lifeforce of whatever they pierced. So upon seeing this strange version of a Devil''s Grasp Vine, Li Yang could only assume that it had mutated. Fang Ying''s expression sank slightly when she heard Li Yang''s guess. She knew that he wouldn''t state it if he wasn''t at least 90% sure that his guess was correct, but that could only mean one thing.


    "This entire garden might be filled with nothing but tertiary hearts? Then if we compare it to the ones we saw in the past, this Devil''s Grasp Vine should be about as large as this entire city, maybe a bit larger, no?"


    If that was true, it would explain how the people in this city had simply vanished, all their lifeforce had been sucked dry and they had withered away. Li Yang nodded his head, glancing at some of the vines that were coiling around trees further away from them.


    "Yeah, its roots and vines probably spread through every inch of this city. But it didn''t attack everyone as they landed in the city, nor has it attacked us yet. It should have brought out all its vines to suck all our lifeforce the moment we arrived, but it didn''t, it only launched an instinctive attack when people got close. My guess is that it is sleeping, hibernating since it''s been so long since anyone last entered this place. If we can find the current primary heart before it fully wakes up, we should be able to extract all the lifeforce it has stored up to support its hibernating, it''ll be a great help for body and soul cultivation."


    Most people would be filled with fear upon realizing that they were standing atop a sleeping beast, but Li Yang and Fang Ying were not most people. They recognized the danger, but they also recognized the great benefit they could get here. They had never shied away from danger in the past, and they certainly wouldn''t do so now, no, they would poke the sleeping beast and extract as much use out of it as they could.

 111 Creation Sealing Array.

    Both Fang Ying and Li Yang descended into a short silence after coming to their conclusion, descending into their own thoughts. When it came to a Devil''s Grasp Vine as large as this, just the act of finding the current primary heart was a bit troublesome, actually draining the gathered up energy would be even harder. It would likely have set up rather tight defenses before hibernating, it might wake up the moment someone got anywhere close to the heart. After the two of them spent a few minutes mulling it over, Fang Ying came up with a proposal.


    "If I fuse with Langshen again, I should be able to locate the primary heart by tracing the roots that used to connect to the tertiary heart that was here. But actually dealing with the Devil''s Grasp Vine will have to be left to you. Remember that array you used against Lian Ah?"


    Li Yang gave a light nod of his head, Lian Ah was someone he could never forget. She was one of the only five people he had ever met that could use the law of time, she was also one of the two people using that law that Li Yang had killed. The other was a man called Sun Chang, who was from a very strange race who seemed to be the descendants of a very powerful dragon-type Divine Beast.


    Both fights were some of the hardest fights he had ever taken part in, only able to clinch victory thanks to ample preparation and the fact that he was supported by Fang Ying and the others. Li Yang went over the array in his head, going over what they would need to create it, shaking his head after a short moment.


    "Drawing the actual array here is impossible, we lack the required resources and are currently too weak to control it. But if we can gather up enough resources here, we should be able to use a weakened version of the array, I''ll just have to mix in some of your most numbing and paralyzing poison. The main ingredient would be all kinds of Demonic beast blood and any medicines with a numbing effect, so if you find anything like that you should immediately move to grab it."


    The array in question was a grand sealing array that would seal everything within a certain area, time, space, even all Qi would end up sealed up or slowed down within this array. The array would drastically slow anyone above the late stage of the Primordial Rune realm and completely freeze anyone below that realm, it was the strongest array that Li Yang had ever been able to create, his masterpiece, the Creation Sealing Array. Since he was the one who had created it, altering it was a rather simple task, it was mainly about changing the ingredients and some of the runes used to create it. Fang Ying nodded her head, her gaze landing on the palace located beyond the garden.


    "I''m not carrying too much Demonic beast blood or numbing medicine on me, we''ll just have to hope that this palace isn''t completely empty. If our luck is so terrible that it does end up being empty then we''ll just have to see if we can borrow some from the other people that had arrived here. If I just use the name of the Tian clan to ensure them that we''ll pay them back then they should be willing to hand it over."


    Most others, Li Yang included, would likely resort to just robbing the other people here for the resources they would need in case the palace was empty, but Fang Ying was different. She was more compassionate in times like these, and since she had the large Tian clan behind her, borrowing a bit of Demonic beast blood should truly not be a problem. Of course, the borrowing would be their last resort, neither Li Yang or Fang Ying were willing to easily enter the debt of others. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, not having anything against her plan.


    "Alright, that sounds fine. I''ll check out the other parts of this garden while you trace the roots, I already picked up two nice treats earlier, a Starlight Tree and a Blood-thickening Mint, there might be a few other good items around."


    The Starlight Tree was the tree he had picked up earlier, it received its name from the star-shaped fruits that would glow slightly in the dark, something they did because the fruits absorbed the light of the stars to grow. Eating the fruits would cause the energy gathered within them to nourish a cultivators soul and help it grow stronger.


    The Blood-thickening Mint was the item he had Langshen pick up earlier, and it was, in fact, a type of poison. Eating more than a few leaves would cause one''s blood to turn as thick as jelly, killing the one who ate the leaves. But if one ate only one or two leaves at a time, carefully purifying and absorbing the energy in the process, one could strengthen their own blood somewhat and make it able to contain more energy.


    As for the flower that Fang Ying had picked earlier, it was a Hundred-petaled Grapevine, which was a treasure that would sprout grape-like fruits once it reached a hundred petals and was fully grown. The grapes could be eaten to nourish and strengthen one''s Ascending Foundation, meaning that they had already picked up three different resources for the three different cultivation systems, a rather decent harvest. The Starlight Tree and the Hundred-petaled Grapevine would require a few more years to actually grow and reach full maturity, but the two of them were fine with waiting.


    With the two of them having decided on their selective roles, they went about completing their own tasks. Fang Ying fused with Langshen and jumped into the crater that Li Yang created when he destroyed the tertiary heart, using her law of space to follow the roots and map the entire Devil''s Grasp Vine.


    Li Yang started making his way through the forest, scouring the surroundings for any resources that might be useful to them. He plucked those that would be useful but left those that were useless to them, there was no reason to pick up something useless, he might as well leave it for the others so that they could have some luck as well.


    After he made his way through half the garden and had reached the other side of the palace, he discovered a plant he hadn''t expected to see here. The plant was a mushroom that was completely gray and had a gnarly exterior, it almost looked like it was made from stone. This mushroom was simply known as a Stoneskin Mushroom, and just like the Blood-thickening Mint, it was actually rather poisonous.


    But if one could purify it and fully absorb the energy, one would be able to greatly increase the toughness of their skin. Back in Li Yang''s previous life, this was one of the better ways for a normal cultivator to strengthen their body, it was also rather rare and somewhat hard to find. Even though body cultivation now existed, eating something like this alongside the Blood-thickening Mint would be like adding wings onto a tiger. He walked over to the mushroom to pluck it, but a loud shout from his right caused him to temporarily halt his hand.


    "Fiend, stop your hand! That mushroom belongs to us!"


    Li Yang glanced in the direction of the voice, his gaze landing on a group of five people from the Tian clan. The one who just called out was the one who Li Yang had beaten up right after they arrived here, the one who tried to have Fang Ying return to Tian Zheng. After giving the entire group of five, three women and two men, a quick glance, Li Yang scoffed lightly and waved his hand in a dismissive manner.


    "Oh, it''s just the asslickers of the wastrel. I said last time that I would not be as merciful next time, you better take that threat to heart and just leave."


    Li Yang proceeded to ignore the five after scoffing at them, grabbing the mushroom and digging out the earth around it, storing the entire thing into his interspatial ring. He couldn''t be bothered to do anything to them if they didn''t bother him, but it seemed like they had other plans. The youth with silky-black hair who had already gotten beaten once before glaring at Li Yang and extracting an axe from his interspatial ring.


    "Don''t think that things will end up like last time, We''ll show you what happens when you disgrace the glory of the Tian clan."


    The youth charged forward, two of the women quickly drawing their weapons and following him, glaring daggers at Li Yang. The last man and woman didn''t follow them, looking at them with bitter expressions. Li Yang cast his eyes onto the three people that were charging at him with weapons, muttering lightly.


    "Well, I warned you."


    He truly couldn''t understand how people like this could be chosen by the Tian clan to enter this competition. Even if they were angry at him calling Tian Zheng a wastrel, they should at least swallow their anger until they were strong enough to exact proper revenge, charging in now was simply suicidal. Some people might pity their stupidity and go easy on them, but since they were showing killing intent towards him, Li Yang would show no mercy.


    The youth with the axe was the first to reach him, sending a heavy sideways slash towards Li Yang''s neck, all the air in the area gathering around the blade of the axe. The axe came from the left, so Li Yang dodged it by ducking down and giving his entire body a spin to the right, raising his right leg in the process. He stood up the moment the axe passed over his head, using the momentum of his still ongoing spin to deliver a sideways kick to the youth''s head using his raised right leg, the sole of his foot crashing into the youth''s temple and ruining his balance. Li Yang finished the spin while lowering his right leg, forcing the youth down onto the ground, Li Yang''s right foot pressing down on his head.


    The two women that also charged over stopped slightly when they saw the scene, it had happened so fast that they were nearly unable to see it. In one swift motion, Li Yang had not only dodged the attack but also launched his counterattack, forcing the youth onto the ground and allowing him to stand on his head. Li Yang looked down at the youth, who was struggling beneath his foot, and then moved his gaze onto the two girls.


    "Did you think my words were a joke? Did you think that just because Ying''er saved those four people earlier that I would be as kind and merciful? Too bad, I am not Ying''er."


    Li Yang put more force into his right foot, a crunching sound echoing throughout the area as the youth''s head was crushed beneath Li Yang''s foot. The youth likely thought that things would go better now that he wasn''t alone and was also prepared for battle, but it was completely useless. These five people here were clearly the weakest of the Tian clan group that still remained in this city, the strongest among these five was the other man, he had just recently entered the early stage of the Soaring Immortal realm. The others had likely already entered the palace to search for the best resources.


    The two women had not expected Li Yang to act as quick and forceful as he had, they were from the esteemed Tian clan, after all, there were very few people who dared attack them in a manner like this. But it was already too late for the two of them to realize that charging forward had been a blunder.


    Li Yang dashed forward at full speed, golden arcs of lightning and fire trailing in his wake. The women were so close that he could cross the distance in less than a second, a normal sword appearing in his grasp, fire and lightning flooding into it. He slashed out with the sword, the blade digging into the neck of the first woman and exploding, unable to contain the power Li Yang had channeled into it.


    The woman''s head was eviscerated by the shards of the sword, scorched by the fire and lightning they contained. The other woman wanted to use this chance to escape but found herself unable to move her legs, a strange icy energy flooding into her body and completely freezing the bones in her legs.


    Li Yang flicked his fingers, controlling the shards of the exploded sword by manipulating the fire and lightning within them. The shards rained down on the other woman, piercing through her flesh and embedding themselves in her body. Li Yang unleashed the remaining fire and lightning, the rancid smell of scorched flesh and blood quickly spreading in the area as the woman fell over. Li Yang looked at the three corpses with an indifferent gaze, murmuring lightly.


    "Can''t let them go to waste."


    Li Yang quickly snatched their interspatial rings and then froze all the blood that remained in their bodies, extracting it after it was all frozen. Their blood contained quite a bit of Qi and could be used to draw arrays, wasting it was no good. While draining their blood, he cast a sideways glance at the two remaining people, who had started slowly backing off.


    "Do you want to follow in their footsteps?"


    The corners of man and the woman''s mouth twitched, a bitter expression spreading on their faces. They both raised their arms high to show their intent to surrender, the man shrugging his shoulders in a casual manner.


    "Forget it, we have no interest in committing suicide like them. But could you tell me, how do you have such great strength? You shouldn''t have any high position in the Yuan clan so it can''t be something they have given you."


    Li Yang had been easily able to kill three people at the late stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, and while that wasn''t exactly uncommon amongst the people in the clans, it was rather rare to see it done by someone who didn''t have a high position within their clan. Li Yang stored away the frozen blood and then turned around, leaving the area without bothering to give the two people any response.


    He spent a bit more time scouring the forest for resources before returning to Fang Ying. who was still focusing on mapping the Devil''s Grasp Vine. Li Yang sat down at the side of the crater, quietly waiting for her to finish. Half an hour after he arrived, four hours after the gates to the garden were opened, Fang Ying finished her task, opening her eyes and turning to Li Yang.


    "It really does cover the entire island, it even encroaches into the ocean around the island, absorbing the lifeforce of any fish that gets too close. The spot with the most concentrated energy that should be the primary heart is located at the opposite end of the city from where we arrived, but just as we guessed, there are countless roots covering the entire area. The moment anyone gets within 50 kilometers of the primary heart, the beast will be notified and awaken. Luckily, this palace has attracted all the attention so there is no one close to the primary heart. How did your search go?"


    Considering how large this island, and the Devil''s Grasp Vine was, it was actually somewhat surprising that it would keep such a small defensive perimeter around it, it seemed like it had been hibernating for quite a few years already. Fang Ying undid her fusion with Langshen, rubbing his head while feeding him strips of meat she always kept within her interspatial ring. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders in response to her question, pointing at the palace with his thumb.


    "Uneventful and boring. I found a few good resources, I''ll show them to you later. But now we should enter the palace, wouldn''t want everyone else to snatch everything away from us."


    Fang Ying nodded her head, jumping out from the crater and landing next to Li Yang. He handed her some of the resources he had picked up and then the two of them started heading for the palace, Langshen sauntering behind them while chewing on some dried meat.

 112 Divine Beast tracks.

    There was a straight path that went directly from the garden gate to the palace entrance, the entire path paved with a strangely rubbery stone. Strangely enough, despite the passage of what was likely quite a few years, none of the grass or plants from the garden had spread to the path, it was completely clean.


    While walking on it, Li Yang and Fang Ying felt a faint and tranquil sensation flow into their bodies from the path, calming their minds and clearing their thoughts. It seemed like the path itself was made using a man-made material designed to calm the mind and make it easier to cultivate, something Li Yang could only consider pointlessly luxurious.


    Of course, the more pointlessly luxurious the path was, the more likely it was that the palace itself would contain plenty of good resources that they could snag. The two quickly reached the palace entrance, two ten-meter tall doors of cyan metal that had a soaring eagle engraved on them. The doors had been torn off their hinges by the people who had come before Li Yang and Fang Ying, tossed aside in a careless manner after they discovered that the doors weren''t made from any rare material.


    Li Yang walked over to one of the doors, giving it a few knocks with his knuckles. The door produced a strangely hollow sound as it was hit, the sound echoing out and turning into a strangely soft tune that seemed to calm the mind somewhat, Li Yang''s eyes gleaming with curiosity.


    "I really wonder just where this Ocean God''s Graveyard came from. I could at least guess at what type of material was used to make that path, but I have never even heard or read about any material like the one used to make this door."


    Materials that calmed the mind weren''t uncommon, Li Yang himself had owned quite a few mats and couches made of such material in his past life, he had even seen such items once or twice in this life already. But something like this door, which could turn a knocking sound into a calming tune? He had never even thought such a thing to be possible.


    Now that Li Yang had reunited with Fang Ying and calmed his main worry, he was starting to focus more and more on the world around them, growing more and more curious about the various changes and advancements with each passing day. At times he almost felt like a kid in a candy store, there was simply so much to see and learn.


    And that was just in this universe, there were still countless other universes they could explore and adventure through, the things they could still see were close to endless. Fang Ying also walked over to the door, giving it a few gentle taps with her finger and listening to the tune.


    "There are a few similar materials like this in the Tian clan, but none that have this calming effect. It could be that the Tian clan got the techniques to create these things last time this place opened, but haven''t yet been able to study them enough to perfectly recreate them."


    Fang Ying''s guess wasn''t far from the truth, the Tian clan had indeed gotten the techniques to create these kinds of items from here. But it wasn''t that they were unable to recreate them due to not understanding the techniques, they simply didn''t have the materials necessary to do so. Despite the great reach of the Tian clan, the recipe for items like this door contained materials they had never even heard of before. But that was only to be expected, the floating continent where this Ocean God''s Graveyard was located came from a different universe after all.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying took one of the doors each, putting them into their interspatial rings and storing them for closer inspection later on. Langshen had already headed into the palace while the two were busy with the doors so they quickly followed after him and entered the palace, arriving in a large hall that seemed to take up a large portion of the palace.


    The hall was a bit different compared to what they had seen in the city so far, it was almost completely ruined. They could see places where large parts of the walls had been shattered, opening a path between the hall and some of the various rooms around it, this was the main reason the hall was so large, almost 50 kilometers in each direction now. There were large scars and holes in both the walls and floor, marks after weapon attacks. Various ruined weapons were scattered around the hall and the rooms around it, some of them shattered and some of them covered in rust and stains.


    There were stains of dried blood all around the area, a large and violent battle had clearly taken place here. But despite all this blood and all these weapons lying around, there was not a single corpse present, there wasn''t even any dust from bones. Another point that the two felt somewhat strange was the fact that the entire hall smelled faintly of fragrant wood, there wasn''t the slightest foul smell despite all the dried blood.


    The other groups that had entered the palace before them were busy checking all the bloodstains and the weapons, checking if anything was still useable. There was a set of fish-engraved doors that were twice as large as the entrance located on the opposite side of the room, leading deeper into the palace. Despite the scars and holes in the various walls, everything around this door was completely clean, not even a single crack in the walls. There were a few people from each group gathered around this door, trying to figure out how to open it. While Li Yang was sweeping the area with his gaze, Fang Ying softly tapped his shoulder, her voice drifting into his ears so that no one else could hear it.


    "Langshen has found something, follow me."


    Li Yang gave a fractal nod of his head, the two walking around like they were searching for anything still useable while slowly heading over to Langshen. When they reached him, Langshen used his nose to point at two small cracks in the wall, barely large enough to get half a finger in. Li Yang couldn''t detect anything special about these cracks, but he didn''t think that Langshen would lie to them, he likely discovered something thanks to his control over space.


    Li Yang crouched in front of the cracks, giving the wall a few knocks and inserting some Qi to test how strong they were. The result he got back was rather shocking to him, he could tell that even if he were to use all his strength, he would still be unable to damage these walls. There was no point in talking about any of these large cracks or holes, he probably couldn''t even create a thumbnail-sized hole. With that being the case, just what sort of battle had gone down here to wreak such havoc?


    He sent a sideways glance at Fang Ying, who quickly let Langshen know what he should do. Space around the three of them rippled for a short second before returning to normal, the three of them completely vanishing from everyone else''s sight. Langshen had used his control over space to set up a small barrier that diverted all light that would hit them, completely shielding them from everyone else''s sight.


    Once the barrier was set up, Li Yang placed his hands over the two cracks, blocking them with his palm and flooding them with ice. Once the cracks were completely filled with ice, he pulled the now jagged shards of ice out of the cracks, pulling out what had been hiding within the cracks.


    One of the cracks contained a shattered blue scale while the other contained parts of a golden feather, both of which were covered in a few seemingly fresh drops of blood. Li Yang''s eyes narrowed the moment he pulled out the two items, immediately understanding why Langshen had called them over here.


    "They''re from Divine Beasts, both of them. The scale and the feather feel somewhat similar to the auras I felt when this place first opened, but the drops of blood give me a completely different feeling, it might be from a Divine Beast that has already been killed. The scale and feather are a bit strange, they feel very similar, yet a little different from each other."


    Li Yang placed the two items back into the cracks after he finished talking, testing a hypothesize of his. The moment the two items entered the crack again, he became completely unable to sense the Divine Beast aura that they unleashed, proving his guess correct, the walls here were able to block even the Divine Beast aura. He then pulled the two items out from the cracks and quickly stored them into his interspatial rings, every part of a Divine Beasts body was a treasure that people would kill for, especially the blood. Fang Ying furrowed her brows slightly, sweeping the large hall for a moment before talking.


    "The rest of the blood here has already dried so it shouldn''t come from any Divine Beasts or cultivators at the Celestial Immortal realm, so the others shouldn''t have noticed anything yet. They might suspect a few things based on the strength of the wall, but that should be it. We need to be careful that the others don''t learn about this, they might call back the others that have already left this island."


    If they called back everyone else, not only would it be harder for her and Li Yang to acquire resources, but there was also a risk that they might wake up the slumbering Devil''s Grasp Vine. Li Yang nodded his head, bringing out the small feather fragment, spinning it around in his hand for a bit, the corners of his lips slowly pulling up.


    "This drop of blood is still fresh after all these years, the feather looks like it was plucked a few seconds ago, and the scale still shines with a beautiful splendor, the Divine Beasts that dropped them have certainly reached at least the Celestial Immortal realm in strength. And looking at the fact that these walls have been scarred this badly by weapons, we can also guess that there were at least one or two cultivators of the Celestial Immortal realm here. And yet, there is no more fresh blood anywhere in this hall."


    Demonic beasts, even when taking on a human shape, would generally not use weapons, their bodies were their strongest weapons. So the ones that caused these scars and holes in the walls using weapons were most likely humans who had reached at least the Celestial Immortal realm, the same realm as Li Yang and Fang Ying in their prime. Li Yang stored away the feather again, sweeping the hall for a short moment before his gaze landed on the sealed door.


    "I can think of three things that this could mean. First, someone has already been here before and taken away all the blood and other remains after the battle, this option is a bit unlikely looking at the fact that the door over there remains sealed and the fact that the garden was untouched. The second option is that none of the Divine Beasts or Celestial Immortal realm cultivators ended up wounded or dying, this option is also rather unlikely based on the destruction caused here and the fact that this feather and scale fragment have blood on them. The third option is that a certain something has already devoured all the blood and any possible remains, it might even have used the energy of that blood to mutate itself."


    Li Yang looked down at the floor when he said his last guess, as if he was trying to see through the ground and observe the Devil''s Grasp Vine that was slumbering inside the earth. If the Devil''s Grasp Vine had really absorbed all the blood, it would explain how it seemed to have mutated somewhat, it also meant that they might be able to extract some of that blood when they drained the current primary heart of the stored up energy.


    A clacking sound suddenly came from the other end of the room, the sealed door engraved with the image of a fish opening, it seemed like the various groups had been successful in opening the doors. The various groups immediately halted everything they were doing and rushed towards the door, wishing to head deeper into the palace before anyone else. Langshen undid the barrier around them, the three of them heading towards the door while Fang Ying whispered quietly.


    "There''s one more option, there could be a beast or cultivator living in this castle who has already snatched all the blood, we need to be careful."

 113 The throne room.

    Li Yang and Fang Ying trailed a little behind the other groups as they passed through the open door and checked their surroundings. Stretching out beyond the door was a hallway that was a few tens of meters in width and height, going on for at least one or two hundred meters before ending in another door, this one engraved with an eagle and a fish both coiling around each other.


    There were a few doors located along the walls of his hallway, but most of them were already opened, revealing somewhat small rooms containing only a few empty flowerpots, a single table, and two couches within. The walls in this hallway weren''t nearly as damaged as the walls in the previous hall, but there were still a few long scratches that dug into the walls.


    A few people cast sideways glances at Fang Ying to see what she was going to do. Fang Ying was the only one here who had reached the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, she was the strongest one currently there. If she ended up taking an interest in something they went for, it would be hard for these groups to protect it. They heaved a stealthy sigh of relief when they saw that Fang Ying was more interested in chatting with Li Yang, only casually checking her surroundings.


    The various groups quickly set out to open the various closed doors and inspecting the already opened rooms. Li Yang and Fang Ying calmly observed the various groups, occasionally casting a sideways glance into one of the rooms or entering them. Li Yang occasionally also cast a glance at the scratches on the walls, quietly conversing with Fang Ying and Langshen.


    "These scratches should have been made using claws, not weapons. And looking at how high above the ground they are placed, the beast that made them should be rather big. It might be the beast responsible for the drops of blood on the scale and the feather. The previous hall should have been the waiting area for common guests, these rooms should be the waiting area for the more important guests. But they already seem to have been swept clean, there isn''t even a single seed or speck of earth remaining."


    The rooms had circular flowerpots, but all of them were completely empty and had faint scratch marks on the edges, the one that left the long scratches on the walls might have also emptied the flowerpots. But why they might have done something like that, Li Yang and Fang Ying had no idea. Neither of them was really searching the area, they left that to Langshen, who could easily use his control over space to discover anything that might be hidden from plain sight.


    There would occasionally be one or two small fights when people ended up arguing over who could take the couches or the pillows covering the couches, but no one was willing to start any large battles just yet. When they got closer to the closed door at the end of the hallway, only a few tens of meters away, Langshen stopped walking and used his nose to point at a certain scratch on the wall. Thanks to the fact that they were still trailing behind all the other groups, no one else saw Langshen''s motion.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying locked eyes for a short second before nonchalantly walking over to the scratch mark, casually inspecting it. But even after inspecting the entire scratch mark, they were unable to find anything strange about it. Fang Ying furrowed her brows and placed a finger against one end of the mark, a small amount of blood starting to cover the entire thing.


    When the blood reached the halfway point of the mark, it slowed down for a short second. Fang Ying immediately stopped the blood, Li Yang stretching out his arm and placing his palm on the place where the blood had slowed down. He felt something tickle his palm when he placed it there, one of his eyebrows rising as he grabbed the thing he had touched and pulled back his arm.


    He was now holding a small tuft of bloody fur, only visible thanks to the blood that Fang Ying had brought worth. He took one strand of the fur and traced it with his finger, stretching it out as far as he could. That one strand was almost 30 centimeters long and was completely invisible, save for the part that had been touched by the blood, only by using their Qi to do a thorough scan of the surroundings were they able to see it. Fang Ying snatched a bit of the fur and did the same as Li Yang, both of them looking at the fur with a sliver of amazement.


    "Invisible fur, huh? Let''s hope the beast that left this behind isn''t still alive, that would make things quite troublesome."


    Demonic beasts who could become invisible were rather rare, they were also very troublesome and dangerous to fight. As for a Demonic beast that had naturally invisible fur like this? Neither Li Yang or Fang Ying had ever heard about anything like it, something that only served to further spark Li Yang''s curiosity about this place. The two quickly put away the fur and continued to act nonchalantly, both of them activating their own respective tracking techniques to make sure that they weren''t caught off guard.


    The door at the end of the hallways was sealed up just like the previous one, a few people from each group stepping forward to figure out how the array that locked the door worked, slowly taking it apart by destroying the runes that controlled the array. The seal on this door wasn''t as good as the one that had been present on the gate to the garden, it only took the groups half a day to break the array and push open the doors.


    A burst of air filled with dense Qi was unleashed the moment the doors were pushed open, quickly sweeping over everyone gathered in the hallway. The Qi was far denser than it was in the outside world, it had even surpassed the density of Qi within the various high-grade training grounds of the Tian and Yuan clans. Clearly, there was a rather spectacular treasure located beyond the door.


    Some of the groups let the greed go to their head and rushed into the room, but some of the other groups realized that treasures like this would often be guarded by either arrays or Demonic beasts. These groups followed the rushing groups, but they moved far slower than them, vigilantly sweeping their surroundings. Li Yang and Fang Ying once again walked in the very back, their vigilance reaching a peak as they stepped through the doors.


    All the groups had now entered a massive hexagonal hall, at least 20 kilometers in each direction. There were a total of 108 spiraling pillars spread throughout the room, each one covered in tiny engravings that seemed to tell a story, each pillar telling a different story. There were a few doors located at the very end of the hall, but the gazes of everyone was locked onto the centerpiece of the room, an elevated and tall throne carved from what seemed to be amber crystal.


    There was a tall mound of earth placed in front of the steps that led up to the elevated throne, a few wilted flowers visible. And lying next to this mound of earth was a nearly fifty-meter-long skeleton with bones as white as milk, each bone still radiating an utterly suffocating amount of Qi. The skeleton was in the shape of a beast, likely a tiger or a panther, and it was lying so that its heart would be directly next to the mound of dirt.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying''s eyes narrowed faintly when they saw this skeleton, not only were there some teeth-mark on the bones, but it was also missing its Demon Crystal. Its flesh could rot, its skin and organs could wither away, but a Demon Crystal would exist until it was shattered, not even draining all the Qi within it would cause the Demon Crystal to vanish. For this skeleton to be missing its Demon Crystal, it meant that someone had likely already been here and snatched it, or eaten it.


    All the hairs on Li Yang''s neck suddenly stood up, a feeling of danger flooding his body. He had yet to discover anything with his tracking technique, but he trusted his instincts and acted without hesitation. His golden-purple sword appeared in his grasp as he spun around, fire and lightning dancing around the blade and causing the air around it to distort.


    His sword collided with something, a shock running through Li Yang''s arms that made it feel like his attack had just collided with a mountain. He was pushed back a few steps from the force of the impact, a few drops of blood dripping down on the ground as the skin on his palms had split open. Standing in his previous position was a four-meter-long panther that had clean white fur and three tails ending in small sickles. There was a bloody scar on the side of the panther''s head, golden fire and lightning tearing at the wound to make it grow larger.


    Fang Ying and Langshen launched their own attacks the moment Li Yang spun around, but before they managed to hit it, the panther jumped back and then vanished into thin air. It seemed like the panther covered up the wound Li Yang left on its face, as he was no longer able to feel the fire or lightning that was tearing at the wound, it had likely suffocated the two elements using a very dense amount of energy.


    At the same time as Li Yang blocked the attack, six other people in the room were attacked, all of them being the ones with the lowest cultivation. Five of the six died without being able to react, their heads suddenly getting crushed by the invisible panthers. The last person was able to react, turning around to block the attack, but his defense was too weak, faltering almost immediately. His head was crushed just like the other five, their corpses immediately dragged over to the mound of earth.


    Li Yang gave his hands a few shakes to push away the aching sensation, a few drops of blood splashing the area. He activated a more basic tracking technique, simply stretching out his Qi as far as possible to inspect everything around him, but even then he was unable to detect the panthers. He clicked his tongue, quickly taking up position next to Fang Ying, who had rushed over to him alongside Langshen.


    "Tch, seems like your guess was correct, there is indeed a beast still living in this castle, multiple of them too it seems. Not even the most basic scanning technique is able to detect them, they must have evolved or been bred for perfect stealth, we need to be very careful."


    Not only did they have excellent stealth, but their bodies were also incredibly hard. Fighting Demonic beasts like this would be somewhat annoying and troublesome, especially since they had no idea just how many of them there were hiding within this hall. It could be just the seven of them, but there might also be more hiding around, waiting for an opening.


    Fang Ying gave a fractal nod of her head, her red-veined sword appearing in her grasp as she vigilantly swept the surroundings, warning the others in the room about what they were facing. In a situation like this, it would be best to tell the others what they knew, it would not only reduce casualties, but it would also make it easier for everyone to work together to face the enemy.

 114 Panther nest.

    After receiving Fang Ying''s warning, the remaining 150 people in the hall gathered together in their respective groups, watching each other''s backs to make sure that they could react as fast as possible. Since they were a bit smaller than the other groups, the leader of the Tian clan group quickly called out to Fang Ying, waving her over.


    "Junior Sister Ying, you should come over here. Tian Zanxia and the others don''t seem to have entered the palace yet so it''ll be hard for our small group to keep an eye out for you."


    She used the excuse that they wouldn''t be able to keep an eye out for Fang Ying, but it was clear that they actually wanted Fang Ying to join them so that they would be safer. Tian Zanxia was the name of the youth that Li Yang had killed earlier, it seemed like the two people that he spared hadn''t sent the information to the Tian clan, possibly afraid that Li Yang would kill them if he were to learn of it. Fang Ying looked at the people from the Tian clan but decided to shake her head when she saw that they were frowning at Li Yang, clearly not very fond of him or what he had said about Tian Zheng earlier.


    "There''s no need to keep an eye on us, we''ll be just fine on our own."


    The eyes of the pink-haired woman who was the leader of this group twitched slightly when she heard Fang Ying''s reply. But as now was a poor time to pursue it, she had no choice but to drop it and focus on the invisible enemies they were facing. Fang Ying looked at Langshen after rejecting the Tian clan, the two giving each other a quick nod and immediately fusing. There was no telling what might happen from now on, it was best to be careful.


    While Fang Ying was rejecting the Tian clan and fusing with Langshen, Li Yang was sweeping the surrounding area with narrowed eyes, trying out various things to locate the invisible panthers. After a short moment where the entire hall was covered in tense silence, Li Yang suddenly shot to the right, a trail of lightning snaking around in his wake.


    Right as Li Yang shot to the right, three more people, unaffiliated cultivators who were a bit more spread, suffered attacks from the invisible panthers. Two people died, but the third one was able to just barely block the attack and buy enough time for someone close by to launch a counter-attack to save her.


    Li Yang crossed a little over a hundred meters in less than the blink of an eye, slashing his sword out in an arch, the air around the blade distorting from the heat of the fire and lightning gathered in the tip. A loud clanking sound rang out as his golden sword collided with something, the sleeves of Li Yang''s robe exploding from the sheer force he exerted with his arms.


    This sound caught the attention of the other people in the room, who cast their eyes towards him just in time to see that his sword had collided with a panther. The panther had used one of it''s three sickle-tipped tails to just barely block the sword, otherwise, the attack would have collided directly with its neck. But the damage was already done, the sword simply contained too much force for the hastily prepared defense to fully block it.


    The sickle-tipped tail was pushed into the neck of the panther, slicing open its skin and tainting its snow-white fur with crimson blood. The sheer force of the attack also pushed the panther back, sending it soaring through the air and crashing into one of the pillars, a deep cut going halfway through its neck. It wasn''t dead yet, but it would soon die either from blood loss or due to suffocating since its airpipe had been sliced open.


    Li Yang looked at his golden-purple sword, frowning slightly. All the Qi he had sent into it had been completely swallowed up, like a drop of water entering the ocean, producing next to no result. It seemed like he would have to greatly strengthen and increase his energy if he wished to unleash the full power of his old weapon.


    Right after Li Yang sent the panther flying, a symphony of saddened and subdued roars echoed throughout the room, their numbers impossible to properly count thanks to the echo. Eight more people were suddenly attacked and caught off guard, killed almost immediately. Li Yang took his eyes off his sword and focused on the situation around him, casually speaking out.


    "They can perfectly hide themselves, but they still affect the world around them with their movements. Don''t look for them, look for signs of change in the area around you."


    This was how Li Yang had discovered the location of the panther he just attacked. He hadn''t been able to use any techniques to actually see the panther, but he was able to discover an area where there were four spots where the ground was slightly warmer than its surrounding. He then felt that these four spots suddenly got warmer for a short second, guessing that it might be from a panther exerting force in its legs to jump. He then did his best to listen for the sound of air moving, using it to locate where in the air the panther was.


    The other groups immediately took Li Yang''s words to heart, using their various techniques to sniff out the spots where the panthers were affecting the world around them. Li Yang walked over to Fang Ying, pointing at the dying panther that had sunk to the floor.


    "Can you bring that one over here? They''re not Divine beasts, but they have a bit of Divine beast blood in them. Also, I want their skin and blood."


    When he wounded the first and killed the second panther, he had discovered that while they did have a sliver of Divine beast aura on them, it was rather diluted. It was likely that the large skeleton had once been a Divine beast and that these were it''s children, likely the result of the Divine beast mating with a normal Demonic beast. Fang Ying gave a nod of her head, space around the panther rippling and transporting it over to them while she was talking.


    "You really should work on your habit of shortening your sentences by not explaining yourself. I can guess why you want their skin, but saying it as you did just makes it sound macabre."


    Li Yang shrugged his shoulders casually, not really taking the advice to heart. Fang Ying rolled her eyes slightly, finishing off the panther with a quick slash to decapitate it, storing the body into her interspatial ring. She then swept her eyes around the hall, which had already broken out into several battles.


    "Well then, shall we see who can acquire more of them?"


    In the short time that had passed after Li Yang told the others how to find the panthers, two more of them had already been killed. Killing the two did not come without a cost however, four more cultivators had been killed by the panthers launching their sneak attacks. Now it was Li Yang''s turn to roll his eyes for a short instant before sweeping the hall with his gaze.


    "And you say that my words are macabre? That''s the pot calling the kettle black. But alright, I''ll play along. What does the winner get?"


    Fang Ying''s lips curled into a mixture of a smirk and a smile when Li Yang accepted her proposal. She cast a sideways glance around the hall and then gave a slight wave of her hand and caused a poisonous fog to appear around a group that was currently being attacked by three panthers, buying them a bit of time to rebuild their formation and defend themselves. After saving the group, she turned her eyes back onto Li Yang.


    "Same as usual good enough for you?"


    Li Yang''s lips curled up slightly and he nodded his head, the usual reward for their competitions were very simple, the winner could make any one request of the loser. With the deal put in place, they both swept their eyes around the hall, Fang Ying''s smirk growing wider as she made her first move.


    She gave a slight flick of her wrist, droplets of blood gathering in the air of the entire hall, turning into a drizzling rain that covered everything in blood. In this rain of blood, even the panthers were unable to truly hide from everyone''s eyes. The blood that hit them would simply vanish, so while they weren''t stained by it, they became glaring voids in the rain of blood, their positions easily visible while also revealing their full numbers, 33 panthers if one did not count the dead ones. Fang Ying tipped her head in Li Yang''s direction, smiling brilliantly at him.


    "Well then, I''ll be going on ahead."


    Fang Ying vanished right after speaking, only leaving behind a faint ripple in space before she appeared at the side of a panther. She swung her red-veined sword, causing all the bloody rain around the panther to turn into thin chains that prevented it from moving, allowing her to easily decapitate it. At the same time, space around another panther rippled, invisibly thin blades of compressed space appearing all around it and stabbing into it without giving it the time to escape. Li Yang looked at the scene, clicking his tongue slightly.


    "Tch, she got me."


    If both of them had to search for the panthers, Li Yang was somewhat confident in his ability to keep up with Fang Ying. But if both of them constantly knew where the panthers were? Not only was Fang Ying''s cultivation much higher than Li Yang''s, but she also had the law of space at her disposal, she could move far faster than him. There was only one way to explain it, the game had been rigged from the start.


    Fang Ying''s first move had immediately robbed the panthers of their main advantage, all they had left now were their strong bodies and quick movement. But when 31 panthers were faced with nearly 150 cultivators, things like that would only take them so far.


    After only another half an hour, the remaining 31 panthers had been killed, only a further five cultivators dying in the process. The competition between Li Yang and Fang Ying ended in her resounding success, she had killed 16 panthers while Li Yang had only been able to kill another seven before the other cultivators killed the rest. Fang Ying waved her hand and caused the blood that was now drenching the hall to vanish, undoing her fusion with Langshen and walking over to Li Yang with a smirk, causing him to once again click his tongue.


    "Tch, just you wait, I''ll prepare something real special for the next competition. But a loss is a loss, name your wish."


    Fang Ying let out a little giggle when she heard Li Yang''s reply, casting a sideways glance at the other cultivators in the hall before responding.


    "I''ll tell you when we''re in a less crowded place. And go ahead, prepare whatever you want, I''ll still beat you nice and cleanly, make up for all those loses I had in the past."


    Fang Ying did, after all, have her own pride, losing so many competitions in the past would sting a little. Now that she had such a good chance to take advantage of Li Yang''s currently lower cultivation, there was no way she wouldn''t take it. Li Yang rolled his eyes again, his gaze landing on the large panther corpse lying in front of the mound of earth.


    "We should pick up that skeleton and that mound of earth, they might be useful eventually. We''ll also need a bit more blood if we wish to draw up the array around this city, the blood of these panthers isn''t enough. Oh, right, I''ll make the robes later on, once we''re done in this palace."


    The hide of the panthers had a rather extraordinary ability, it would redirect any light or Qi that was beneath a certain level of strength that touched it, resulting in the invisibility of the panthers. If they made robes out of their hide, they would be able to emulate this invisibility, making it much easier for them to sneak around and remain undetected. For this reason, both Li Yang and Fang Ying aimed for the next when they killed the panthers, trying to keep as much of the fur intact.


    Fang Ying nodded her head and returned her focus from the competition back to their current situation. Some of the other groups in the room were starting to look at the large skeleton, so before anyone could make a move for it, Fang Ying dashed over and stored it into her interspatial ring. A few of the groups looked unsatisfied with her taking the entire skeleton and the mound of earth, but as she was the strongest one currently there, they could only accept it for now.


    The corpses of the panthers were quickly taken apart and divided by the groups that had killed them, the eyes of everyone landing on the doors located at the back of the hall. With the throne room being here, the treasury shouldn''t be far away. Li Yang and Fang Ying matched gazes for a quick second, Li Yang whispering quietly.


    "None of these small panthers should have eaten the Demon Crystal of that skeleton, we also haven''t seen the skeleton of this panther''s likely mate. There might be more beasts hiding in this palace, we need to be careful."


    Fang Ying nodded her head, even Langshen was sweeping the area with narrowed eyes and sniffing at the air. He was a Divine beast, his instincts were far better than most humans, and he still sensed danger from this palace. The three of them cast their eyes onto the other groups, trailing behind them as they headed for the various doors at the end of the hall.

 115 Prison cell.

    There were a total of four doors located at the back of the hall, each of them exact copies of the previous door they had seen, engraved with an eagle and a fish coiling around each other. All four of the doors were sealed up with arrays, the remaining people splitting into four groups to start unraveling the arrays. Fang Ying and Li Yang sat down on the ground a short distance away from the doors, Fang Ying casting a sideways glance at the doors before turning to Li Yang.


    "Alright, spill the beans, which of the four doors should lead to the best rewards?"


    Fang Ying admitted that her instincts weren''t as sharp as Li Yang''s, especially now that he was a humanoid Divine Beast. She could see a few marks on the doors that might suggest which one was best to take, but it would not harm to consult someone else, someone more attuned to danger. Li Yang smirked and raised his chin, putting on the airs of a mysterious person while remaining silent. Fang Ying decided to humor him for a bit, but gave up after he had stayed silent for almost five minutes. Her hand quickly moved closer to his waist, giving it a vicious pinch and forcing him to spill his secrets.


    "Alright alright, I''ll stop! Cripes, your pinches are just getting worse with time. The door to the far right should be the one containing the best rewards. It has the least scratches, there is a lot of dust stacked up in the crack beneath the door, the array on it is a bit stronger than the three others, and it also feels like the most dangerous of the four."


    The three other doors had minute scratches on their hinges and handles, marks that they had been used quite a bit more than the fourth door. The array on the fourth door wasn''t just a bit stronger than the arrays on the other three doors, it was a slight bit different, the lines that formed the runes were subtly different from the other three arrays.


    Fang Ying nodded her head, casting a glance at Langshen to make sure that he understood what they were planning. Langshen also gave a lazy nod of his head, calmly observing the people currently trying to break the arrays. Their group proceeded to casually chat while waiting for the other groups to break the arrays, none of them even taking a second to question whether or not it was a good idea to head into the door that felt the most dangerous, a mark of their unconscious bone-deep confidence.


    After spending two hours breaking the arrays, the first three doors were opened, the groups that had broken those arrays quickly flooding into the hallways beyond the doors. They cast a few sideways glances at the groups still working on breaking the array on the fourth door, hoping that they would spend even longer so that their own groups might be able to come back in time to enter this door as well.


    The array on the fourth door was only broken after another three hours, the people responsible for unraveling it working as quickly as they could so that they could see the fruits of their labor. When the door was finally pushed open, a stale wind that smelled faintly of rotting flowers blew out from it, causing the noses of the 35 people in front of it to twitch from the stench.


    Li Yang''s brows furrowed faintly after the stench hit him, casting a sideways glance at Fang Ying. She gave a light shake of her head, indicating that the scent did not originate from anything poisonous. She placed her hand on Langshen''s head and gave it a few soft strokes, notifying him to keep a close eye on their surroundings using his control over space.


    The others in front of the door also felt that this door was clearly somewhat different from the rest, but they had spent too much effort on breaking the array, they had to get something out of this. They all drew their weapons and slowly stepped through the door, Li Yang and Fang Ying trailing at the back of the group and sweeping their surroundings with wary gazes.


    They stepped into a hallway that was at least several kilometers long, metal doors that were placed an even distance away from each other lining the walls of the hallway. When they carefully opened one of the doors on the leftern wall, they discovered a square room that was completely empty, only a few rusted chains hanging from the walls. Looking at how large the room was, and how close the other doors had been to the door they entered, it seemed like this place had been built using techniques similar to when one created an interspatial ring.


    They opened a few more doors as they made their way down the hallway, but each door only contained the same empty square room as the first door. It didn''t take a lot of thought to figure out where they had arrived now, the dungeon. Li Yang could only think of two reasons for the dungeon to be located directly behind the throne room, the ones who built this place had either been idiots, or supremely confident in either the strength of their prison or the strength of their king.


    It didn''t take long for them to reach the end of the hallway, arriving at a large and barren metal door covered in another sealing array. Without saying a word, the ones that had unraveled the previous array got to work on breaking this one. This array was the same as the previous one, so now that they knew what to do they were able to save a bit of time, opening the door after only four hours.


    The door slowly swung open under their combined efforts, quite a bit heavier than any of the previous doors. Beyond the door was another prison cell, but this one quite a bit larger than the previous ones, it was at least five kilometers in each direction. And this one wasn''t empty, there was a large beast lying in the center of the room. The beast looked similar to the invisible panthers they had fought just recently, but this one was half white and half black, the two different colors actually moving around, swirling on its fur.


    This panther was also over 10 meters long and had six sickle-tipped tails rather than just three, the energy it was radiating was also quite a bit stronger than that of the panthers, it had already reached the early stage of the Primordial Rune realm, the highest cultivation realm anyone here had seen since the start of the competition.


    But rather strangely, the entire body of this panther was covered in deep green vines that were covered in finger-sized thorns, the vines of the Devil''s Grasp Vine. The vines came from the corner of the room, where there was a small portion where the floor had been broken apart from underneath, allowing the Devil''s Grasp Vine to infiltrate the room. The smell of rotting flowers came from these vines, which were currently in the process of slowly draining the life from this panther.


    The groups at first thought that the panther might be dead, but they were quickly proven wrong then when the panther opened its eyes shortly after they pushed open the door to the room. The panther''s eyes were somewhat strange, one was white with a black pupil and the other was black with a white pupil, crimson veins snaking through both of them. The panther slowly stood up, the vines covering its body quickly falling limp and pretending to be normal vines, acting on instinct to preserve themselves. The panther looked at the group of people that had pushed open the door, a rumbling voice echoing through the area as its six tails stood up straight, the air around them distorting as energy started gathering in them.


    "Ahh, more of you vermin arrive. If you are here, then that must mean that my children have already been slain by you. What, did they no longer serve a purpose after all these years so you decided to just get rid of them?"


    As it had already reached the Primordial Rune realm, this panther was perfectly capable of human speech. Depending on how strong its Demonic beast bloodline was, it might even be able to take human form already, it didn''t have to wait until it reached the Celestial Immortal realm like most Divine Beasts. The panther let out a long and mournful sigh before anyone had the chance to respond to his hate-filled question, its eyes glaring coldly at the people in front of it.


    "First you killed my father, then my wife, then my children, and now you come for me. I have grown weaker over the long years, but allow me to at least drag all of you with me to hell."

 116 Awaken.

    The air all around the panther trembled slightly just from the pressure it gave off as it prepared for battle. Despite being looked away here and having its life force sapped for an unknown amount of years, it still carried a tremendous amount of power within it. It wasn''t a Divine Beast, but just by sensing the energy it radiated, Li Yang could tell that its bloodline was nothing to scoff at. Li Yang and Fang Ying locked eyes and gave each other a nod, Fang Ying whispering quietly.


    "I''ll take charge of the others, you can just run around and do as you always do."


    Fleeing was not an option here, they had broken the arrays on the doors, allowing the panther to just chase them if they tried to flee. Fighting it with just the two of them was risky, so it was best to gather together the power of everyone here to deal with the Demonic beast. Fang Ying placed her hand on Langshen''s head, the two merging into one again as she quickly called out to the others.


    "It''ll chase us if we try to flee, join forces with me to take it down!"


    The remaining 33 people in the room all turned to look at Fang Ying at the same time, nodding their heads in agreement. Fang Ying had the highest cultivation of anyone in this palace, there was no one more suited to leading them right now than her. While the other people quickly moved closer to Fang Ying, Li Yang took several steps back, his eyes fully focused on the panther, observing even the smallest movement.


    Everyone here was a strong cultivator, so in reality, only around three seconds had passed since the panther first stood up and spoke to them. The one that made the first move after everyone gathered around Fang Ying was the panther, its entire body vanishing from sight. Despite it going invisible, Li Yang''s eyes continued to stay on the panther, none of its movements able to escape him


    Six people were suddenly flung back right after the panther turned invisible, just barely able to raise their defense before the attacks landed on them. They were quickly caught by the people around them before they could fly too far away, they could not afford to have their ranks thin too much now.


    Fang Ying''s brows suddenly furrowed, her left hand stretching out and poking space next to her, causing it to ripple like the surface of a lake. A man that had just caught one of the people that had been attacked suddenly vanished from his position, the floor where he had just been standing shattering immediately afterward. Five other people were immediately flung back, but unlike the man that Fang Ying had teleported away, these five were able to react in time and prepare their defenses. Fang Ying brandished her sword, a cloud of blood gathering in the cell as she spoke out and stepped forward.


    "We can''t let it force us into a defensive position, it''ll just drain our energy and then pick us off one by one!"


    The rain of blood stained the panther''s fur and allowed the people in the room to see its location, but strangely enough, the blood vanished after touching the panther for just a second, forcing Fang Ying to keep the rain of blood going at all times so that they could keep track of it. After shouting out the order, Fang Ying charged forward, the bloody rain gathering around her and taking on a faintly pink color as it started to release the scent of apples.


    The other people didn''t stand around idle either, quickly gathering into three groups of 11 and forming the most rudimentary army array, one that would pool their powers together and allow them to borrow the strength of the others. The array was so common and simple that even the unaffiliated cultivators could pull it off after just receiving a few quick instructions.


    The three groups quickly followed after Fang Ying, taking her as their center and acting as defense and supplementary attackers. The three groups launched their attacks at the same time, aiming for the head of the panther and forcing it to pay attention to them so that Fang Ying could attack freely.


    And Fang Ying did just that. She vanished into a ripple in space and appeared above the panther, just behind the three attacks that it was currently blocking with its six tails. The moment the three attacks were blown apart after touching the tails, she lashed out with her sword, the pink blood turning into a thin layer that covered the blade.


    The sword collided with the tips of two of the tails, the blood spreading onto the tails and causing a sizzling sound to spread through the room as the two sickle tips started to melt away. At the same time as she lashed out with her sword, the rain of blood in the room gathered together to form several crescent-moon shaped blades that flew at the panther. As for the blood that had already gathered on the floor, it rose up into a thick spike beneath the panther, aiming to pierce through its chest.


    The panther quickly reacted, waving the two poisoned tails to blow away any of the blood that had gathered on the blades. It then let out a deafening roar that unleashed a shockwave that caused the spike of blood to be squashed to the ground and sent Fang Ying flying through the air. Had she not reacted quickly and teleported away she would have crashed into the ceiling at full speed.


    It quickly jumped away to dodge the blades of blood but they simply chased it as it fled, each of them controlled by Fang Ying. She flicked her finger and caused some of the blades to vanish into a ripple in space, quickly appearing at different positions around the panther and closing in on it like a prison.


    The panther glanced at the blades and let out a low growl, lowering its head and charging directly through two of them so that it could reach one of the three groups that were currently launching attacks to distract it. The blades left a cut on its neck and back, but they were far from being fatal just yet.


    Thanks to enduring the two blades and the distraction attacks that hit it, the panther arrived directly by the leftmost group of 11 people. It let out a loud roar and lashed out with all six tails as well as its two front paws. The array the group had formed managed to last for a single second under the might of the tiger but then it immediately collapsed. Four people were bisected by the still-sharp tails, two more crushed by the tails which had somewhat melted under her poison. As for the three who failed to dodge its two paws, all the bones in their bodies were shattered and their remains sent crashing into the wall. Fang Ying furrowed her brows and waved her hand, space around the remaining two people rippling as she sent them to the other groups.


    "Integrate them into the groups, don''t leave them exposed!"


    Despite there only being a single sub-realm in difference between her and the panther, one being at the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm and the other at the early stage of the Primordial Rune realm, the difference between these two realms was actually incredibly vast. Most early-stage Primordial Rune realm cultivators could easily kill most late-stage Immortal Rebirth realm cultivators. When the panther gave up on everything else and launched its attack, it was impossible for Fang Ying to react in time to save the people in the group.


    The remaining blades of blood continued to fly at the panther, quickly surrounding it again. The panther only glanced at the blades before charging for the next group, aiming to endure four of the blades this time. But just as the first blade of blood crashed into its back, Fang Ying appeared out from the blade of blood, stabbing downwards with her sword and driving it deep into the wound that had just been created.


    The panther let out a pained roar but then quickly tensed all the muscles in its back, preventing Fang Ying from pulling out her sword again. It then lashed out with its tails, forcing Fang Ying to teleport away and abandon her sword. Her body was stronger than the average person, but she had yet to properly start cultivating her body, she could not afford to let any attack land on her.


    The panther then quickly used its four sharp tails to cut out a part of its own back, stopping Fang Ying''s poison from spreading through its body. Fang Ying teleported away, but not very far. She appeared directly above the tails of the panther, who was still in the process of cutting out a piece of its own back.


    She stretched out her right arm and opened her hand right after appearing above the tiger, a golden bolt of lightning tearing through the air and arriving in her hand, turning into a golden-purple sword. She immediately slashed out with the blade, drawing a golden-purple line through the air and unleashing a thunderous boom. The panther quickly spun around and lashed out with its right front paw, the blade colliding with its claws and resulting in a screeching sound as the air was forcefully pushed away.


    The sword and paw were pushed apart, Fang Ying quickly teleporting away as the panther lashed out with its tails again. Her hands were aching after the collision, but the panther was feeling even worse than her. it had endured several attacks from the two groups already, and this collision just now shattered all the claws on its right front paw, the bones within the paw on the verge of breaking. It cast a hateful glance at Fang Ying but was then quickly caught off-guard by what it saw. She was smiling faintly, why was she smiling?


    The panther quickly received an answer to its question, space right behind it rippling for a short instant. Li Yang appeared directly behind it, the golden-purple sword already back in his hand and in the middle of a sideways slash aimed at the base of the second to the left of the six tails. Golden fire and lightning coiled around the blade and caused the air to violently distort, the panther able to feel their ferocious heat before they even touched it.


    The panther wanted to quickly turn around to block the attack, but just as it tried to move, its feet slid slightly, a layer of ice having appeared beneath its feet and turned it unstable for a short second. The ice then rose up into sharp spikes that dug into the wounds on the already wounded paw, causing the Qi within that leg to turn slightly stagnant and further slowing the panther.


    Li Yang''s sword collided with the base of the tail, scorching the fur and cutting deep into the tail, nearly severing it and flooding the panther with lightning and fire that it had to defend against before it could properly act against him. Li Yang let go of the sword right after making the attack, grabbing onto the cut tail with his left hand and digging his right hand into the wound he had just created.


    A torrent of glacial Qi flooded into the wound and caused the entire base of the tail to freeze solid for a short second. Li Yang quickly pulled out his hand and delivered a punch to the frozen base of the tail, golden flames turning his punch explosive and resulting in even more of the tail tearing apart. He then grabbed onto the tail with his right hand as well and exerted all his force, pulling at the tail with all his might, tearing it completely off.


    The panther howled in pain and decided to ignore the fire and lightning rampaging through its wound, lashing out with its remaining five tails, one of them hitting Li Yang dead on and slamming him downwards. Li Yang blocked the attack using the tip of the tail he had just torn off, leaving a cut on the tail that hit him, but he was still slammed towards the ground at full speed. But even so, his face still carried a confident smirk that caused the panther to feel uneasy.


    And just as it feared, space around Li Yang rippled and he vanished before he hit the floor. But just as Li Yang vanished, so too did the sword he had let go of earlier. Both appeared directly above the left shoulder of the panther, Li Yang retaining all the momentum he had as he was sent crashing towards the floor. He grabbed the sword and used the momentum to his advantage, spinning his body around and slamming his sword into the left shoulder of the panther.


    A cracking sound resounded through the room, the entire shoulder sinking down slightly as the bones within it were shattered from the impact. Li Yang didn''t stop his attack there, once again letting go of his sword and grabbing onto the tail he was still carrying. He used the tail like a whip, lashing out with the tip and gouging out the right eye of the tiger. Space around him and the sword then rippled again, both vanishing before the panther could retaliate.


    Li Yang appeared in the spot where he had stood earlier, close to the door, and let out a deep breath, rubbing his forearms with a slight grimace, his entire face as pale as sheet of paper. He was a humanoid Divine Beast and had already started cultivating his body, but even so, blocking just one of the tails shook his bones quite badly.


    But his attacks had been a success. He had spent the start of the battle just quietly observing the panther, locating two weak spots on its body. The first was the tail he had torn off, the panther would not use as much force in this tail as it did with the rest, it also made sure that none of the blades of blood could come close to this tail.


    The second weak spot was the left shoulder, the panther put less weight on its left front leg, something Li Yang could detect since he had used his law of ice to keep a close eye on the temperature changes in the room the moment the battle started. Since it put less weight on that leg, it would produce less heat when pressed against the floor, making it easy to notice.


    At first, he guessed that it might be the paw itself that was wounded, but then he saw that even when the panther charged through the blades of blood, it made sure that its left shoulder remained untouched, tipping Li Yang off to which part of the left leg was likely wounded in the past. With one tail torn out and the stump bleeding profusely, and its left front leg crippled, the panther became far less dangerous.


    Li Yang cast a sideways glance at Fang Ying, who had become pale after being forced to use the law of space so many times in succession. As it was one of the more supreme laws, the amount of Qi and energy it drained was no joke. She noticed his glance, turning her head towards him and flashing him a smile, giving him a thumbs up. Li Yang returned the smile with a wink, stepping back again and leaving the rest of the fighting to the two groups. To make sure that both attacks had their desired effect, Li Yang held nothing back, even using as much of his law of destruction as he could, greatly draining his energy.


    Fang Ying joined Li Yang, both of them sitting down and leaning against the wall while keeping a close eye on the ongoing battle. The panther was now crippled and bleeding heavily, he wasn''t able to last much longer under the coordinated assault of the two groups, collapsing to the ground with an indignant howl after another half hour, finally dying.


    The two groups, which were now mostly exhausted, cast a sideways glance at the resting couple, waiting for them to speak up. They knew that things would have looked bleak had it not been for the two of them doing most of the work, the first pick of the spoils of war went to them. Li Yang looked at them for a bit before shrugging his shoulders casually.


    "We''ll take all the blood, the rest you can do with as you please."


    He wanted to take the entire body, but there was no way Fang Ying would agree to that, these people had also pulled their own weight, so they deserved a reward. The others nodded their heads and quickly decided who would get what remained of the corpse, selecting a few people to dissect the corpse. The corpse was rather large, so it took almost two hours to properly dissect it, a middle-aged man named Shen Tianyu handing Li Yang an interspatial ring containing all the blood of the panther.


    After dissecting the corpse, the remaining people started to explore the rest of the cell, making sure to inspect every inch so that they didn''t miss anything. But in the end, even after spending another two hours searching, they found nothing of value, only the vines of the Devil''s Grasp Vine remained in the room.


    They were dejected, but there was nothing they could do about it. They could only leave this part of the palace and head into one of the other doors that remained and hope that the other groups hadn''t completely emptied them out. They all gathered up and started to leave the cell, deciding to stay close just in case they encountered any other dangers.


    But just as they stepped out of the cell, the entire palace shook fiercely, the walls and floor even starting to crack from the strong trembling. Li Yang and Fang Ying both got an uneasy feeling, quickly turning their heads and looking into the cell they had just left. They turned their heads just in time to see that the vines had risen up and were currently being sucked back into the hole they came from. Both of them realized what this meant, cursing out at the same time.


    "It''s woken up!"


    "Those fucking idiots woke it up!"


    They knew that it couldn''t be them that had woken it up, otherwise, it would have already started moving while they were fighting the panther. But whatever the cause, the worst situation had come to pass, the Devil''s Grasp Vine had awoken from its slumber.

 117 Herald of the apocalypse.

    The quaking of the palace quickly got worse, large cracks spreading across every surface. Thin vines started to poke out from the cracks, causing Li Yang and Fang Ying to guess that the Devil''s Grasp Vine had probably already drilled its vines into the entire palace, like termites moving through the walls.


    The others didn''t know what was going on, but seeing the ugly expressions that Li Yang and Fang Ying wore, they could easily guess that something had gone terribly wrong. After all, the two had stayed perfectly calm even when faced with the panther they just killed, so things must have gone really south for their expressions to twist like that.


    They all quickly ran through the hallway and returned to the throne room, Li Yang and Fang Ying taking the lead. They quickly reached the throne room and spotted the three other groups, which hadn''t lost nearly as many members as them. Li Yang''s narrowed gaze swept over all of them, his lips curling slightly as he cursed.


    "What the fuck did you idiots do? Do you have any clue what sort of shit you''ve pulled?"


    He could see that a surprising amount of the people from the other groups looked rather content, they had likely found some nice treasures that they took for themselves, awakening the Devil''s Grasp Vine in the process. A female youth from the Tian clan group frowned slightly at Li Yang''s vicious tone, berating him.


    "You should watch your tone when speaking to your sen...!"


    Li Yang''s hand grasped her throat before she got to finish her berating, lifting her up from the floor and clutching her throat, a cold stream of energy invading her lungs. A slight sneer appeared on his lips as he glared at her, his gaze slowly moving to the pink-haired leader of the Tian clan group.


    "Unless you plan on telling me what sort of shit you''ve pulled, just shut up. I have no interest in hearing about what sort of ''seniority'' you believe you have. You, what the fuck did you do? What sort of items did you pick up? And you better not try to lie to me, I really have no patience for that right now."


    The leader of the Tian clan group frowned slightly at the scene, but not because of how Li Yang was acting, but by the speed he had just shown. The speed he had just used was at a level where even she would have to take him serious, she had been unable to step forward and block him in time. She quickly collected herself, casting a sideways glance at Fang Ying, who had taken a step forward.


    "We didn''t find anything special, only a few jade slips that can at best be considered a decent find for clans as large as ours. You should be asking the other groups what they found, they seem quite a bit happier than us. Now, unless you want us to engage in a grand brawl, I suggest you let her go."


    The pink-haired leader gently swiped her interspatial ring as she finished her sentence, her eyes narrowing faintly. She also took out the jade slips after she finished talking, proving her words. Li Yang continued to gaze at her for a short second before he gave a wave of his hand, tossing the girl at the leader in a dismissive manner. He then moved his gaze onto the two other groups, his intentions clear. The other groups clearly didn''t want to reveal what they had picked up, but after looking at the palace falling apart around them, and the other groups glaring at them, they were forced to respond.


    "We found their pill room and managed to acquire a large number of pills, pill recipes, as well as a few materials that can be used to make pills."


    "We found their herb garden, and although practically everything had dried up, we found a plant that had absorbed all the energy of the withered plants."


    While speaking, both groups brought out the items they had picked up, not wishing everyone else to collapse on them. When Fang Ying and Li Yang''s gazes landed on the gnarled heart-shaped mass of wood and vines that the last group brought out, both of them clicked their tongues at once.


    "A secondary heart, can''t believe you managed to find an unguarded one. But well done, you might have fucked us all."


    The man-sized mass of wood and vines was one of the secondary hearts of the Devil''s Grasp Vine. They would usually be guarded pretty strictly by the beast, but it seemed like it couldn''t properly set up a guard, even an instinctive one, while it was hibernating.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying had destroyed a tertiary heart earlier, but those hearts were of lesser importance to the beast, it wouldn''t even notice a few of those going missing. But this secondary heart, oh it would notice the moment anything happened to one of these.


    The other groups didn''t quite grasp the situation, and how dire it could be, but they could guess a little just by seeing how the palace was falling apart, some casting worried glances around them while some glared at the group holding the heart. Li Yang and Fang Ying locked gazes, nodding their heads and then quickly dashing for the palace entrance, they had to see just what the situation was in the rest of the city. The other groups quickly followed, choosing to seek refuge in numbers until they understood exactly what was going on.


    They quickly reached the entrance, the palace crumbling and collapsing behind them as they ran. By the time they reached the entrance, the prison area where they had fought the panther had already fully collapsed, a loud crashing sound informing everyone of the area''s fate. When they reached the entrance and saw the state of the city, both Fang Ying and Li Yang realized that the situation was worse than they originally thought.


    Since the palace was at the center of the city, which was elevated above the rest of the city, they could see that the entire city was starting to collapse. Thorny vines were breaking through the ground and rising towards the sky, a cage forming around the entire city and sealing off any escape routes. The densest mass of vines was located at the far end of the city, the location of the primary heart. Fang Ying swept the entire city with her gaze, having already fused with Langshen just in case something happened.


    "What do you think?"


    Li Yang fell into a short silence after hearing Fang Ying''s question, softly tapping his chin while his thoughts raced. After thinking for a bit, and going over everything he had in his arsenal, he shrugged his shoulders casually.


    "We still don''t have everything needed to set up the weaker version of the Creation Sealing Array, but even if we had everything we needed it would do us no good. The weakened version would not be able to paralyze the beast now that it is awake, and angry. With that being the case, we''ll likely have to deal with it in a different manner, we''ll probably also have to give up on extracting the energy in the primary heart and focus on escaping."


    The energy in the primary heart would be supremely useful to them, but they would be unable to enjoy it if they were dead so there was no point in being too hung up on it. Liang Chen took out a piece of paper and drew a rough map of the entire city, marking over a hundred spots on the map and then handing it to Fang Ying.


    "Here, have everyone here take up positions in one of the marked spots and then head over to this spot here. Just tell them that we''ll all end up dead if they don''t listen. Or you can use force, just get them there. This is all the blood I have on me right now, drip it out as you move and connect the various spots together, draw these three runes in each spot I''ve marked, I''ll deal with these six spots."


    Li Yang handed over almost every last drop of blood he had, he could only forget about using it for his cultivation. Fang Ying didn''t ask exactly what Li Yang was planning to do, she had absolute trust in him. Since he told her to do this, it meant he would do what he always did, find some way to deal with the situation at hand. She accepted the map with a nod of her head, both of them leaning forward and sharing a kiss before parting ways.


    Li Yang turned around and dashed away from the palace, quickly moving closer to the primary heart. He was confident that Fang Ying would manage to get the other people to the designated spots in one way or the other, so all he had to worry about was his own task. While he moved, he spread out what little blood he had kept for himself, using it to draw several small runes in a few locations where Fang Ying would bring the others.


    He quickly reached the spot that was his target, a wide-open plaza located about 100 kilometers away from the primary heart. He threw away the empty jug he was holding, a trail of blood stretching out behind him and connecting him to the spots where he had drawn the runes. With this, almost every piece of the grand array he was planning was done, it only missed one last ingredient, the blood of a divine beast.


    Liang Chen took a dagger out from his interspatial ring and slit open his wrists, splashing his blood on the ground around him. He crouched down and started drawing up complex runes, putting the finishing touches on the array as he used his blood as paint and his finger as a brush.


    Li Yang enjoyed arrays, they were so simple yet so complex. Each line had a specific purpose and would unleash a specific amount of energy, the lines gathered together and formed runes, which would amplify and stabilize the power contained in each line. The larger the array, the more runes one would need to draw, some arrays were so large and complex that they required one to use smaller runes as lines to draw up larger runes. Li Yang could easily lose himself in arrays, studying the countless number of modifications one could make to an array to change its effect.


    But right now he could not afford to lose himself in the drawing of the array and how to improve it, he simply had to quickly finish up the array just as he remembered it. It took him a little over an hour to finish up the runes around him, the number of vines surrounding the entire city growing more numerous with each passing second, slowly pressing down on the city like a compressor.


    After drawing up the last of the runes, Li Yang let out a deep breath and took a small bottle out from his interspatial ring. The bottle contained a single drop of light blue liquid, it was the medicine he had received from the elders of the Yuan clan when he first met them. Just his natural healing wasn''t enough to restore his energy fast enough, he would have to give it a little kick to speed it up. He swallowed the liquid, an icy cool sensation running down his throat and filling his entire body when the drop entered his stomach.


    The cuts on his wrists quickly started healing, the flesh on his arms wriggling as the wounds closed up and energy started to flood his body. Li Yang let out another deep breath, standing amidst the bloody runes while he waited for Fang Ying to finish spreading out the other people.


    After another half hour, the bloody runes beneath him suddenly started to release a faint light and discharge waves of energy. Li Yang lowered his gaze and connected his mind with the runes, something he could do since he was the one who had drawn up the array and was standing at the core of it. Waves of violent energy quickly flooded into his body from the runes, filling his entire being and causing every inch of his body to scream out in pain from being overloaded with energy.


    This array he had drawn up had one simple function, to drain the energy of everyone who was standing on one of the marked spots and channel it all into the core, into Li Yang. With more and more energy flooding into Li Yang, the sky above the city quickly grew restless, golden clouds of flame covering the entire sky. Arcs of golden lightning crackled within the clouds and split apart the air, deafening every living creature in the surroundings with their thunderous roar, as if they were heralding the approach of the end times. An icy rain started to hail down on the city, the Qi in the air itself freezing and falling to the ground.


    With the help of the array and the gathered energy of over a hundred cultivators, as well as the energy contained within the blood used to draw the array, Li Yang was able to emulate a sliver of the might he had when he was still in his prime and feared as the Thunder Monarch. But now he no longer had access to just lightning, he also had fire and ice. And looking at the scenery he conjured right now, he would be more likely to be referred to as the herald of the apocalypse.

 118 Escaping the island.

    Li Yang took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily, the air in front of him trembling from just the energy contained in that single breath. He then raised his head to the sky, the golden clouds of flame filling his vision. He did a small hop, vanishing from his position and appearing far above the city, just beneath the vines that formed the cage around the area and were trying to blot out the clouds.


    Li Yang raised his sword high, the burning clouds immediately gathering together and turning into a single bolt of flaming lightning that shot down with a roar. The bolt easily disintegrated the vines and collided with Li Yang''s sword, the energy transferring into both his body and his weapon, causing two wings of golden fire that arced with lightning to appear on his back, a result of him being unable to fully contain the vast energy.


    Located on the ground in the city were the people who had entered the palace alongside Li Yang and Fang Ying, all of them unable to move since Li Yang had drained every last drop of their strength. They could only lie there and bear witness to the spectacle that filled them with boundless fear, like an ant facing the incoming stomp of a human.


    Of the people still in the city, there was only one who was still able to move, Fang Ying, she was also the only one not filled with fear. On the contrary, watching Li Yang soaring high above them, flaming wings on his back while large chunks of frozen Qi fell to the earth, filled her with happiness. This was the glory he once had, the glory he deserved. Fang Ying sat down on the ground, patting the now tired Langshen on the head and quietly observing the scene above her, making sure to engrave it in her memory.


    The Devil''s Grasp Vine noticed the moment its vines got disintegrated, countless more sprouting from the ground and shooting towards Li Yang. The Devil''s Grasp Vine could feel danger from it, he was a threat that had to be erased. As the vines shot towards him, they started to greedily absorb all the energy around them, even some of the chunks of frozen Qi ending up absorbed by the thorns.


    Li Yang looked down upon the thorns that came for him, lowering his sword in a swift downward slash, unleashing all the energy gathered up in it. A thin golden line shot out from the tip of the blade, disintegrating the vines that came for him while also splitting the entire city, as well as the island it was located on, in half. The edges of the cut blazed with fire and crackled with lightning that caused the scar to quickly grow larger by eating away at everything they came in contact with.


    The slash was very well placed, perfectly avoiding the people lying on the ground while also ruining as many of the Devil''s Grasp Vines as possible. The thick shield of vines that defended the primary heart shrunk to almost half its size to defend against the attack, but all the ruined vines almost immediately regrew as the Devil''s Grasp Vine drew upon the energy it had stored up for its hibernation.


    Li Yang knew that he would not be able to maintain this state for long, it would tear his body apart and kill him if he tried to endure this energy for much longer. As such, he did not give himself or the Devil''s Grasp Vine even a moment''s respite, launching his next attack the moment he finished swinging his sword.


    The atmosphere in the entire city suddenly became so cold that it dropped below freezing temperatures. A large meteor of ice formed above the city, quickly splitting up into tree-sized spikes that hailed down upon the city, each aiming for at least one of the Devil''s Grasp Vine''s hearts.


    At the same time, the chunks of frozen Qi that had already landed on the ground exploded outwards, driving thick spikes deep into the earth and tearing apart any vines that they came in contact with. With just two simple attacks, the entire city had been split in half and then been turned into a pincushion so dense one could just barely see what remained of the city.


    But even so, Li Yang could still feel that the beast was alive and well, its vines regrowing almost instantly. This was one of the scariest parts of this beast, its incredible vitality that let it restore itself almost instantly. But Li Yang didn''t care too much, casting his gaze down onto the ground and locking eyes with Fang Ying, nodding at her.


    Their plan wasn''t to defeat this Devil''s Grasp Vine, it was to escape this place. Fang Ying returned the nod, once again fusing with the tired and now pouting Langshen, vanishing into a ripple through space. Li Yang knew her well, she wouldn''t agree to just them escaping now, she would likely pick up the other people first. Li Yang let out another breath, his gaze returning to the dense vines that surrounded the primary heart.


    "Oh well, let''s mess you up some more."


    The purpose of the first two attacks was to destroy the vines that surrounded the city and to draw the full attention of the Devil''s Grasp Vine, this next attack was something Li Yang was only going to launch to vent some of his annoyance at having to waste so much blood.


    He dropped to the ground as fast as lightning, crashing through the thick spikes of ice and creating a crater where he landed, dropping into a kneeling position and digging both his hands into the ground, unleashing almost all of the energy he had left in him.


    The earth started to bulge and waver, the spikes of ice evaporating as both the earth and any remaining stones started to melt. The entire island suddenly exploded outwards, thick pillars of golden magma shooting into the sky and turning into a calamitous rain that hailed down over the entire city. Li Yang kept a close eye on every drop of magma, making sure that none of them hit Fang Ying or any of the people she was working on saving.


    Thanks to the magma covering the entire city, he was also able to notice the moment she was done saving the last person, transporting everyone to the edge of the city. He pulled both of his hands out from the earth, his lips curling up slightly as he let out a mutter.


    "I''ll be taking these, I''m sure you won''t mind."


    Li Yang stood up from his kneeling position, his legs trembling slightly while his vision was starting to turn somewhat blurry. He shook his head to clear up his vision and waved his left hand, causing the earth in three different locations to rise up slightly. A frozen mass of vines in the shape of a heart shot out from each of these three locations, quickly flying over to Li Yang before being stored into his interspatial rings. These were secondary hearts that he had frozen to keep safe, they only contained a fraction of the energy that the primary heart contained, but at least it was something.


    Li Yang then took a step and vanished, immediately appearing at Fang Ying''s side. Li Yang turned his gaze onto the water that surrounded the island, his vision locking onto the closest island. He flicked his wrist and unleashed the last of the energy he had in his body, a burst of intense cold causing a bridge to form over the water, connecting the two islands and making it easier to get away from this place.


    Li Yang''s vision grew blurry when he unleashed the remaining energy, his body roaring at him in pain as his legs started to give out underneath him. He had tried to contain far too much energy in his body, now it was catching up with him. He let himself fall into Fang Ying''s arms, muttering quietly before falling unconscious.


    "Alright, I did my part, your turn. I''m expecting some damn good breakfast when I wake up."

 119 Paragons.

    Fang Ying looked at the unconscious Li Yang, a sweet smile hanging on her lips. She planted a quick kiss on his lips and then moved him onto her back, carrying him in a piggyback. She cast her eyes onto the weakened people around her, speaking up in a clear voice while pointing at the bridge.


    "You should all take one or two Qi restoring pills to quickly restore some of your energy, we''ll be able to escape much faster like that."


    She gave a light wave of her hand while talking, a purple powder appearing in the air around the weak people, descending onto their skin and seeping into their bodies. They could feel their sore bodies quieting down after the powder seeped into them, it seemed to be a numbing poison that would deal with the pain they were feeling after having all their energy forcibly drained.


    Seeing the carnage that was the city around them, none of the people here were dumb enough to waste a single second, immediately swallowing any pills they had on hand to restore their energy. They all then rushed out onto the bridge of ice that Li Yang had created, quickly fleeing towards the island it connected to. While they were quickly making their way across the island, one of the people jogging in front of Fang Ying couldn''t help but turn around, gulping as she looked at the ruined island and then at Li Yang, asking the question that was on everyone''s mind.


    "Senior Ying, could you tell me, just wha... just who is he?"


    She quickly swallowed her words before she was able to ask ''what'' Li Yang was, changing the question. Yes, Li Yang had relied on an array that focused all their power on him to unleash such horrid destruction, but the girl was certain that if anyone else had tried to do what he did, the rampant energy would tear them apart.


    But he had controlled that energy nearly perfectly, it was as if he was already accustomed to controlling such vast amounts of violent energy. Fang Ying''s gaze swept over the others, who were now all either looking at her or listening with perked ears, a light giggle escaping her lips.


    "Didn''t I already tell you? He''s my husband, and he''s the most terrifying and terrific man to ever exist."


    It was an answer that couldn''t even be called that, it sounded more like the braggings of a girl trying to show off her dearest treasure. The eyes of the surrounding people continued to look at Fang Ying in an attempt to press her for a proper answer, but all that met them was Fang Ying''s bright smile.


    The others were just about to turn their gazes away in rejection and focus on the path ahead of them, but Fang Ying and Langshen''s eyes suddenly shot open, cold sweat pouring down Fang Ying''s face as she quickly lowered her head, gazing through the icy bridge. The others quickly followed her lead, lowering their eyes, their gazes freezing in shock and fear.


    A massive eye was visible beneath the bridge, glancing at them with an indifferent light floating around in the eye. A massive black shadow was visible beneath the eye, spreading out further than the eye could see, larger than even the island they had just left. The cultivators couldn''t help but feel cold shivers run down their backs. Such a large thing had...snuck up on them without anyone noticing?


    Fang Ying''s fingers were fidgeting on Li Yang''s thighs while everyone was gazing nervously at the eye, her mind racing to come up with as many plans as possible that might be able to save them. After gazing at them for a short few moments, the eye swept over Fang Ying, a somewhat surprised voice rumbling out in her mind.


    "Ohh, the paragons... of creation and destruction... have come here together...? What a rare occurrence... rare indeed... Very well, be... on your way... and give those... old fellows my, Xing Yuyen''s, greetings... when you see them again..."


    The voice, Xing Yuyen, spoke very slowly, but at the same time, it sounded as if all the words came out at the same time, it was an exceedingly strange thing to experience. The voice of Xing Yuyen felt like thunder going off in Fang Ying''s head, rocking her mind and nearly causing it to go completely blank from the reverberations. Luckily, Xing Yuyen didn''t say anything else, the massive eye vanishing into the depths and leaving Fang Ying''s mind filled with questions.


    She could somewhat guess at what Xing Yuyen meant by Paragons of creation and destruction. Back when she and Li Yang died and were reincarnated, they each spoke to a strange being of their own that sent them to reincarnate. These beings called them their successor due to the fact that they had comprehended either creation or destruction, so she guessed that being a paragon meant being the successor of such a being.


    But this knowledge raised several questions in her mind. Who were those ''old fellows'' that Xing Yuyen spoke about, were there other paragons, and what exactly was the identity of the beings that had helped her and Li Yang reincarnate? Being filled with questions but having no way to answer them was a rather annoying feeling so Fang Ying couldn''t help but give a light click of her tongue, glancing at the peaceful face of Li Yang.


    She quickly calmed down upon seeing his face, shaking her head lightly and throwing away the thoughts for the moment. Oh well, it didn''t really matter as long as she got to be with Li Yang. She swiftly picked up her pace again, the still terrified cultivators quickly following after her, all of them crossing the bridge and arriving at the new island.


    This island was smaller than the previous one, only around 200-300 kilometers in width, a dense tropical jungle covering the entire island. The trees in the jungle resembled umbrellas, the leaves weaving around each other at the very top of the tree. Standing at the center of the island was an exceedingly strange mountain, the base of the mountain was very narrow, growing thicker and wider the closer to the top of the mountain one got, it was like an upside down cone. After they all reached the island, Fang Ying stomped on the ice bridge and shattered the part that connected to the island, turning to the others when she was done.


    "I don''t detect any strong Demonic beasts on this island, it should be safe to rest and recuperate here, just try to not make a large ruckus that might attract anything."


    The other cultivators quickly nodded their heads, closing their mouths shut and quickly splitting up to find a place for their groups to peacefully recuperate. Langshen looked deep into the forest, letting out a low growl to convey his intentions and then heading deeper into the forest. He had spent a lot of his energy, now he needed to hunt for some food if he wanted to quickly restore it. He could get some pills from Fang Ying, but as a Divine Beast, he preferred to eat actual meals to restore his strength.


    Fang Ying didn''t stop Langshen, the two were easily able to locate each other should there be anything. She walked along the edge of the island, quickly finding a very normal-looking spot that didn''t attract any attention. She placed Li Yang on the ground and removed the top layer of a house-sized patch of earth with her sword, using her poison to dissolve the revealed earth and creating a cave. She picked up Li Yang and jumped into the cave, covering it using the patch of earth she had removed using her sword, making it seem as if the area was the same as always.


    She used some Qi to reinforce the ceiling of the cave, making sure that it wouldn''t collapse even if someone were to walk on it. She then took out several glowing crystals from her interspatial ring, placing them around the cave to illuminate it. She even took out some chairs, a couch, and a table, placing them down in the cave and transforming it into a somewhat cozy home.


    She then sat down on the couch and placed Li Yang next to her, grabbing onto his arm and closing her eyes while sending some Qi into his body to check on his condition. Her eyebrows slowly formed a frown, her eyes opening after a minute, a soft mutter escaping her lips while she flicked Li Yang''s forehead.


    "Dumbo, that last attack was both needless and reckless. What would you ever do without me?"


    Most of his body was a bit damaged, but it was nothing that couldn''t be healed with some rest and a few pills. His lungs, however, were a different story. They were starting to fragment, a few hair-thin tears coiling around his lungs, like the web of a spider. The last attack he had launched proved too much for his body, pushing it from the brink of collapse into the early stages of falling apart.


    Fang Ying stuffed a few pills into her mouth and then closed her eyes again, placing her right palm against Li Yang''s chest, right where his lungs should be. A stream of Qi gathered in her right hand, quickly gathering together and condensing, a white light slowly starting to shine from her right hand, sinking into Li Yang''s chest and covering his lungs.


    The hair-thin tears slowly started to vanish under this white light, new tissue filling the tears and repairing the lungs, preventing them from getting worse. If Li Yang and his destruction were pitch black, then Fang Ying and her creation were a blinding white, both were two ends of an extreme that ended up coming together, ending up inseparable.


    Two hours later, the pills in Fang Ying''s mouth had all dissolved and all the tears in Li Yang''s lungs had been perfectly restored, Fang Ying opening her eyes and letting out a deep breath. She wiped away the sweat on her forehead and then stretched out her arm, viciously flicking Li Yang''s forehead.


    "The punishment for being an idiot like that is no breakfast, no matter how much you end up pouting."


    Fang Ying crossed her legs and closed her eyes in quiet cultivation, choosing to restore her energy like this rather than by using pills. There was no telling when they would end up needing them, it was best to save them whenever you could. Fang Ying finished restoring her energy after a further three hours, her gaze turning towards the ceiling of the cave.


    "Guess we better find out what the situation of the surroundings is while we wait for the sleepyhead."


    Fang Ying stood up and pushed away the ceiling after making sure that there were no people or Demonic beasts outside, poking her head up from the cave. She gave a wave of her hand and caused a red mist to appear in the air, the mist slowly drifting into the forest and vanishing from sight. Fang Ying then closed the cave again and sat down on the couch, playing with a wooden comb that had appeared in her hand. After a further three hours, she stood up again and once more pushed away the ceiling.


    Hundreds of birds landed on the ground in front of the cave when Fang Ying pushed away the ceiling, calmly and patiently looking at Fang Ying. These birds had fallen victim to one of her poisons that affected the enemy brain and soul, turning them into loyal slaves for as long as the poison was in their bodies. She quickly gave them their orders, sending the birds on their way.


    "Check out this island and the surrounding ones, just observe as much as you can before returning to me."


    The birds quickly flew off after receiving their orders, splitting up into several smaller groups that headed to different places. She didn''t need the birds to deliver any reports, she could just go through their souls and memories when they returned, seeing everything that they had seen. She then closed the cave again, returning to her seat on the couch and closing her eyes in quiet cultivation, awaiting Li Yang''s awakening.

 120 The arrival of the third.

    The first thing Li Yang saw when he opened his eyes again was an earthen wall covered in tiny crystals that released a faint light, it was like looking at the sea of stars. He could feel that he was lying on his side, a pleasantly soft sensation squeezing against the side of his head. He didn''t even have to look, that familiar calming scent that filled his nose was enough to let him know what sort of position he was in.


    Since he was already in this position, he decided to take a deep breath and bury his head deeper into Fang Ying''s lap, contently closing his eyes. But sadly, it seemed like Fang Ying had no intentions of just letting him do as he pleased, pinching his cheek pulling on it.


    "Oh no you don''t. You''ve already slept for almost a month, do you really think I''ll let you sleep any more? Now get up before you drool any more on my lap."


    Li Yang clicked his tongue, but with Fang Ying stretching out his cheek, there was nothing he could do. He straightened up his body and stood up, stretching his body and cracking his knuckles and neck. His joints released popping sounds after not having been used for a while and his bones still ached somewhat from being overloaded, but other than that he felt completely fine. After he finished stretching his body, he sat down on the couch where he had just been laying, rubbing his face slightly while talking.


    "I would never drool in my sleep, that''s slander I won''t stand for."


    He assessed the current situation while talking, sweeping the cave around them with a quick glance. They were clearly in a cave that Fang Ying had made, they had probably been here ever since he fell unconscious. He expected that he would be unconscious for around two or three months, but since Fang Ying said that he had only been asleep for a single month he guessed that she had likely tinkered around with his injuries.


    He gave the insides of his body a quick check just to be certain, and sure enough, the tears in his lungs had completely vanished. Li Yang retracted his vision, casting a sideways glance at Fang Ying, his lips curling up slightly as she started to talk.


    "Heh, how would you even kno...!"


    Li Yang stretched out his arms as fast as lightning, interrupting Fang Ying before she got to finish her sentence. His left arm wrapped around her waist from behind and pulled her onto his lap, his right arm also wrapping around her and embracing her in a hug. He leaned his head against hers, burying his nose in her hair and greedily absorbing her fragrance. No matter how many times he smelled it, this was one fragrance he would never tire of.


    "Really, did I ever mention that I love you?"


    Just like he rarely used his law of destruction, Fang Ying rarely used her law of creation. Not only did they both require a massive amount of energy and concentration, but they both also had to be kept in perfect balance, otherwise there was no telling what might happen. Before they were truly confident in their strength, each usage of these laws was wrought with danger. Fang Ying didn''t try to escape from Li Yang''s embrace, leaning into him while smiling.


    "Quite often, but you should keep saying it, I never tire of hearing it."


    In both their past lives and in this one, there had never been a single day when they were together where either of them had forgotten to speak those words, making sure to engrave them into the minds of their counterpart. Li Yang let out a light laugh, kissing the back of Fang Ying''s head.


    "I love you. And seeing as you let me sleep on your lap, I''ll even avoid mentioning that there was no breakfast for me when I woke up."


    Li Yang''s lips curled up faintly, a slightly teasing smile creeping up on his lips. Of course, Fang Ying was not someone who would shy away from retaliating in kind. She loosened Li Yang''s grip on her and spun her body around so that she was face to face with Li Yang while still sitting on his lap, pinching both his cheeks when she finished turning her body around.


    "Heh, you think a reckless person like you deserves my breakfast? Perhaps I''ll make you breakfast if you ever learn to fight in a less reckless way. But until then, I''ll leave the cooking to you."


    Fang Ying continued to treat Li Yang''s cheeks like rubber, stretching and pulling on them as she pleased. Li Yang didn''t stop her, a bitter expression as if the entire world was collapsing appearing on his face as he spoke out in a grandiose voice and let out a mournful sigh.


    "Ai, what cruel words I receive right after waking up from my wound-induced coma. Love truly is thorny like a rose."


    Fang Ying didn''t fall for his theatrics for even a single second, heavily rolling her eyes and stretching out Li Yang''s cheeks as far as she could, quickly removing his bitter expression.


    "You''re an overdramatic idiot."


    Fang Ying was stretching out Li Yang''s cheeks, but thanks to the skillful control she had over her strength, he wasn''t able to feel the slightest amount of pain. Li Yang''s lips cracked into a smile as he let out a laugh, not denying Fang Ying''s words.


    "Yup, but I''m you''re overdramatic idiot."


    Li Yang moved his arms away from Fang Ying''s waist, grabbing onto her wrists and pulling her hands away from his face. With his cheeks finally free, he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips, contently enjoying the peace he had finally reclaimed. Fang Ying ended the kiss after a little over a minute, her lips curling up slightly as she seemed to remember something.


    "Hey, remember the bet we made about who could kill the most panthers? I told you I would ask for my prize when we were alone, didn''t I?"


    It had taken place a mere month ago, so how could Li Yang possibly forget? Fang Ying let herself fall to the side and onto the couch, quickly turning her body so that her head was resting on Li Yang''s lap. She swiped her interspatial ring and brought out a wooden comb, holding it up to Li Yang''s face while making her request.


    "Lull me to sleep, just like you did in the past."


    Li Yang nearly broke out into laughter when he heard her simple request, pushing back Fang Ying''s comb. He swiped his interspatial ring and took out a wooden comb of his own, one he had personally carved in his spare time. He raised her head slightly so that he could organize all her hair, chuckling lightly all the while.


    "All you had to do was ask. Really, what a waste of a prize."


    Just as she requested, he started to lull her to sleep just as he had done to her and their daughter in the past. He gently brushed her hair and sung the only lullaby that he knew by heart, the one his mother had sung for him when he was a child in his previous life.


    The lullaby was, in fact, a story, the ancient tale of a hunter whose wife was kidnapped and taken to the moon to serve as fertilizer for a legendary tree said to reside on the moon. The hunter abandoned his bow and picked up an axe, chopping down tree after tree so that he could stack them together to form a bridge between the earth and the moon. But his bridge collapsed when he got close to the moon, his body scattering to the spatial winds and joining the stars, his wife following him once she became fertilizer for the tree.


    It was a rather depressing tale, to the point where Li Yang sometimes wondered why his mother had chosen it to be his lullaby. As such, when Li Yang sang the lullaby for his own daughter, he had changed the ending to a happier one. The hunter completed his bridge and reached the moon before his wife became fertilizer, using his axe and strong body to cut down the legendary tree, using the sap to make both him and his wife immortal. It was a bit uninspired and sappy, but it was a far better ending to a children''s lullaby than the original.


    Li Yang continued to brush Fang Ying''s hair and sing the lullaby, both of them completely shutting out the outside world, focusing entirely on the present time shared between the two of them.


    --


    While Li Yang was lulling Fang Ying to sleep, someone appeared in the sky above the Ocean God''s Graveyard, arriving through the maelstrom that was the entrance. The man who arrived was a handsome youth with a burly body and chiseled features, his long silver hair was tied into a neat bun and his golden eyes were sweeping over the land beneath him with a gaze so excited that it was nearly burning.


    "Well then, Brother Yang and Sister Ying, there''s no way that the two of you haven''t come here, is there? Let''s see if I can still use the tracking technique we had in the past, follow the chaos."


    The handsome youth, The Silver Dragon Prince Zhao Feng, wore an incandescent grin, his eyes rapidly moving and looking for any signs of chaos. It was time for the three of them to meet up again and cause chaos together, just like they had in that glorious past.

 121 Meeting again.

    Fang Ying slept on Li Yang''s lap for over an entire day, causing him to guess that she had likely stayed awake at his side for the entire month he had been unconscious, probably not even cultivating to pass the time. When she finally did wake up and opened her eyes, she quickly closed them again and stretched her entire body across his lap.


    "Yang''er, breakfast, I need breakfast."


    Fang Ying twisted and turned while stretching her body, rolling on Li Yang''s lap like a small cat wanting to be pet. Li Yang rolled his eyes in the face of her antics, poking her forehead as she rolled onto her back.


    "Now, what was it you said when I woke up? You think a person like you deserves my breakfast? I think I''ll follow your lead and stick to those words."


    Li Yang moved his finger around a little after poking Fang Ying''s forehead, tracing her face with it. No matter how much he looked at her, he never found himself get tired of it. Fang Ying stretched out her own arm, poking the bottom of Li Yang''s chin, a crafty smile slowly appearing on her face.


    "Actually, I said ''You think a reckless person like you deserves my breakfast?'', don''t twist my words to suit your agenda. And you see, you may say that you''re going to follow my lead, but I have one large advantage over you, I can do this."


    Fang Ying slowly moved her finger down, softly tracing Li Yang''s neck and making her way towards his chest. At the same time, she tilted her head slightly and looked at Li Yang with upturned eyes and slightly puffed out cheeks, aiming to finish him off with one swift move. Li Yang tried to keep a steely face, but quickly caved in and leaned down to plant a kiss on Fang Ying''s lips, clicking his tongue after the act.


    "Tch, that''s just cheating and you know it."


    Fang Ying raised her upper body as Li Yang was pulling away, giving him a quick kiss before laying back down on his lap again. She flashed him a bright smile, clearly not the least bit remorseful about her actions.


    "Yup, but it works, doesn''t it?"


    Li Yang could only let out a sigh, she was correct, there was no way he could reject her when she looked at him like that. He raised her upper body and stood up from the couch, placing her down again after standing up. He swiped his interspatial ring and took out everything he needed to make a rather simple meal out of the meat and vegetables they had, using his own fire to heat the pans.


    It didn''t take long for the food to be done and placed on the table, Fang Ying springing up from the couch and pulling it closer to the table. Langshen appeared out of a ripple in space, as if he had been able to notice the moment food was ready. The three of them proceeded to eat the grilled meat and roasted vegetables, Fang Ying telling Li Yang about the various things that happened while he was unconscious. Hearing about her encounter with the massive eye that called itself Xing Yuyen, his brows furrowed for a short moment before smoothening out again.


    "So something like that happened, huh? Well, not like there''s much we can learn as we are right now, its a matter best left for the future. What about your little birdies, have they found anything?"


    They had no one they could ask about Paragons or Xing Yuyen, the best they could do was check the libraries of their clans once the competition ended. Fang Ying put aside her now empty plate after Li Yang stated his question, her brows furrowing slightly as she stretched out her arm and raised three fingers.


    "They might have. They discovered a strong discharge of energy on the fourth island to the east, it looked consistent to the energy discharge that occurs when certain rare treasures are born. There are three problems we have to consider first. The first is, as I only saw the memories of the energy discharge, I was unable to determine how much energy it contained and what sort of element it. The second is that such a rare treasure is definitely guarded by a terrifyingly strong Demonic beast, it might very well be a Divine Beast. The third is that the energy discharge was too grand, it must have attracted the attention of almost everyone who entered this place, they will all be heading there."


    Some rare treasures were much like powerful cultivators, they would create quite the commotion when they were born or managed to strengthen themselves. Some treasures were so strong or strange that they could even take on human shape and cultivate just like a normal person, Fang Ying had once heard about a scythe and a bow that was supposed to be like this. Li Yang listened to Fang Ying list the three problems she had discovered, but his lips slowly curled into a knowing smirk.


    "You said all that, but you already know exactly what I''m going to say, no?"


    Fang Ying''s own lips also started to curl up into a smirk. After spending so much time together, how could she not know exactly what Li Yang would say in a situation like this? She leaned back in the couch, using her Qi to draw a simple map of the surrounding area in the air.


    "Yup, I''ve already marked up the fastest route we can use to reach the island, I also had my birds find some areas where we can hide should there be a need for it."


    The map was simple, but clearly marked, each possible path they could take explored and drawn down. Li Yang looked at the map for a short moment before his gaze landed on Fang Ying as he stated his honest feelings.


    "By the gods, woman, I love you."


    Fang Ying smiled brightly in response to Li Yang''s declaration, waving her hand and causing the map to vanish, a content expression on her face.


    "I know, but keep telling me."


    There was no telling when the situation on the island that had experienced the energy discharge would change, so they chose to not waste too much more time. Li Yang originally wanted to use the secondary hearts he nabbed from the Devil''s Grasp Vine to cultivate, but now it seemed like they would have to temporarily put that aside.


    Fang Ying stored away all the furniture and the glowing crystals she had placed around the cave, the three of them quickly leaving the cave and closing it up behind them. They headed to the eastern edge of the island, Fang Ying pointing at the distant island while talking.


    "I''ll leave getting us across the water to you, Langshen''s been getting a bit pouty because we''ve used him solely for transportation lately."


    Li Yang raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze onto Langshen, who turned his head away in a pouty manner, causing Li Yang to involuntarily let out a chuckle. Jinwu and Shenlong occasionally acted like this, so seeing Langshen act like this reminded him of them.


    Li Yang crouched down at the edge of the island, the fingers on his right hand just barely touching the water. A burst of soul-freezing cold energy was unleashed by his fingers, freezing the surface of the water and forming a surface just large enough for the two of them to walk shoulder to shoulder.


    They stepped onto the ice and quickly started making their way across it, not wanting to attract the attention of any Demonic beast that might lurk within the ocean. Li Yang got an idea as they were making their way across the ocean, grabbing onto Fang Ying''s hand and sliding forward. His feet unleashed icy cold energy that continuously froze the water in front of them, the two of them ice-skating across the vast ocean.


    Had it not been for the fact that they were rushing towards their destination and that there were probably countless Demonic beasts lurking in the ocean, Li Yang could have easily spent at least a day or two just ice skating here with Fang Ying.


    Since Fang Ying had mapped the best routes for them ahead of time, they were able to avoid any needless troubles and arrive on the island they were heading for after only a little over a day. This island was a little strange, it was shaped like a very thick donut with a large lake at the center, a tall volcano standing on a small island in the middle of the lake. The area directly around the lake was strangely arid, almost desert-like, while the rest of the island was covered in a dense tropical jungle filled with bugs, some as large as a man''s fist.


    When the two stepped onto the island, waves of energy washed over them, originating from the volcano located at the center of the island. Li Yang let the waves of energy wash over him, whistling slightly after feeling how chaotic and intense they were.


    "It seems like your birdies saw correctly, these remnant waves of energy could only be the result of some pretty darn good treasure being born. But, I''d say that the guardian of that treasure won''t just hand it over just because we ask nicely."


    Li Yang''s eyes turned towards the center of the island, he could feel the presence of an incredibly strong Demonic beast there. It seemed to be hiding the energy from its bloodline, so he couldn''t tell if it was a Divine Beast or not, but he was certain that it was terrifyingly strong, probably stronger than the panther they had encountered in the palace. Fang Ying also looked towards the center of the island, but she simply shrugged her shoulders in a casual manner.


    "Well, not like we''ll get a chance to ask the guardian nicely, not with so many people here. Same as usual?"


    She could tell that there were already quite a few people on this island, almost half a thousand people already. And all these people were gathered in one spot, they had clearly banded together because they were able to sense just how strong the Demonic beast guarding the treasure was. Li Yang took his eyes away from the center of the island, copying Fang Ying and shrugging his shoulders.


    "We don''t have much choice, they shouldn''t be so dumb as to start a fight here, in front of the Demonic beast guardian. Well, even if they end up being that dumb, it''s not like they can stop us if we try to run away. It would be a shame to give up on the treasure and the Demonic beast''s body, but it''s better than dying."


    Them fighting against each other would only give the Demonic beast the chance to ambush them, only an idiot would start a battle here. The two locked on to the group of people and swiftly made their way over, quickly reaching the group at the edge of the lake that served as the center of the island. The group was made up of people from all the various clans and sects, as well as a fair share of unaffiliated cultivators, all of them glancing curiously at the two newcomers.


    But while everyone was gazing curiously at them, a familiar emerald-haired and brown-eyed man stepped forward. The future patriarch of the Tian clan, Tian Zheng, swept the two of them with a quick glance, greeting them politely.


    "Junior Sister Ying, you''ve arrived. This should be Li Yang, no? I''ve been looking forward to meeting you."

 122 A chat with Tian Zheng.

    A few subdued whispers erupted amongst the gathered people when they saw Li Yang and Tian Zheng facing each other, all of them eager to see just what would happen next. Fang Ying was supposed to be the wife of Tian Zheng but had been stolen away by Li Yang, would Tian Zheng take something like this lying down?


    While everyone was eager to see how the situation unfolded, Tian Zheng swiped his interspatial ring and took out a table and three chairs. He placed the table in front of him, one chair on his side and two chairs on Li Yang''s side. He sat down on his chair and took out a porcelain kettle filled with fragrant tea from his interspatial ring, placing the kettle as well as three cups on the table, beckoning towards the two empty chairs.


    "Please take a seat, standing while chatting is rather tiresome."


    Li Yang raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, sweeping the table and the tea with a quick glance before sitting down on one of the chairs, Fang Ying taking the seat at his side. Tian Zheng poured some tea into the three cups, sliding two of them closer to Li Yang and Fang Ying.


    "There''s no need to worry, I haven''t put any poison in t..."


    Li Yang raised the cup before Tian Zheng got to finish his sentence and took a sip of the steaming tea, which had the faint taste of apples and cinnamon. Li Yang placed the cup down after taking the first sip, a revigorating stream of energy coursing through his body after the tea entered his stomach.


    "I wasn''t worried about you putting any poison in them."


    If there was one thing in this world that Li Yang didn''t fear, it was poison. His law of destruction automatically ate up any poison that entered his body. And even if there somehow managed to exist a poison that his law of destruction would not eat, sitting at his side was Fang Ying, the greatest poison user Li Yang had ever known. Tian Zheng wasn''t fazed by Li Yang''s swift and confident actions, leisurely sipping the tea in his cup while talking with a faint smile.


    "I guess I should be grateful for your trust then. Don''t worry, I won''t bore you by beating around the bush, let us get directly to the matter at hand. First, I want to thank you, secondly, I was curious if you were able to sense anything specific about the Demonic beast or the treasure it is guarding. Since both are located in a volcano, they should be more closely aligned to the law of fire."


    Contrary to what all the people around them expected, Tian Zheng was engaging in a polite yet casual conversation with Li Yang, it was far more boring than what any of them had expected. Li Yang took another sip of the tea, his gaze drifting between Tian Zheng and the volcano.


    "Thank me, huh? Seeing as you are asking for my opinion, I guess that the people from the Tian clan have already given you a detailed report?"


    Tian Zheng was likely trying to thank him for saving the people from the Tian clan on the island where the Devil''s Grasp Vine resided. Had he not carved a path through it so that they could escape, they would likely all have died there. Tian Zheng didn''t deny Li Yang''s guess, nodding his head.


    "Indeed. I truly regret not being present to see the grand scene that they described, it must have been spectacular. It was most definitely grander than the scene you caused in the Cloud Wilderness back then. Then again, had you pulled out something like that, none of our people would have been able to leave the wilderness alive, I should probably thank you for showing mercy back then."


    Tian Zheng wasn''t a fool, it was easy to connect the dots. Back when the clans sent people to the Cloud Wilderness to investigate the strange occurrence, several people were killed while the rest were forced to flee the Cloud Wilderness. Due to the attacker''s golden flames, they thought he might be the Golden Dragon Prince, they just couldn''t figure out how he was able to use golden lightning and a strange ice element.


    Now that Tian Zheng had received a report stating that Li Yang was able to use those three exact elements, even using golden fire and lightning, it wasn''t hard for him to figure out that Li Yang was, in fact, the one that had pushed the clans out of the Cloud Wilderness back then. Li Yang wasn''t too bothered about Tian Zheng finding out about his actions back then, it was fine as long as he didn''t learn about the Liang tribe. He gave a casual shrug of his shoulders, his gaze once more landing on the volcano.


    "I didn''t show them any mercy, they simply hadn''t done anything that would warrant me killing them. And to answer your earlier question, no, I cannot sense anything specific about the Demonic beast or the treasure that was born. The best I can sense is that the treasure should be made up of at least six different elements, and the beast guarding it should have reached the Primordial Rune realm in strength, probably around the middle or the late stage."


    The people from the Tian clan hadn''t killed or hurt any of the Liang tribe members so Li Yang hadn''t seen a point in killing them back then. As for what he sensed about the treasure and the beast, it was mostly guesswork based on what he felt. For the energy waves to be this chaotic, with the elements so blurred that they were nearly indistinguishable from each other, the treasure clearly had to have quite a few different elements mixed into it. And since the Demonic beast guardian felt stronger than the panther they had faced in the palace, its cultivation was definitely higher than the panther, which had reached the early stage of the Primordial Rune realm. Tian Zheng nodded his head with a light smile, turning his head to look at the volcano with gleaming eyes.


    "That''s plenty specific already, it''s certainly better than what I and my men were able to sense. With the treasure being made up of at least six elements, it should either contain enough energy to force the different elements into a stable state, or all the elements it''s made up of are ones that can work together in a harmonious manner. Either way, it will be something spectacularly grand, and sufficiently deadly at the same time."


    Li Yang didn''t respond to Tian Zheng''s statement, he didn''t see a need to respond to such an obvious statement. Tian Zheng turned his head away from the volcano, looking at the large group of people around them for a short moment before tilting his head and looking at Li Yang.


    "More and more people should arrive within the next few days, the other future clan leaders should also arrive, at least those that are close enough. What do you think, should we wait for them or should we just risk it and head in on our own?"


    Li Yang and Fang Ying raised an eyebrow in surprise after hearing Tian Zheng''s question, the two looking at each other for a short moment. Li Yang emptied his cup of tea and placed it down, his eyes looking Tian Zheng up and down for a bit as he spoke.


    "I must admit, you are acting far more amiable than I first thought you would. After all, all these people are spreading rumors that I stole your future wife, it must have hit your pride quite hard."


    Li Yang had expected Tian Zheng to at least say something about it, but he hadn''t even mentioned it since the start of their conversation. For someone with such a sky-high pride, it was quite a feat to act as if nothing had happened. Tian Zheng poured some more tea into Li Yang''s cup, chuckling lightly as he responded.


    "Indeed, my pride was dented quite severely when I found out that Junior Sister Ying had never planned to become my wife and was apparently already the wife of someone else. By the way, one of these days, you must tell me how the two of you got acquainted, it must surely be a wonderful tale."


    No matter who they were, their pride was doomed to take a hit when something like this happened. The higher the pride, the stronger the hit would be, some people might go completely mad in an attempt to regain their lost pride. Tian Zheng placed down the porcelain kettle, raising his head high as he looked at Li Yang, his chest puffing out slightly.


    "But I am Tian Zheng, the future patriarch of the Tian clan, the well-being of the clan is my top priority and my greatest source of pride. I''ll be honest with you, the Tian clan needs Junior Sister Ying, I will not allow it to do anything that might make her unhappy and push her away from us, that includes forcing her to marry me. Another way we can look at it is like this, as long as we keep a good relationship with Junior Sister Ying, our clan will also have close ties to an enigmatic person such as you, which I am certain will benefit us greatly. What do you say, do you want to join the Tian clan once this competition ends?"


    The Tian clan needed strong people with boundless talent, people like Fang Ying and Li Yang. Tian Zheng hadn''t interacted much with Li Yang, but just the reports he received made him certain that Li Yang was someone who the Tian clan would benefit from greatly if they maintained a good relationship. He used three extremely strong elements, had already used two arrays that the Tian clan had no records of, and his strength increased incredibly fast.


    If there was one downside to him, it was that he was too enigmatic, they had no idea where his strength or his arrays came from, it was impossible for a simple child from a small tribe in the outskirts of the Cloud Wilderness to get his hands on such things. But even this downside could be somewhat remedied thanks to his relationship with Fang Ying, someone who the clan trusted completely. If she trusted him this greatly, then he should at least be trustworthy if one had a good relationship with him. Li Yang accepted the now filled cup of tea, taking another sip while responding to Tian Zheng, not completely rejecting him.


    "Maybe, it''s certainly not impossible. But let me answer your earlier question before we get sidetracked any further. You can enter the volcano right now if you want to, but there is no way I am setting a foot in there before there are at least two more people as strong as you here."


    Li Yang was already thinking about joining the Tian clan after meeting up with Fang Ying, doing so would allow him to be much closer to her. He just didn''t want to immediately say yes, just in case something came up later during the competition. Tian Zheng nodded his head after hearing Li Yang''s declaration, casting a sideways glance at Fang Ying and making sure that she was agreeing to what Li Yang was saying. When he saw her nod her head, he swiped his interspatial ring and took out an empty porcelain kettle, filling it with water and some dried leaves, snapping his fingers and causing a small flame to appear beneath the kettle.


    "I see, then I guess we''ll have to wait a few days, It''s a good thing I made sure to bring plenty of tea that we can drink while chatting."

 123 Wraith Contract.

    The other people in the area could only cast sideways glances at Li Yang''s group of three, some still hoping for the cordial atmosphere between them breaking down while others were impatiently waiting for them to decide that it was time to enter the volcano. They were all eager to enter the volcano and try to get their hands on at least a small piece of the treasure, but they did not dare enter the volcano on their own, they were too scared to move before Tian Zheng and the others did.


    But sadly for them, the group of three continued to calmly chat with each other even as the days started to pass, none of them even casting a glance at the volcano. The three of them knew that entering it without more people was idiotic, the three of them might be able to escape with a few wounds, but everyone else here would die. After all, the Demonic beast guarding the treasure was different from the panther they had killed in the palace, this one not only had higher cultivation, but it was also in perfect health, it wasn''t weakened as the panther was. Two days after the two of them arrived in the area, Fang Ying turned her head slightly to the side.


    "The next one''s arrived."


    Fang Ying had some experience with the law of space thanks to Langshen so her senses were quite a bit more honed than most people''s, as such she was the first one to detect the arrival of the next future clan leader. Shortly after she announced it, both Li Yang and Tiang Zhen also detected the newcomer that arrived on the island. Recognizing the one that had arrived, Tian Zheng''s eyebrows rose slightly as a somewhat amused expression appeared on his face, his eyes glancing at Li Yang, who still remained indifferent.


    A few minutes later, a man who was a little over two meters tall arrived by the lake, shoulder-length black hair hanging loosely down from his head, a stubble of white hair visible on his chin and beneath his nose. The future patriarch of the Puppet God Sect, Xiong Xieren, looked at the gathered people with a slightly sullen look. His gaze lingered on Li Yang and Fang Ying for a short moment before he closed his eyes and took a breath so deep it caused his chest and stomach to bulge out violently. When he exhaled and opened his eyes again, they were completely calm.


    Li Yang had plenty of experience with people, he could easily tell if someone was hiding something in their eyes. Which is why he was rather surprised when he looked at Xiong Xieren''s eyes, because they weren''t hiding anything. All the lust and greed he had felt for Fang Ying earlier had been discarded, all that remained was an at best slightly interested light in his eyes.


    Xiong Xieren walked over to the table where the three were sitting, Tian Zheng swiping his interspatial ring and preparing another chair and an extra cup for him. Xiong Xieren stopped next to Li Yang for a short moment, removing an interspatial ring from the hem of his robe, placing it in front of Li Yang and giving him a slight nod.


    "Don''t let it be said that the future patriarch of the Puppet God Sect does not know when to show gratitude. You don''t use any puppets, but the items in the ring can also be used to strengthen your body so they should still be of some use to you. Thank you for showing a modicum of mercy to my fellow disciples in the Cloud Wilderness, and thank you for saving my fellow disciples on that blasted island."


    Xiong Xieren sat down on the prepared chair and took a sip of the prepared tea after talking, his expression still perfectly calm. He had received the report from his subordinates so he knew what happened on the island with the Devil''s Grasp Vine, he knew of the strength Li Yang had revealed. Strange arrays, strange variations of the elements, and a strength that did not befit his actual cultivation, all these forced Xiong Xieren to admit that Li Yang was someone he had to take very seriously.


    And what''s worse, he had no idea what Li Yang''s bottom line was. Exactly where was the limit to his strength, how many other cards did he have hidden? All the future clan and sect leaders knew practically everything about each other, so people like Li Yang and Fang Ying, those that were on their level but kept their cards hidden, was something they had to treat very carefully.


    Li Yang picked up the purple ring with a raised eyebrow, giving the contents a quick inspection. It contained not only quite a few Spirit Stones but also several resources that one could use to strengthen a puppet, or their own body. Some of the items were rather expensive so Li Yang guessed that Xiong Xieren cared a great deal about the disciples that entered this competition.


    Li Yang made sure that there was no tracing mark on the ring or any of its contents before storing it into his own interspatial ring, giving Xiong Xieren a slight nod. Since he didn''t want to antagonize them, there was no need to pointlessly antagonize him. Tian Zheng looked at their interaction with a thin smile, turning his head slightly towards Xiong Xieren.


    "And here I was worried you would start trouble for Brother Yang by trying to take Junior Sister Ying for yourself. You were quite fond of her, weren''t you? It must feel quite bad to see her with someone else."


    Tian Zheng would not give up any chance to poke fun at Xiong Xieren, each of the future clan and sect leaders wanted to tear down the other leaders and have their own clan be the sole ruler of the planet. Xiong Xieren glanced at Tian Zheng, but his expression didn''t change much, he simply let out a snort.


    "If I recall correctly, wasn''t she supposed to be your future wife? I am certain that it feels quite a bit worse for you than it does for me. And don''t belittle me, I am Xiong Xieren, the future patriarch of the Puppet God Sect, I will not stoop so low as to steal someone else''s wife away from them. Since she ended up with him and not with me, it simply means that it was never meant to be between us."


    Just like Tian Zheng had his pride as the future patriarch of the Tian clan, Xiong Xieren had his pride as the future patriarch of the Puppet God Sect. And just like Tian Zheng had realized after receiving the report, Xiong Xieren too had realized that it was unwise to make an enemy of Li Yang. The fact that he had not killed everyone from the Puppet God Sect in the Cloud Wilderness and on the previous island showed that he didn''t have a blood grudge against the Puppet God Sect, meaning that it was still possible for Xiong Xieren to foster a somewhat decent relationship between them.


    Tian Zheng''s eyebrow twitched slightly when Xiong Xieren dug straight at the heart of the matter, but he didn''t make a quick retort, remaining politely quiet. The four of them proceeded to calmly chat, awaiting the arrival of at least one more future clan leader. The next one to arrive stepped onto the island after a further two days of waiting, Fang Ying announcing their arrival.


    "Another one has... Scratch that, two more have arrived, one from each end of the island."


    The other people in the area perked up when they heard her announcement, they knew that this meant that it was time to enter the volcano. After a few minutes, two people arrived on the shore of the lake, simultaneously looking at the table where Li Yang and the others were sitting. One of them was a somewhat short yet burly and rugged man with a bald head that was neatly polished, the tattoo of a crimson eagle covering the entire left side of his face, his left eye was blue and his right eye was crimson.


    The other person to arrive was a tall and slender woman with a buxom figure and a large scar that diagonally across her entire face. She had short brown hair that only hung down to her ears and deep green eyes, compared to the delicate and luxurious robes of Tian Zheng and the others, she was clad in what appeared to be a robe made from the skin of a silver bear, its head resting on her right shoulder. Li Yang looked at the two people but wasn''t able to recognize either of them, Fang Ying whispering to him in a low voice.


    "The bald one is Yuan Peng, he''s the future patriarch of your Yuan clan. That woman over there is Cui Xiuying, the future matriarch of the Myriad Beasts Sect."


    Li Yang nodded his head faintly in understanding, examining the two new arrivals as they walked over. The eyes of the two people landed on Li Yang, Cui Xiuying tossing him a brown interspatial ring with a casual smile.


    "Take it, the Demonic beast parts inside it ought to help you with your cultivation, consider it my thanks for saving my cute lil'' disciples when they were in a pickle. Also, I like your robe, you should come over to my sect, we''ll treat ya better than the needlessly prim Yuan clan ever could."


    Li Yang caught the interspatial ring, and after making sure that neither it nor its contents carried a tracing mark, stored it into his own interspatial ring. He was currently clad in the violet wolf robes that he had gotten quite fond of in this life, they were far closer to the clothes of the Myriad Beast sect than the neat robes of the other clans and sects. Yuan Peng spoke up with a light chuckle before Li Yang even got the chance to open his mouth.


    "Heh, interested in my Junior Brother, are you? But sorry, we''ve made sure to properly train and guide him, so there''s no way he''ll go over to a sect filled with your ilk, he''ll join me in bringing the Yuan clan to new heights. Junior Brother Yang, it''s good that you protected your fellow disciples, I will make sure that the clan rewards you handsomely when we return."


    Li Yang slightly raised an eyebrow, casting a sideways glance at Yuan Peng. While the Yuan clan hadn''t been bad to him, it most certainly hadn''t been as good to him as Yuan Peng was making it seem. Guide and train him? When had they ever done anything of the sort? But as he couldn''t be bothered to point it out, he simply cast a sideways glance at Tian Zheng, who nodded his head and stood up.


    "Well then, it seems like we now have enough people here to enter the volcano and see if we can''t get our hands on that treasure. But before that, I would like everyone here to join me in signing a Wraith Contract, it''ll allow all of us to work together far more smoothly."


    Tian Zheng took out an ashen scroll that seemed to be made from thinly sliced bones. He also took out a vial filled with thick red blood, dipping his finger in the blood and using it to write down a few paragraphs on the ashen scroll.


    A Wraith Contract was one of the stranger types of artifacts one could manufacture, it was almost like a small array contained in a scroll. By signing the contract with some of your own blood, a small wraith would latch onto you and make sure that you followed what the contract stated, eating away your soul should you go against the contract. It was an indispensable item for when one wanted to negotiate or trade between larger clans. People who had trained their souls quite a bit could resist the wraith, but Tian Zheng did not believe that any of the people here had souls that strong.


    Li Yang, Fang Ying, and the future clan leaders all gave the scroll a quick read over, making sure that Tian Zheng hadn''t added anything strange to it. Once they were certain that the contract was good enough, they extracted some blood from their fingers and signed the contract with their names, an invisible clump of energy latching onto their souls. After the contract was signed, Tian Zheng turned to Li Yang.


    "Brother Yang, do you think you could surround the volcano with an array?"


    He wanted Li Yang to surround the volcano with an array partly to make the battle easier and partly to see if he had any other arrays that they didn''t know about. But Li Yang quickly shook his head, disappointing Tian Zheng.


    "Not gonna happen. The beast inside already knows that we''re here, do you really think that it''ll let us get close enough to draw up an array? And if you want me to draw up an array that is large enough to escape the notice of the beast, you would have to give me the blood of every single cultivator present, as well as every single Spirit Stone and other resources they have in their interspatial rings. Of course, that also includes the lot of you."


    Li Yang had just drained the last of his resources to draw up the array needed to carve a path through the Devil''s Grasp Vine, he currently only had the three secondary hearts as well as the resources he just received from Cui Xiuying and Xiong Xieren. Tian Zheng and the others let out a light sigh after receiving the response, Cui Xiuying''s gaze landing on the volcano.


    "Figures, would''ve been too nice and easy if we could just draw up an array strong enough to deal with that thing. Guess that means the only option left is to charge it before it charges us."


    Tian Zheng nodded his head and put away the table and the chairs. With the strength of the beast, it definitely already knew about them gathering here. But since it hadn''t attacked them already, it was clearly very reluctant to leave the volcano just yet, it probably wanted to eat the treasure first and then kill them all. But treasures that could cause such a commotion were not simple things, eating them was far from easy, so it likely had to either wait or prepare a few things first. As such, now was the best time for them to charge it if they wanted the treasure to remain intact.


    The six people, and one wolf, all looked at each other, nodding their heads in agreement. The hundreds of other people that had also gathered by the lake also knew that it was about to begin, all of them pulling out their weapons as they began to seethe with excitement, wondering just what sort of beast and treasure they would find inside the volcano.

 124 Volcanos Core.

    The short and bald Yuan Peng stepped towards the edge of the lake, Li Yang and the others following right behind him, the crowd parting to make way for them. Once he reached the edge of the water, Yuan Peng gave a light wave of his hand, a portion of the water rising up and hardening, forming a wide bridge that could be used to cross the lake.


    Once he finished the bridge, it was he and the other future clan leaders, along with Li Yang and Fang Ying, that stepped onto it first. Sending the other disciples ahead first was tantamount to sending them to their deaths, and while they might not mind if the disciples from the other clans died, they could not afford to let their own disciples die for no purpose. As such it was they, the strongest people present, that had to take the lead and cross the lake.


    As the island at the center of the lake was rather large it only took them around two minutes of walking across the bridge to get to the island, the volcano towering above them. The volcano was giving off a faint heat that caused the air around it to distort slightly, it felt like they were looking at the volcano through a thin film. Looking at the volcano from a closer distance they were able to see countless two to three meter wide and tall caves that had previously been hidden due to the distorted air. While they were looking at the various caves, the brown-haired and green-eyed Cui Xiyuing spoke up, her voice slightly hushed.


    "We should agree on which cave to enter, splitting up would be simply idiotic. Also, I trust you can all feel that?"


    Splitting up now would make the decision to wait for more people to arrive become completely pointless, it could indeed only be considered idiotic. The tall and black-haired Xiong Xieren nodded his head, plucking some grass and throwing it into the air, unleashing a visible stream of Qi from his finger at the same time. Both the grass and the Qi were slowly dragged towards the volcano, the grass even moving at a crawling pace when it landed on the ground. Xiong Xieren once again nodded his head, curiously gazing at the volcano.


    "Aye. Seeing as it''s dragging in not only Qi but also materialistic things, there''s either a miniature tornado or a gravity well in there, both could explain why the treasure is made up of so many different elements."


    A gravity well was a rather special type of area, it was actually just a single point of highly condensed gravity so strong it sucked in all surrounding energies, and depending on how large the well was it could even draw in larger items. It was rather similar to the black holes that Li Yang used, but rather than suck in and destroy everything, a gravity well would only suck in and gather everything around it, so they could be quite useful for cultivation.


    After Xiong Xieren confirmed what everyone was feeling, the rest of the group turned to look at Li Yang with unified glances, leaving the matter of choosing which cave to enter up to him. This was after all a volcano, and as the person here who had the strongest law of fire, it was best to leave things like figuring out their path to Li Yang. Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders in a casual manner, he, Fang Ying, and Langshen walking past the rest of the group.


    "It really doesn''t matter which cave we use, they''ll all lead to the same place."


    By checking and tracking the heat that each cave gave off, Li Yang could easily tell that each cave gave off the same level of heat and that all the heat came from the same source, the core of the volcano. With Li Yang taking the lead, the other people also quickly entered the caves, some of the other disciples choosing to follow Li Yang''s group while the others entered the other caves, hoping that they might contain some small treasures they could pick up.


    The moment they entered the caves, a wave of hot air blew against Li Yang''s group, the faint smell of sulfur and ash hanging in the air. The energy in the cave was chaotic, a slight pulling force dragging the energy deeper into the cave. The earth in the cave was lightly red and seemed rather porous, a few small line-like etchings visible along the walls and ceiling of the caves. Cui Xiuying traced some of the lines with her fingers, using a thin layer of Qi to protect her skin from the heat.


    "At first I thought that the beast hiding within the volcano might be an ant-type Demonic beast based on the myriad of caves, but these markings should have been made using claws. And looking at how the markings are placed, the claws should be placed on a hand with six, more likely seven, claws on each hand. Maybe a reptile-type Demonic beast?"


    Cui Xiuying didn''t know of a single ant-type Demonic beast that had six or seven claws, the maximum number she knew that they could have was four, and that was on a very rare ant-type Divine beast. No one here could give her a proper reply to her statement, but Tian Zheng also traced some of the markings, comparing them to each other before adding on to her statement.


    "It also doesn''t seem to be just the one beast. Most of the markings look the same, but there are small differences in several of them, they should not have been produced by the same beast. Just judging from this cave alone, we might be dealing with around four beasts in total."


    Even if the differences were minute, it was easy for people like Tian Zheng and the others to notice them, they hadn''t reached their current positions and strength just by sheer luck. The atmosphere in the cave grew a bit more solemn as they headed further in, the more Demonic beasts they had to face, the more difficult their situation became. After they walked a bit deeper into the cave, moving for about five minutes, Yuan Peng spoke up, his head tilting slightly as he slid his palm over the markings.


    "It''s strange though, each of the markings contain very little energy, far too little to have come from a Demonic beast that has reached at least the middle stage of the Primordial Rune realm. The children of the main beast, perhaps?"


    Even if the beast wasn''t putting any energy into its claws, the etchings it created would still carry some of its energy, a marking of sorts that would designate this area as its territory. Walking at the front, Li Yang shrugged his shoulders, using his thumb to point at a bend in the cave ahead of them.


    "Whatever the answer is, we''re about to find out. The core''s just around this bend."


    The bodies of Tian Zheng and the others immediately tensed up after they heard Li Yang''s casual remark. None of them had been able to sense the energy of the Demonic beast or the treasure hiding in the volcano after entering the cave, the energy here was simply far too chaotic. Realizing that they had unknowingly arrived at its lair, how could they not grow a bit tense? They all drew their weapons and walked around the bend, arriving at the core of the volcano.


    The core of the volcano was a vast and hollow cavern that was practically completely empty, a pool of magma about 200 meters wide located at the center of the cavern. The pool was unleashing a strong gravitational pull, sucking in all the surrounding Qi and loose items, the gravity well was clearly located within the pool.


    Floating above the pool were seven different lights, one brown, one turquoise, one crimson, one blue, one silver, one green, and one that was a darker brown. Each of the seven lights was bobbing around slightly as if they were dancing around each other, everyone acutely aware of what these seven lights were, seven different elementals.


    And standing guard around this pool and the seven elementals was the Demonic beasts guarding it. There were seven Demonic beasts, each of them looking like a 10-meter long snake with eight limbs that ended in thin and vicious claws. Each of the beasts matched the color of one of the elementals, they most likely shared the same element.


    The eyes of the seven snakes congreated on Li Yang''s group the moment they walked around the bend, sending them an insidious glare. The seven snakes suddenly moved, crawling on top of each other and unleashing a blinding light that filled the entire cave. Once the light passed, the seven snakes had vanished, a nearly 200-meter long and seven-headed hydra with a thick dragon-like body standing in its place, a guttural voice leaking out from all seven mouths at once.


    "You certainly waited quite patiently, humans, you are more vigilant than I expected."


    Each of the seven snakes only had the energy of a beast at the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, but when they fused they almost reached the late stage of the Primordial Rune realm, enabling the beast to speak the human tongue. The seven pairs of eyes swept over the group, suddenly gathering on an excited Li Yang and Langshen, shock and confusion quickly appearing in the fourteen eyes.


    "Why ar...!"


    A thunderous boom echoed throughout the cave before the hydra got to finish its sentence, Li Yang riding on a thick bolt of golden lightning and crashing into the crimson one of the hydra''s heads. His golden sword was piercing through one of its scales and digging into its body, allowing him to stand directly next to its eye, whispering in a voice so low that only the two of them could hear it.


    "Now now, why don''t you be nice and quiet? If you don''t tattle, neither will I."


    Li Yang glanced down at the pool of magma while talking, making it abundantly clear to the hydra what he was talking about. The other people here might not be able to notice, but the moment the seven snakes had fused, Li Yang had sensed the aura of a Divine beast from it. As it too was a Divine beast, the hydra was able to sense that Li Yang could be considered a humanoid Divine beast, it was likely about to ask why Divine beasts like him and Langshen were working together with humans.


    The others here knew that Langshen was a Divine Beast, but they had no idea that Li Yang could be considered one. And if he could help it, he would prefer to keep it that way, so he had to quickly shut up the hydra. The hydra''s eyes narrowed after hearing Li Yang''s threat, but it didn''t shake him off, simply replying in a low voice.


    "Blackmailing me, are you?"


    It hadn''t expected Li Yang to detect what was hiding beneath the gravity well, the Hydra''s eighth body, as well as the eight elemental. The hydra was originally born here, much like the elementals were being born here, which was why the elementals and the hydra shared the same elements. As the gravity well dragged in more and more energy, new elementals and new bodies for the hydra would be born, it was the birth of the eighth ones that had spawned the grandiose scene that had attracted everyone here. Li Yang''s lips curled up slightly, his shoulders shrugging lightly as he looked deeply into the eye of the hydra.


    "No, I''m stating facts. You can spill my secret now, but that just means that you''ll be properly dying here."


    Even if these seven heads were killed here, as long as the eighth body remained alive, the hydra could return to his strongest state given enough time. But if even the eighth body was killed, then the hydra would end up being truly dead, something it wanted to avoid at all cost. The hydra studied Li Yang for a quick instance, eventually judging that he didn''t seem to be the type that would go against his word. The hydra blinked once and gave a fractal nod of the head that Li Yang was latching onto, Li Yang returning a faint nod.


    "Good boy."


    Li Yang pulled out his sword and sent a lightning bolt toward Fang Ying, riding on it to immediately return to her. Both he and the beast could communicate incredibly quickly, so the exchange actually only took around one second, to the others it simply looked like he had exchanged moves with the hydra already. Once he landed next to Fang Ying, he transmitted a message into her ears using his Qi.


    "Don''t tell anyone about the tiny body hiding at the bottom of the gravity well. And if possible, even if we are unable to get our hands on any of the elementals, I want to get my hands on as much of its blood as possible, especially the blood in the crimson and the blue head."


    He could feel that the crimson head had the fire element and that the blue head had the lightning element, getting the blood from these heads would be very beneficial for Jinwu and Shenlong. Fang Ying nodded her head, merging with Langshen as her white sword appeared in her grasp. Before getting their hands on the blood of this hydra, they would have to defeat it first.

 125 Versus the hydra.

    While observing the seven-headed hydra, Li Yang also took the chance to observe the four future clan leaders that were standing around him. There were a few other people from the various clans here with them, but they couldn''t be called anything but cannon fodder in a situation like this, he didn''t even bother to glance at them.


    The short and bald Yuan Peng, with the tattoo of a crimson eagle covering his left face, took out a nearly three-meter long spear that had a handle made from a strange cyan wood and a spear tip that Li Yang could tell was made from a rather special type of ice, even the Qi in the air around it freezing as Qi started to fill it. The brown-haired and green-eyed Cui Xiuying took out a crescent moon-shaped blade with a handle placed on top of one of the ends of the blade, allowing her to freely spin it around while holding it like a baton.


    The black-haired and white-stubbled Xiong Xieren brought out a gray trident, a faint and transparent mist lingering around the three sharp tips, the air around them distorting slightly. The emerald-haired and brown-eyed Tian Zheng put on gloves made from minuscule brown scales, a faint smolder visible between the scales. The hydra swept the six of them with narrowed eyes, the crimson, silver, and the dark brown heads letting out high-pitched and screeching roars.


    The roars shook the entire cavern, the faintly red earth starting to toss and turn as if it was water. Thick pillars of magma burst out from all around the cave, invisible blades of wind flying about and carving up anything they came in contact with. The other disciples currently in the room didn''t even stand a chance, they were either cut apart or turned to ash before they even got a chance to defend themselves, the difference in strength was simply too great.


    Xiong Xieren''s wrist twitched slightly, four humanoid puppets appearing around him, each of them clad in armor and carrying a mixture of spears, sabers, and swords. Back when he first fought Tian Zheng before the opening of this Ocean God''s Graveyard, two of his main puppets had been out on a separate mission, but now he had all four at his side and could unleash all his strength.


    One of the puppets grabbed its spear and stabbed it into the roiling ground, causing the earth in the entire cave to calm down and lay flat again, a second puppet grabbed its saber and started to slash apart the pillars of lava that came for Xiong Xieren while a third puppet took out a large shield and blocked all the blades of wind. The fourth puppet didn''t move yet, its hand resting on the sword at its waist as it looked at the hydra with dead eyes, patiently waiting.


    Yuan Peng swept his spear out once, the pillars of lava coming for him freezing and shattering into small fragments of ice that gathered around Yuan Peng, dancing in a breeze that hadn''t been present previously. Cui Xiuying had a rather strange way of dealing with the attacks around her, she opened a pouch that hung on her waist and brought out a palm-sized chameleon with six eyes and light blue scales. The chameleon climbed onto her shoulder and then suddenly vanished, Cui Xiyuing vanishing alongside it, all the attacks aiming for her hitting empty air.


    Tian Zheng also dealt with the attacks in a very simple manner, he simply held out his right arm and opened his right hand. All the pillars of lava that came for him changed course and gathered in his palm, forming an apple-sized orb that soared up and hovered above his head. The orb looked like a miniature sun and released enough heat to directly burn away all the blades of wind that came for him.


    Li Yang didn''t even bother putting up any defenses against the attacks, he simply turned his head to look at Fang Ying and held out his right hand. Fang Ying took hold of the hand and the both of them vanished into a ripple in space, appearing directly behind the hydra. The hydra quickly reacted, the earth beneath Fang Ying bursting open as a thick wave of lava shot up and aimed to swallow her.


    Li Yang looked at the wave of lava, the air around him turning frigid as a nearly transparent mist seeped out of his skin. The lava hardened and froze under the mist, forming a foothold that the two could step on and kick off from. Li Yang shot directly towards the crimson head of the hydra while Fang Ying stabbed her red-veined sword downwards towards the spine of the hydra, blood appearing around her blade and spinning around it.


    The turquoise head turned around and roared at Li Yang, the frozen lava turning into water that formed several spiraling streams that pierced towards him from behind. The light brown head and the crimson head turned towards Fang Ying, unleashing loud roars that caused orbs of fire to appear around her sword and thick roots to shoot up from the earth beneath the hydra, the roots rapidly shooting towards Fang Ying and seeking to tie her up while the fire scorched away the blood around her blade.


    Tian Zheng and the others were also being attacked by the same time, the dark brown head controlling the earth, the blue head unleashing torrents of lightning while the silver head controlled all the air and wind in the cave, the only head that had yet to act was the green one. Li Yang glanced back at the spiraling streams of water and then turned to look at the open maw of the hydra, a light smile creeping up on his lips.


    He slashed out with his sword, golden fire and lightning dancing around the blade as his attack headed for the eyes of the hydra. Water suddenly gathered in the maw of the hydra, quickly forming a bubble that was spat out and flew towards Li Yang in a non-threatening manner. But just as the bubble and the streams of water were about to touch his body, Li Yang vanished, space around him rippling as Fang Ying appeared where he had just been.


    Fang Ying moved her arms and changed her downward stab into a forward stab, aiming for the eyes of the hydra just like Li Yang had. Space around Fang Ying rippled slightly, the streams of water and the bubble entering the rippling space and vanishing, reappearing directly in front of the hydra, where the seven heads connected to the body. The spiraling streams pierced through its own scales and dug a bit into its body before the hydra got to stop them, the bubble made contact with its scales and then popped, the scales touched by the bubble quickly cracking and then falling apart into fragments so tiny they resembled dust.


    The flesh of the hydra beneath the shattered scales quickly turned red as blood gathered within it, it seemed like the bubble did more than just superficial damage. Without the bubble to block it, Fang Ying''s sword was able to reach its mark, stabbing into the left eye of the turquoise head. The veins around the eye immediately started to protrude and explode, half the veins in the head of the hydra exploding under Fang Ying''s law of blood. She also used her law of poison at the same time, the other half of the veins in the turquoise head turning a light pink as the flesh around them started to sag, simply sliding off the bones after a short moment.


    While Fang Ying was taking care of the turquoise head, Li Yang was dealing with the orbs of fire as well as the wooden roots that had come for Fang Ying before they switched position. Both were dealt with easily by his golden flames, the roots turning to ash while the fire was swallowed and absorbed, adding to the golden flames and increasing their intensity. Li Yang could simply continue his slash, the edge of his blade touching the multicolored scales of the hydra.


    A horrid cold was unleashed by his blade the moment it touched the scales, freezing them enough to weaken them so that his fire and lightning could shatter them and tear them apart. His attack ripped away several meters of scales from the hydra''s back, revealing its slightly pulsating flesh, as well as the veins filled with the blood that Li Yang was aiming for. He was going to stab his sword into the now open-back of the hydra when the entire hydra was suddenly flung back, a ripple in space quickly picking up Li Yang and Fang Ying before they could be flung away alongside the hydra.


    Cui Xiuying had appeared in the position where the hydra had just been, her right fist fully extended after having thrown out a punch that was so violent it flung the entire hydra back. The hydra crashed into the wall on the other side of the cave, tearing out a large chunk of it and causing it to come crashing down around it. The earth threw up a vast amount of dust when it came crashing down, temporarily obscuring the hydra. They could hear the hydra stand up, crushing the chunks of earth beneath it as it did so, its guttural voice causing the walls of the cave to resonate.


    "Not only are you more vigilant than I first expected, but you''re also stronger, quite a bit stronger. You must be the geniuses of your generation."


    Yuan Peng flicked his finger, the dust around the hydra blowing away so that they could properly see it. The eyes of the green head were glowing slightly, all the wounds on the hydra healing so quickly that they were completely gone in less than a second, even the mostly ruined turquoise head went back to normal. Looking at the fully healed hydra, Li Yang felt like letting out an exasperated sigh.


    "Of course it couldn''t be this easy, it never gets to just be easy."


    Fang Ying let out a light giggle when she heard his muffled complaint, covering her mouth with her hand. The hydra swept them all with narrowed eyes, even casting a quick glance at the new arrivals that were starting to flood into the cave, its guttural voice ringing out once more and even causing the knees of some of the new arrivals to go weak.


    "Very well, let me give you all the respect of holding nothing back, let us see who it is that shall remain standing in the end!"


    The earth started to tremble violently after the hydra finished its words, the gravity well at the center of the cave starting to unleash a tremendous amount of energy, all of which flooded directly into the seven-headed hydra, which quickly grew stronger and stronger under the gazes of everyone present.

 126 Unchanging bastards.

    The body of the hydra suddenly bulked up with the massive influx of energy flooding into its body, the faintly red stone beneath its thick body creaking slightly before cracking and sinking down slightly. The multicolored scales covering the entire body of the hydra suddenly changed color, even the seven different heads all started turning crimson. Li Yang was the first one to react, grabbing onto Fang Ying''s wrist.


    "We''re out of here."


    The earth beneath Li Yang shattered as he jumped upwards, a bolt of lightning appearing beneath him and shot upwards, his feet landing on the tip as he rode the lightning upwards. Fang Ying was dragged along since he was holding on to her, both of them swiftly reaching the ceiling of the cave. Fang Ying knew Li Yang well enough that he didn''t have to say anything for her to bring out her sword and stab at the ceiling, corrosive poison and destructive streams of shattered space dancing around the tip.


    Li Yang stabbed out with his own sword as well, orbs of golden lightning spawning around the blade and lining up like dutiful soldiers. The tip of his sword made contact with the ceiling and the orbs were unleashed, shooting forward one by one and exploding when they came in contact with the ceiling, digging a way through it alongside Fang Ying''s attack.


    Just as Li Yang shot up into the sky with Fang Ying, all the scales on the body of the hydra had become a brilliant crimson, its body unleashing such intense heat that the air around it started to burn. All seven heads opened their jaws and unleashed a synchronized roar that shook the entire mountain, thick cracks spreading throughout the entire cave. Thick magma burst out through the cracks and flooded into the cave, forming thick pillars that shot towards the ceiling.


    The weaker cultivators didn''t even get time to scream when faced with the magma, they simply disintegrated under the heat. Those slightly stronger had it even worse, they were able to survive for a few seconds, the scorching heat tearing away at them and ensuring that their final moments were filled with agony.


    Tian Zheng and the others swiftly reacted once the cracks started to spread, using their own various means to quickly follow after Li Yang and Fang Ying. A puppet in the shape of a large eagle appeared in front of Xiong Xieren, him and his four humanoid puppets jumping onto it and immediately soaring above the pillars of magma, the heat causing the feathers of the eagle to catch fire as it quickly ascended. Yuan Peng crouched down for a short second before jumping up, shooting skyward and reaching the ceiling almost instantly, a light breeze around him keeping him afloat as he joined Li Yang in attacking the ceiling.


    Cui Xiuying and Tian Zheng seemed to have the easiest time dealing with the magma, neither needing to act too much. A burst of blindingly bright crimson flames was released by Tian Zheng''s feet, blocking the magma and allowing him to ride the ascending magma up to the ceiling. The pouch on Cui Xiyuing''s waist opened once more, an orange finger-length salamander crawling out and up her arm, settling on the side of her face. Once the salamander settled on her face, orange scales started to spread across her body, the magma harmlessly sliding off the scales and allowing her to comfortably follow the magma upwards.


    The magma flooded into the path that Li Yang and the others had carved into the ceiling, quickly following them as they continued to dig their way out of the mountain at a diagonal angle. With their speed and strength, it didn''t take them long to dig their way out of the mountain, the earth in front of them bursting outwards from their attacks and allowing the light of the sun to shine through.


    All of them quickly dashed out of the opening, magma quickly following them, the hole growing even larger when the massive volume of magma was forced through it. Space around Li Yang and Fang Ying warped for a short moment as they vanished from their location, Fang Ying teleporting them away just as the magma burst through the opening and spread out into a deadly crimson flower.


    The two arrived on the edge of the small island where the volcano was located just as the entire side of the volcano exploded, the hydra bursting through it and unleashing another roar that shook the earth, all its scales becoming a deep brown color. The earth on the entire island, even the earth on the island that spread out beyond the circular lake that surrounded the island they were currently on, started to tremble and crack as large trees sprouted. Each tree was several tens of meters wide and several hundred meters tall, the branches as sturdy as iron and the leaves as sharp as blades.


    Li Yang quickly stomped the ground, a glacial chill freezing the earth beneath him and killing any trees beneath him before they got to grow. He pushed out his left palm, a thick cloud of golden flames shooting forth and swallowing several branches that had started stretching towards him and Fang Ying. He clicked his tongue slightly, glaring at the hydra which was now starting to turn silver in color.


    "I get that it''s trying to take the fight away from the body it''s trying to protect, I really do. But does it really have to go so overboard?"


    Of course, the fact that it didn''t want to lose the seven elementals and seven of its bodies was probably also a reason for its actions, but as Li Yang was simply grumbling for the sake of grumbling, he didn''t bother bringing it up. Fang Ying let out another giggle at Li Yang''s pointless grumbling, after all, being able to complain meant that they weren''t in terribly dire straits.


    Fang Ying placed her hand on Li Yang''s shoulder, space around them rippling and forming a transparent bubble just as countless invisible blades of wind blew over them, tearing the trees around them to shreds. The trees were cut into tiny pieces but still maintained their hardness and sharpness, forming a tornado filled with lethal shrapnel. At first it covered the entire island, but it quickly shrank in size, concentrating on the island where the volcano was located, trapping Li Yang and the others in a cage that would eventually tear them apart.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying locked gazes and gave each other a slight nod, it would be best for them to meet up with the others before deciding on their next step. After all, they would need the help of Tian Zheng and the others if they wanted to kill this hydra, or at least seven of its eight bodies.


    Li Yang''s sword returned to his body as he took a step forward and placed both his arms behind his back, an unearthly chill gathering within his palms as he prepared to freeze the wind for a short moment so that they could dash to the others. But just as he was about to push both his palms forward, the tornado around them stopped moving, even the shrapnel floating in it stopped moving, a loud and familiar laughter resounding over the area.


    "Hahaha, fucking called it! Follow the chaos and you''ll find them, it never goes wrong! Brother Yang, Sister Ying, you bastards never change!"

 127 Brothers reunion.

    Both Li Yang and Fang Ying stopped dead in their tracks, their hearts skipping a beat as they hurriedly raised their head in the direction of the voice. Standing on a piece of debris that was hanging in the air above them was a handsome youth with a rather burly body and chiseled features that made him give off a manly air, a silver robe with a scaly pattern draped over his body.


    The youth had silver hair that was tied into a neat bun and had deep golden eyes that were filled with a mixture of pride and joy, his lips were curled into a smirk as he looked at Li Yang and Fang Ying. There were plenty of faces and people Li Yang could forget, but the one in front of him was not one of them, there was only one person who could wear such a smirk and have it suit him in such a manner.


    The youth opened his mouth to speak up again, but the sound of rumbling thunder echoed throughout the area and interrupted him, a golden bolt of lightning streaking past him. Li Yang jumped off the lightning just as it passed the youth, spinning around and punching the back of the youth''s head as hard as he could, sending him crashing into the ground. The tornado started to move again the moment the youth crashed into the ground, but Li Yang didn''t even spare it a glance, landing on the ground a short distance away from the youth, rubbing his fist.


    "Zhao Feng, you absolute cunt! Do you have any idea what sort of shit I had to go through due to that shitty ''cursed realm'' you guys set up? I can still feel my body tingling and my arms stinging just from having to pick up my own goddamn sword! You better have a good excuse ready, otherwise, I''ll pummel you so badly that not even Sister Shu will recognize you."


    The only person Li Yang would ever refer to as Sister Shu was Dai Shu, Zhao Feng''s wife and one of his closest friends in his previous life. Zhao Feng was lying face down on the ground, his body slightly embedded into the earth due to the force of the punch. He placed both palms against the ground and pushed himself up, standing up and wiping the dirt from his face while grumbling to Li Yang.


    "You know, I was kind of hoping for a more tearful greeting than this, kinda like the one you gave Sister Ying. I even went through all the trouble of waiting for the direst moment to make my entrance, did you really have to ruin it like that?"


    A slap suddenly hit the back of Zhao Feng''s head just as he finished wiping away all the dirt, once again causing him to fall forward and end up face down in the dirt. Fang Ying stood behind Zhao Feng, pulling back her arm while her eyebrow twitched slightly. Li Yang cracked his fingers, the corners of his mouth twitching as he stepped closer to Zhao Feng, who was already standing up again.


    "You were watching all along, just for a goddamn greeting? That''s it, I''m beating the shit out of you no matter what excuse you have. And just how the hell do you know what sort of reunion I had with Ying''er?"


    Since he said he had been waiting for the direst moment before entering it was likely that he might have arrived here as they entered the volcano, maybe even sooner. Ignoring the fact that he had been waiting for something to happen before stepping in, just the fact that he had been able to hide himself from them was quite amazing. Zhao Feng continued to smirk, swiping his ring and pulling out a jade orb, filling it with some Qi as he talked, pointing at the three scars on Li Yang''s face.


    "I saw the images of the two of you just before you escaped from Tian Zheng. Your eyes were so nice and red that it was clear that you had just cried. I wonder how the admirers you used to have would feel if they learned that the all-mighty Thunder Monarch was crying? And those scars, what sort of absolute freak managed to give you those?"


    The orb lit up after being filled with Zhao Feng''s Qi, using the Qi to project an image of Li Yang and Fang Ying right after they had reunited and killed Zi Yanwu, mere seconds after Tian Zheng and the others arrived on the scene. The tornadoes all around them weakened as Li Yang and Fang Ying looked at the images, a pained roar echoing across the entire island, it seemed like the hydra had been hit by a rather powerful attack.


    The three glanced in the direction of the roar for a short second but then quickly stopped bothering with it. Li Yang traced the three scars going diagonally down over his right eye, clicking his tongue slightly as he responded.


    "As if I''d care what those people think about my actions. And these, given to me in single combat against a dragon, bastard refused to go down even after I stabbed its heart seven times."


    His words were, of course, a big fat lie, he received the scars back when he shielded Liang Xinyi from a Vine Wolf, a very weak Demonic beast. But there was no need to let Zhao Feng know that, there was no telling how much fun he would have on Li Yang''s expense if he knew that fact. But while Li Yang was thinking that, Fang Ying spoke up, smiling faintly while letting out a light laughter.


    "A dragon huh, last time you told me the story it was a Vine Wolf."


    Zhao Feng immediately burst into laughter when he heard the truth from Fang Ying, repeatedly slapping Li Yang on the shoulder. The mighty Thunder Monarch, scarred by a weak little Vine Wolf, that was surely a joke to go down in the history books. Li Yang turned to Fang Ying, his mouth twisting slightly.


    "Betrayed by my own wife? What sort of tragedy is this?"


    Fang Ying simply sent Li Yang a charming smile, stretching out her arm and giving his nose a light tap before pulling back her arm again and winking at him.


    "To be perfectly accurate, we''re not currently married. You''d best swoop me up before someone else comes along and snatches me away."


    They had married each other in a small ceremony in their previous life, but did something like that carry over into the next life? It didn''t really matter since neither of them would ever get together with anyone else, but Li Yang still let out a quick laugh, his own lips curling into a smirk.


    "Ha, I''d like to see them try. But all right, I''ll give you the grandest wedding you could possibly imagine."


    In their last life, they only had a small ceremony with Zhao Feng and the others, exchanging their vows beneath a weeping willow standing at the edge of a lake covered in lotus flowers. Since they would have a second chance in this life, why not make the wedding the grandest that the world had ever seen? He felt that Fang Ying deserved at least that much.


    Before either of them got to say anything else, a light sigh sounded from right beside them, Zhao Feng shaking his head slightly while wrapping his arms around Li Yang''s right arm, looking at him with sickeningly sweet eyes.


    "I feel like I was forgotten pretty quickly, you''re breaking my heart here Brother Yang."


    Li Yang placed his palm on Zhao Feng''s face and pushed him away, eliciting a laugh from both Fang Ying and Zhao Feng. The tornadoes around them suddenly got fiercer again, azure bolts of lightning and crimson plumes of fire starting to mix with the wind. Zhao Feng looked at the tornadoes around them, shrugging his shoulders for a second before pointing at Li Yang and Fang Ying.


    "Right, guess that''s enough quipping for now, can''t forget about the battle we''re currently in. But mark my words, I''ll have a properly emotional reunion once we''ve gotten through this chaos that the two of you have no doubt caused somehow."


    Zhao Feng seemed to be adamantly convinced that Li Yang and Fang Ying caused chaos wherever they went, Li Yang quickly renouncing his statement.


    "We didn''t start the chaos here, it was inevitable even if we didn''t get involved."


    His words were actually true for once, Tian Zheng and the others would have attacked the hydra even if Li Yang and Fang Ying didn''t show up here. But Zhao Feng simply rolled his eyes for a short moment before looking at the two of them, raising his eyebrows.


    "Right, you also said that back when we were assaulted by the hordes of beasts inhabiting the Sun-Scorched Hills, but tell me, can you remember just why they came after us?"


    Li Yang''s prepared retort was quickly caught in his throat when he heard Zhao Feng''s own response. He quickly let out a short cough before shaking his head, turning his head towards Fang Ying while acting innocent.


    "Nope, got no clue. You remember, Ying''er?"


    Fang Ying didn''t seem to plan on betraying Li Yang this time, tilting her head slightly and placing her finger on her chin while playing along.


    "No, it all seems too faint. Are we sure something like that ever even happened?"


    With both of them playing dumb, it didn''t matter even if Zhao Feng decided to dredge up everything that happened back then, he had no one here to back him up. As such, he instead chose to click his tongue, using his thumb to point over his shoulder.


    "Tch, whatever, play dumb all you want. Our goal is to meet up with the other people present right? Even that Tian Zheng and Xiong Xieren? If I recall correctly, one was supposed to marry her and the other lusted after her, just how''d you get them to ignore all of that and team up with you?"


    As he was the one in charge of all the spies of the Demon Race, Zhao Feng knew about most matters taking place within the larger clans, even something like Xiong Xierens lust was reported to him. Li Yang''s lips curled into an arrogant smirk as he raised his head high.


    "It''s a long tale filled with battles and intrigue where I ended up matching them in a match of wits, I might tell you one day."


    Zhao Feng simply raised an eyebrow, his eyes turning towards Fang Ying, who quickly sold out Li Yang with a poorly subdued giggle.


    "He puffed out his chest and spouted a bunch of threats until they realized that it would be too bothersome to fight him, at least that''s the abridged version."


    She left out a lot of details and most of the process, but she wasn''t entirely wrong, Zhao Feng quickly nodding his head with a smirk, patting Li Yang on the shoulder with a laugh.


    "Now that sounds more like the Li Yang that I know."


    Li Yang''s mouth opened and closed a few times as he looked at Fang Ying, who had once again betrayed him. Eventually, he just lowered his shoulders and let out a deep sigh, turning in the direction of the distant hydra, waving his hand at the fierce tornadoes all around them.


    "Et Tu, Brute? Whatever, just open the damn path."

 128 Down to five.

    Zhao Feng and Fang Ying let out light chuckles when they saw Li Yang''s exasperated mannerism, stepping towards him. Fang Ying took up position next to Li Yang while Zhao Feng stopped right behind the two of them, placing a hand on each of their backs while talking.


    "I''d love to steal the spotlight here, but seeing as you started the chaos here, I''ll only take on a supportive role and let you deal with the troublesome matters."


    Zhao Feng''s true motives spilled out in the end but Li Yang was already too exasperated to comment on it and simply gave an understanding wave of his hand. Energy flooded into Li Yang''s and Fang Ying''s bodies once Zhao Feng placed his hand on their backs, settling in every inch of their bodies and causing their muscles and nerves to work twice as fast, even the speed of their thoughts increased by quite a bit thanks to the energy. Fang Ying slightly raised her right arm and wriggled the fingers on her hand to see how much faster she had gotten, casting a backward glance at Zhao Feng.


    "Oh, seems like you picked up a few new tricks. Doesn''t seem to be pure power or lightning, and looking at how you stopped the tornadoes earlier, is it maybe motion or speed?"


    In their previous lives, Zhao Feng had been an expert in the law of the soul, dabbling slightly in the law of illusions as well. But that was it, he had never had any supportive capabilities like this. Zhao Feng pulled back both of his arms, squeezing through the slim opening between Li Yang and Fang Ying and stepping closer to the tornadoes in front of them while talking.


    "A bit of both actually. I was reborn as the Silver Dragon Prince of the Demon race so I have the blood of a Silver Dragon flowing through my veins, not only is my law of the soul stronger than ever thanks to this, but I''ve also gotten insights into the law of speed and motion, I''m working on fusing them together now."


    The law of motion and the law of speed were two laws that had very close ties to one another due to how similar they could be at times but it was still hard to gain insight into both, fusing them was even harder. Hearing about Zhao Feng''s current status, Li Yang couldn''t help but let out another breath and heavily roll his eyes.


    "Oh for fuck''s sake, what''s with the difference in treatment? One''s the princess of the Tian clan, the other''s an actual prince to the Demon Race. And what did I get? Tribe boy."


    Out of the three of them currently here, Li Yang undoubtedly had the lowest starting point, practically starting at rock bottom. His only hope now was that Dai Shu, Ye Ning, and Bai Yawen didn''t also have such high statuses, otherwise, he would really feel like he drew the shortest straw. Now that he was reunited with Zhao Feng, Li Yang was certain that Ye Ning and the others had managed to be reborn, they were probably out there somewhere, looking for them.


    Zhao Feng stopped in his steps after hearing Li Yang''s complaint, turning his head and glancing at Fang Ying while raising an eyebrow. Fang Ying nodded her head and let out a light giggle, smirking slightly while glancing at Li Yang.


    "Yup, our Li Yang is a tribe savage who came from the outskirts of the Cloud Wilderness, you''d best hide your valuables so he doesn''t steal them."


    Li Yang sent Fang Ying a slight glare but it only made her giggle a bit more. Zhao Feng turned his gaze onto Li Yang, looking him up and down for a short moment before shrugging his shoulders.


    "A tribe savage, huh? Wouldn''t have guessed that with your cultivation. Well, knowing you I guess it''s not much to be surprised at, you were always one who pulled off some ridiculous shit."


    He could tell Li Yang''s age so he knew that he was still very young, if it was anyone else from a tribe they would be nowhere near his current cultivation and strength. After all, even he and Fang Ying had only managed to reach their current cultivation of the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm thanks to the plentiful resources they had been given. Zhao Feng even guessed that Li Yang might have already broken through to the Primordial Rune realm if he had been given the same resource.


    Of course, they would never get an answer to this guess so Zhao Feng quickly tossed it aside, his focus returning to the tornadoes raging around them. He stretched out both his arms, his hands unleashing streams of invisible energy that spread throughout the area, merging with the tornadoes directly in front of them. Once the energy had fully merged with all the tornadoes raging in front of them Zhao Feng snapped his fingers, the tornadoes becoming stationary as a result.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying didn''t have to wait for a signal, both of them shot forward the moment the tornadoes stopped moving, crossing the 20 or so kilometers that separated them from the volcano in less than two seconds. When they reached the side of the volcano they also got to see that state of the battle again, as well as the state of the hydra.


    The hydra was now down to only six heads, the only thing remaining of the green head being a jagged stump. It seemed like Tian Zheng and the others came to the same conclusion as Li Yang and Fang Ying, that the green head likely had the element of life, killing the hydra while that head remained would be very hard. There were a few other wounds covering the body of the hydra, its right front leg was barely hanging onto its body, only remaining connected thanks to a bit of bone.


    But Xiong Xieren and the others were not unscathed after wounding the hydra like this. Xiong Xieren had lost three of his humanoid puppets, only the one carrying a shield remaining intact, his left arm was also trembling lightly while holding onto his weapon, Li Yang guessed that the bone in the arm might be completely shattered. The left side of Yuan Peng''s waist was nearly completely crushed, as if a large hand had squeezed down on it, resulting in large amounts of blood and some crushed organs to leak out from his mouth.


    Tian Zheng''s right arm was hanging limply at his side, his hand crushed into a mangled mess along with the glove that used to cover it, he also had a rather deep cut on his forehead, the blood running out of it getting in his eyes and forcing him to repeatedly wipe it away. But the one who was the worst off was Cui Xiuying, everything below the elbow on her left arm was completely gone. The cut was clean and straight, the flesh so scorched that no blood was dripping from the wound. Li Yang couldn''t see her arm anywhere, nor could he sense any sources of heat that might be the arm, it was likely already turned to ash. The pouch at her waist was also ruined, several thin roots that coiled around each other piercing through the pouch and into her waist, blood periodically running down the coiled roots.


    Everyone here was a prodigy and extremely strong, Xiong Xieren alone could match someone at the middle stage of the Primordial Rune realm, and that was without using any of his puppets. For the four of them to end up like that despite working together, it showed just how strong the hydra, a Divine Beast that had almost reached the late stage of the Primordial Rune realm, truly was.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying didn''t stop when they reached the area, they headed directly for the hydra. It was already wounded quite badly, but they still had to be careful, so they kept an eye on each other while dashing. The hydra turned its blue head towards them, opening its maw and unleashing a thick torrent of violet lightning, the air around the lightning getting so hot that it started to burn and sear away at everything it touched.


    Li Yang stepped in front of Fang Ying, arcs of golden lightning erupting from his body and quickly gathering together, coiling around each other as they gathered around his blade. He stabbed out with his blade and clashed with the torrent of violet lightning, a thunderous explosion sounding out as the violet lightning was forced to stop. But even though Li Yang temporarily stopped the lightning, his arm was slowly getting pushed back, the violet lightning swallowing his golden lightning.


    Above azure lightning was crimson, and above that was violet, with golden lightning following right behind it, as for what came after golden lightning, Li Yang had no idea, he had never reached that stage. His golden lightning was of a higher quality than the violet lightning, but the violet lightning was supported by far more energy than his golden lightning, the difference in quality could not make up for the difference in power. But that didn''t matter to Li Yang, he simply stretched out his left arm and spread his fingers.


    The air around the other five heads of the hydra suddenly grew chilly, even the Qi in the air starting to stagnate as ice quickly formed on the eyes of the hydra, its vision turning blurry and indistinct as a result. The hydra swiftly roared, putting more energy into its lightning while also shattering the ice on its eyes. The torrent of lightning finally pushed aside Li Yang''s sword, heading directly for him like a furious tidal wave.


    The air and Qi at Li Yang''s side froze, giving him a platform he could kick off so that he could move to the side to dodge the torrent of lightning. Even with the increase to his speed thanks to Zhao Feng''s boost, the torrent of lightning still swallowed his right arm and foot, the smell of roasting flesh quickly reaching his nose. But Li Yang didn''t care, he had never entertained the notion that he would be very useful during this fight, he was still a bit too weak in his current state. But he had done what he could, what he should, he had distracted the hydra and bought time for Fang Ying.


    Because of the ice that had frozen its eyes and stolen its attention, the hydra was slow to react when Fang Ying appeared behind it, jumping out of a ripple in space. She was already mid-swing with her sword, it was too late for the hydra to stop her now, it could only do its best to defend with all its might, its scales turning various shades of brown as its entire body seemed to grow larger and heavier.


    Fang Ying''s sword drew a simple arch through the air, countless wounds appearing on the heads of the hydra as Fang Ying cut the very space that the hydra was occupying. But her attack didn''t stop there, it kept on going. The blood of the hydra turned against it the moment the cuts appeared on its necks, the blood close to the cut wounds started to wreak havoc on the veins and flesh of the hydra. Parts of its necks bulged outward for a short moment before suddenly sinking inward, as if they were imploding under the rampaging blood.


    The hydra tried to move the one head that was slightly better off than the rest, the turquoise head, to counterattack and force Fang Ying to stop. But the entire left half of the head started to sag the moment it tried to move, the muscles turning completely numb and losing all strength. The hydra thought it had cleansed all the poison Fang Ying had invaded her with earlier, but that was only a ruse, a trick she had kept up her sleeve for just a situation like this.


    Fang Ying vanished the moment the turquoise head started to move, appearing out of a ripple in space right next to the head the moment the left side of it started to sag under her poison. She stabbed her sword into the neck of the hydra, all the blood in the neck moving toward her blade and becoming part of her attack. Space beneath Fang Ying''s feet hardened and allowed her to run through the air, running a circle around the hydra while keeping her blade inside the hydra''s neck, cutting a neat circle around the neck.


    She stomped the hardened space with her left foot the moment she completed a full circle around the neck, her foot bouncing off the hardened space and allowing her to deliver a sideways kick to the neck of the hydra with all her might. Normally this wouldn''t do too much, but now she had cut around the entire neck, the blood of the hydra wreaking havoc on the insides of the neck.


    The kick made contact with the hydra''s neck, completely tearing off the hydra''s head and sending it flying a short distance away, the pained roar of the hydra hurting the ears of everyone in the area. A now nearly completely pale Fang Ying quickly vanished into another ripple in space, appearing next to Li Yang and grabbing onto him before teleporting away, this time appearing by Tian Zheng and the others. Li Yang clenched his scorched and trembling right arm, casting a calm sideways glance at Tian Zheng.


    "There, we made up for being a bit late, now let''s work together to finish off this thing."

 129 Teamwork.

    Li Yang''s right arm was terribly scorched after having suffered under the violet lightning of the hydra, but thanks to the fact that his interspatial ring was made from sturdy materials he could still access it. He quickly took out a waterskin filled with a cool blue liquid, coating his entire right arm and the parts of his right foot that had been burned, sealing both with a layer of ice to make sure that the liquid wouldn''t fly off in the ensuing battle. Fang Ying quickly swallowed three pills to restore some of her energy, Tian Zheng moving his gaze between the hydra and the two of them while giving a quick nod of his head.


    "If that''s how you usually repay your debts then I gotta make sure to have you owe me as many debts as possible. Xiuying''s lost most of her combat ability due to her wounds, Xieren can still put up a decent fight on his own, Peng can''t use too much of his energy due to his wounds but he should still be able to at least support us. As you can see, my right hand''s beyond fucked right now, the blood getting in my eyes is also causing me to occasionally turn basically blind, it''s a real bitch. But I can still fight, I should only be a little below Xieren at this point so with you and Ying helping us we should be able to defeat it. I''d ask if you can draw up an array here, but I''m not dumb enough to believe that to be possible."


    Tian Zheng gave a quick summary of their current fighting strength in case Li Yang and Fang Ying hadn''t noticed their states. He was far more casual than he was when he talked to Li Yang and the others before they entered the volcano, he was no longer as annoyingly polite so it was a bit easier to talk to him. Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head, glancing at Fang Ying out of the corner of his eye.


    "How much Qi you''ve got left and how long do you think it''ll take to restore to a proper level?"


    Her previous attack clearly took a lot out of her, Li Yang guessed that it might have cost around 50% of Fang Ying''s Qi to launch it. Fang Ying''s face was gradually regaining it''s color thanks to the pills she had swallowed, but she was still breathing rather heavily when she responded.


    "Only got about 20% left, and even with the pills I just used, restoring it to my preferred 50-70% will still take about three to four minutes. An extended battle will not be in our favor."


    Battles like this would rarely last three or four minutes, only if both parties were completely even in strength would a battle ever go beyond one or two minutes. Fang Ying narrowed her eyes slightly while looking at the now five-headed hydra, which was doing the same as her, vigilantly observing the enemy and trying to come up with a plan. Fang Ying''s eyes suddenly lit up, the edges of her mouth starting to curve up as she turned to Li Yang.


    "Ey, Yang''er, my dear, would you listen to one of my plans for a bit?"


    Li Yang felt his fight-or-flight instincts kick in when he heard how Fang Ying talked, things never went well for him when she talked like that. She nodded in the direction of the hydra, raising her eyebrows a few times while talking.


    "Remember that fish living in the Mountain Lord''s herb garden?"


    Just like he had expected, her plan was nothing good for him. He moved his gaze away from Fang Ying and looked at the hydra, inspecting the wounds on its body, especially the two stumps that remained of its head. He glanced at Tian Zheng and the others after he finished inspecting the wounds, his smile turning bitter as he gave a light shake of his head.


    "Really woman, I must have wronged you in some past life to make you hate me this much."


    Despite his words, Li Yang still stood up and clenched his left hand a few times. His right arm was too badly wounded to be of use right now so he could only rely on his left arm. Fang Ying smirked at him before turning her head to look at Tian Zheng and the others, addressing all of them.


    "We have a way to kill it, but you''ll have to help me distract the hydra so that Yang''er has a clear path, try to increase the size of its wounds while you''re at it."


    Xiong Xieren and the others glanced at Li Yang after hearing Fang Ying''s confident statement, none of them doubted Li Yang''s strength, they were simply curious about what they were planning. Strangely enough,it was Xiong Xieren that was the first one to agree, stepping forward while leaning his gray trident on his shoulder.


    "Alright, since Fairy Ying has that much faith in you, I''ll toss my chips in with you, let me see if you can produce another amazing spectacle. But I swear, if you fuck it up I''ll have you working under me for the next goddamn millennia to pay off that debt."


    Tian Zheng stepped forward shortly after Xiong Xieren, Yuan Peng and Cui Xiuying following shortly after, the four of them taking up positions based on how injured they were. Fang Ying joined up with the group just as Xiong Xieren glanced at the others in the group, his gaze eventually settling on Cui Xiuying, the one amongst them who had the grievest injuries. He made a quick clicking sound with his tongue, his shield puppet, the only remaining humanoid puppet he had, taking up position next to Cui Xiyuing and shielding her. Once he placed the puppet next to Cui Xiuying, he turned his gaze back onto the hydra, grasping his trident with both arms.


    "Right then, here we go."


    Xiong Xieren dashed forward the moment he finished his words, suddenly jumping up and actually running in the air with wide strides, a somewhat transparent energy coiling around his trident. Li Yang couldn''t see what Xiong Xieren was using to run in the air, but he could just faintly feel them, invisible strings made from pure Qi. This was one of the laws that Xiong Xieren specialized in, the law of strings, the other was the law currently coiling around his trident, the law of corrosion.


    The hydra unleashed a thunderous roar, thin blades of wind decimating the area and slicing through the strings, the earth a short distance beneath Xiong Xieren rising up and trying to trap him in a coffin. But just as the earth rose up, Tian Zheng arrived next to it with a thunderous explosion, the earth in his previous position scorched black and torn apart from when he used a fierce explosion to propel himself forward.


    He twisted his body slightly to gather all his strength in his left arm, delivering a heavy punch to the rising earth. His fist created a shockwave as it moved, the earth disintegrating the moment his fist made contact with it. Several consecutive explosions rang out through the area after he delivered his punch, the explosions traveling through the air and growing a little stronger each time until they finally collided with the wounded right front leg of the hydra, cracking the single bone that kept the leg connected to its body.


    The hydra growled in anger and pain, dark clouds gathering in the sky above the area and pelting the earth with violet bolts of lightning. Most of the lightning bolts were heading for Xiong Xieren, who had just lost the support of his strings and was about to fall to the ground. But before the bolts of lightning could hit him, a breeze blew through the area, pushing Xiong Xieren forward and turning into a platform he could move on.


    More and more blades of wind and bolts of lightning came for Xiong Xieren, but Yuan Peng rode a light breeze and intercepted the attacks, freezing the bolts of lightning and negating the wind by countering it with some of his own, perfectly defending Xiong Xieren. The last two heads of the hydra also started to unleash attacks, the crimson head causing the air to grow scorching hot as several sun-like orbs of fire appeared and started to spit out flaming tornadoes and smaller orbs of fire that quickly grew in size. The lightly brown head affected the area around them, the wooden splinters in the area rapidly growing into entangling roots that were covered in thick spikes. Several of the wooden splinters even rose up from the ground and started to fly around the area, splitting into smaller pieces that then grew into entangling vines or sharp weapons when they were close to someone.


    Tian Zheng stomped the ground with all his might, thick cracks spreading through the area as pillars of magma burst out from the ground and gathered into a molten sun above his head. The molten sun attracted the surrounding fire, forcing all of it to come for Tian Zheng and preventing it from stopping Xiong Xieren. Tian Zhen used his left arm to deal with the surrounding earth at the same time, shattering and blocking any attack that the hydra was trying to launch.


    Tian Zheng dealt with the fire and the earth while Yuan Peng dealt with the wind and lightning, leaving the wood to Cui Xiuying. Her pouch filled with Demonic beasts was destroyed, but she still had her own strength to rely on, her chest and stomach bulging out as she took a deep breath. She opened her mouth and let out a deafening roar, a visible shockwave extending from her body and pulverizing any wood in the area. While roaring she also took out her crescent moon-shaped blade, throwing it with all her might.


    The blade flew through the air in a simple arch, producing a faint whistling sound as it moved. The whistling sound continuously changed in pitch, growing more high-pitched when the blade flew past thicker pieces of wood, resulting in all the wood around the blade to disintegrate. The blade would vibrate faintly on the rare occasions that a piece of wood did manage to touch it, the wood quickly disintegrating. Now that she wasn''t using her Demonic beasts to fight, Li Yang could finally discern what laws Cui Xiuying cultivated, sound and vibration. Just like with the law of motion and speed, sound and vibration were two laws that shared a close bond that made it so that most people who cultivated one had some insight into the other.


    With the support of the others, it didn''t take long for Xiong Xieren to reach the hydra, the energy around his trident already so thick that it had turned into a white mist. He jumped off the wind that Yuan Peng had used to send him forward, raising his trident high and bringing it down on the dark brown head of the hydra.


    The hydra reacted almost as fast as lightning, raising its head and opening its maw, blocking the trident with the sharp teeth lining its upper jaw. The teeth started to slowly corrode away, but at least it had managed to block the attack, or so it seemed at least. The moment the attack was blocked, Xiong Xieren''s lips curved up slightly.


    "Psyche."


    Xiong Xieren pushed the base of his trident forward and lodged it in the mouth of the hydra so that it couldn''t freely close its mouth. He then let himself fall downwards and grabbed onto the edge of the hydra''s mouth and used his grasp to swing himself forward and upwards, arriving right beside the eye of the hydra.


    He clenched his left fist and punched out with all his might, a hazy white mist surrounding his fist as it dug into the eye of the hydra, rupturing it and causing it to spray out a milky-white liquid. The hydra immediately let out a pained roar as its eye was ruptured and the law of corrosion started to wreak havoc inside its head, the five different elements it was unleashing growing even stronger and becoming frenzied.


    Xiong Xieren was flung away as the hydra shook its head, Cui Xiuying''s waist was impaled by a small shard of wood that had gotten through her defenses, Yuan Peng spat out a large amount of blood when a bolt of lightning managed to resist his ice and crashed into his chest, and the glove on Tian Zheng''s left hand fell apart as he blocked another thick pillar of earth that was rising up, a cracking sound resounding from three of his fingers. They had all shown great strength, but the hydra was still a deadly foe, even when it was wounded like this.


    But they had done their job, they had distracted the hydra so much that it failed to notice a slight ripple in space appearing just above the stump that remained of its green head. Li Yang appeared from the ripple and fell onto the stump, falling into the hole that connected that head with the hydra''s stomach. He quickly slid into the body of the hydra, sliding along the intestines as he got closer and closer to the hydra''s stomach. Li Yang''s eyes were closed as he slid deeper and deeper, his ears perked as he listened for a certain sound.


    And before long, he heard the heavy and chaotic beating of a pained and panicked heart. His eyes shot open and his golden sword appeared in his grasp, a faint black light surrounding the edge of the blade as he slashed open the intestines of the hydra. He wasn''t confident that his fire and lightning would be enough to damage the hydra''s intestines enough so he used a trace amount of his law of destruction to carve a way to the beating heart.


    Despite the now thoroughly panicked and frightened tossing and turning of the hydra, he quickly arrived in front of the beating heart, which was almost three times as large as him. He immediately stabbed into it with his sword, a black light erupting from the tip and turning into a miniature black hole directly in the center of the hydra''s heart.


    The heart seemed to implode as it was sucked into the black hole, Li Yang quickly undoing the black hole once he was certain that the hydra was dead. The law of destruction was volatile and horrific, the slightest mishap would result in it going rampant and killing both him and everything around him, he had to be very careful when and how he used it.


    Once the black hole vanished, all the energy that was about to be eaten by it had nothing pulling on it anymore, resulting in it quickly pulling back and going rampant now that the hydra was no longer controlling it. The energy tore through the body of the hydra, causing more and more of the energy remaining in the hydra''s body to turn rampant and follow with the rest of the energy. Before long, the body of the hydra exploded under the rampant energy, Li Yang soaring through the air for a bit before being caught by Fang Ying. He muttered a quiet complaint, blood,guts, and other foul-smelling liquids covering his body.


    "And this, my dear, is why I hate this way of killing someone."

 130 Dividing the spoils.

    Li Yang stabilized his body, Fang Ying supporting his shoulder and making sure that he didn''t immediately fall over. The explosion caused by the energy of such a strong Divine beast going rampant was nothing to scoff at, even if he was shielded by the flesh of the hydra, so Li Yang''s entire brain had been shaken so badly that his vision was currently blurry and spinning. Li Yang luckily had a strong body so he quickly managed to regain his stability and normal vision, his gaze landing on the pieces of the hydra that were splattered around the area.


    "Hah~ fuck, I knew it was gonna make an absolute mess of the area."


    Fang Ying could only giggle when she heard Li Yang''s complaints, only he was the type of person who could think of complaining after they killed such a strong Divine beast. She knew what he wanted to do next so she raised her left arm, some of the splattered blood in the surrounding area rising up and gathering around her, swirling around her like a curtain of crimson rain.


    Li Yang stretched out both arms and opened his hands so that his palms were facing the sky, fire gathering in one and lightning in the other. Some of the drops of blood swirling around Fang Ying moved slightly when the fire and lightning appeared, moving an inch closer and seemingly rotating around the fire and lightning. Li Yang had the fire and lightning disappear and then snatched the drops of blood, using them to draw up two palm-sized arrays that looked like three drops circling around each other.


    Li Yang poured his Qi into the arrays to activate them, the two arrays immediately performing their one task, gathering in any surrounding energy that shared the same element as the materials used to draw them. They were the most common and simple type of array, but right now they were just what Li Yang needed. With the arrays activating and spreading their influence, more and more of the blood that had splashed throughout the area started to move, flying towards the arrays and gathering into two orbs, one above each array.


    Not all the blood flew over, only the blood that carried the element of fire or lightning came flying over, this was the blood that would be most useful to Li Yang. Only two out of the seven heads of the hydra contained the elements he was looking for so it only took half a minute for the arrays to gather up all the blood, forming two orbs of blood that were both about a meter wide and tall.


    Once all the blood was gathered, Li Yang inspected it closely, his eyes lighting up slightly when he found what he was looking for. Hidden away within the two orbs were a few small drops of blood that clearly contained far more power than the rest of the blood, the Hydra''s Essence Blood. Li Yang guessed that the hydra had likely transferred most of its Essence Blood into the remaining body that it was hiding away, only leaving behind a small amount to make it seem like it had truly died.


    But despite the fact that there were only a few drops here, Li Yang was still happy. This Essence Blood was the concentrated might and lifeforce of the hydra, a proper Divine beast. Giving this blood to Shenlong and Jinwu might not be enough to awaken them, but it would most certainly be enough to stabilize them to a point where he no longer had to worry that they might never wake up again. Depending on how much it stabilized them Li Yang might even be able to start activating his bloodline for a few seconds without having to worry about it draining all the remaining strength in their bodies.


    Li Yang looked at the orbs of blood with glimmering eyes, Fang Ying smiling faintly at him from behind. He had already told her about Jinwu and Shenlong so she knew what this blood was for, and she was happy that Li Yang''s previously narrow circle of people he cared about had grown, even if only slightly. Li Yang quickly put the blood into his interspatial ring, his eyes narrowing slightly as he swept Tian Zheng and the others with a sharp gaze.


    "I''ll say it directly, I don''t care what you do with the rest of the spoils, but the fire and lightning elemental, as well as these two orbs of blood,belong to me."


    Li Yang''s words didn''t leave an inch of room for discussion, anyone who tried to take either of these things would likely have to fight him for them. Xiong Xieren and the others simply shrugged their shoulders, clearly not willing to start a fight with Li Yang right now. They thought that they had gotten an elementary understanding of him up to this point, but that thought was swiftly shattered when he killed the hydra. The law of lightning and ice didn''t have any utilization that could cause an enemy to explode like that, and while the law of fire did have one such usage, Li Yang clearly didn''t specialize in that particular aspect.


    In that case, just how had he made the hydra explode like that? The battle didn''t answer any questions about Li Yang''s strength, it simply created more of them that Yuan Peng and the others had to try and figure out. Tian Zheng could be the one here considered to have the most familiar relationship with Li Yang, so he was the first one to speak up, pointing at the two arrays floating in front of Li Yang.


    "No problem, you''ve worked hard enough to warrant at least that. But I hope you won''t mind me troubling you with creating a few more of those arrays so that we can easily gather up the remaining blood and neatly separate it. Also, Junior Sister Ying, are there any specific parts you want?"


    Fang Ying''s strength was close to Tian Zheng''s and the others, and Li Yang had the advantage that his true strength was completely unknown for now. Letting the two of them choose which spoils to take first would serve to increase their opinion of Tian Zheng and the others, allowing them to get closer for possible future co-operation.


    As for asking Li Yang to create more of those small arrays, it was simply because, among everyone present, he was the one most proficient in arrays, it was natural to leave such a job to him. Li Yang nodded his head and started to work on separating the different types of blood around Fang Ying so that he could draw up the arrays, Fang Ying inspecting the different types of blood while he was doing so.


    "I''ll take the life elemental and the life element, the rest you can divide amongst yourself."


    The elements that remained would be water, wind, wood, earth, meaning that everyone present would receive one of the elements, with Li Yang acquiring two. Li Yang guessed that wind would most likely go to Yuan Peng, wood to Xiong Xieren, earth to Cui Xiyuing, and water to Tian Zheng. The four others discussed amongst each other for a bit before dividing up the last four elements amongst each other, proving Li Yang''s guess slightly incorrect. Yuan Peng did indeed get wind and Tian Zheng water, but Cui Xiuying was the one who ended up getting the wood element while Xiong Xieren gladly accepted the earth element.


    After gathering and dividing up all the different types of blood, Li Yang was slightly surprised to discover that none of the other orbs of blood contained any Essence Blood, only his fire and lightning blood contained it. Clearly, the Hydra was doing its best to make sure that Li Yang kept his end of the bargain. Tian Zheng looked at the orb of blood floating in front of him, prodding it with one of the unbroken fingers on his left hand and muttering quietly to himself.


    "Water huh? Guess it''ll at least make a good gift for Junior Brother Meng."


    Tian Zheng specialized in the law of fire and the law of power, he had close to no use for any resources that had the element of water. But as the future patriarch of the Tian clan, he had many subordinates, some which had followed him for many years already, long before he became the future patriarch. He himself couldn''t use this blood and the water elemental, but he could at least gift it to his closest subordinates to thank them for their years of help.


    The group entered the volcano through the large hole that the hydra had torn in the side when it burst out of it, following the straight path to return to the core of the volcano. Cui Xiuying and Yuan Peng were tending to their injuries while everyone was moving so the speed of the group was pretty slow, it took them almost three hours to once again reach the core of the volcano and spot the seven elementals bobbing around above the gravity well.


    Li Yang could still sense the eighth body of the hydra hiding deep beneath the gravity well, it was trembling faintly as everyone returned to the core of the volcano. Li Yang looked at the seven elementals, speaking up the moment the group arrived at the core of the volcano.


    "Looking at how much noise we made during the fight I suggest that we all leave as quickly as possible, there''s no telling what might come here. Well, if you guys decide to stay here then I can only say that you''re retarded and leave you to your business. But don''t expect me and Ying''er to stay here, we''ll leave for the south as quickly as possible to meet up with some friends of ours."


    Li Yang wasn''t exactly lying to them, Zhao Feng was currently located to the south of their group, hiding so that Tian Zheng and the others didn''t notice him. If he were to suddenly reveal himself and be friendly with Li Yang and Fang Ying, the other clans might start to believe that the two of them were spies from the demon race all along, and there was no telling what might happen then.


    The others thought it over for a short second before nodding their heads in agreement, Li Yang''s words made sense. Besides, they all had their own things that they needed to do, they didn''t have the time to waste around here.


    "You''re not wrong, I''ll leave to meet up with my sect juniors in the west to repair my puppets."


    "I need to repair my Companion Pouch and tame new Demonic beasts to fill it. I found a few good islands up north filled with Demonic beasts, I''ll probably head there."


    "I haven''t heard anything from two of the groups I sent to scout out two large islands to the west so I''ll probably follow Brother Xieren for a bit before splitting up."


    "Guess I''m the only one heading east then. I found an underwater glacier there that seems to be a pretty good place for me to train, you can find me there if you should need me. Junior Brother Yang, you can use this to contact me if you should need my aid or encounter any groups from our clan that have encountered any accidents."


    Yuan Peng was the last to speak up, throwing Li Yang an eagle-shaped talisman made from yellow jade. Li Yang nodded his head and put away the jade for the moment, it might come in handy one day in the future. The group then quickly headed for the elementals and picked up the ones they had agreed on before, sealing them in bottles made from special metal that prevented their energy from being released wantonly. The people present then nodded at each other as a final farewell and split up, their co-operation ending for now.


    But only a minuter after everyone split up and Tian Zheng and the others left the island, Li Yang rode a bolt of lightning and returned to the core of the volcano, arriving in front of the gravity well. He crouched down by the magma that covered the gravity well, coating his hands with golden flames and then plunging them into the magma, pulling it apart and using his fire to make sure that it stayed split apart for at least a few seconds.


    Li Yang then swiped his interspatial ring and took out a frozen mass of vines that coiled around each other and formed the shape of a heart, one of the secondary hearts belonging to the Devil''s Grasp Vine''s he had fought earlier. He dropped the heart down into the opening he had created, directly down to the last of the hydra''s body, returning the magma to normal before leaving behind a few words as he left.


    "Consider it my thanks for the Essence Blood."


    The secondary heart contained an immense amount of pure lifeforce and energy, it was extremely suitable nourishment for the body of the hydra, it would allow this eighth body to be fully born several years faster than it should have been. Li Yang vanished from the volcano''s core after he left behind the words, returning to Fang Ying and Zhao Feng so that the three of them could continue to explore this place.

 131 The suspicions about their reincarnation.

    With Li Yang''s speed, it didn''t take long for him to reach the place where Fang Ying and Zhao Feng were waiting for him, a cave that Zhao Feng dug into a somewhat large hill on the western end of the island. He could tell that the cave was at least 10 meters tall and nearly twice as wide, going at least 300 or so meters into the hill.


    Li Yang walked into the cave, a small orb of fire floating in front of him to provide a source of light as he got deeper into the cave. When he reached the end of the cave, the corners of his lips couldn''t help but twitch slightly. There was a rather large house standing in front of him, it was so large that it almost perfectly fit into the cave both height-wise and length-wise.


    Li Yang pushed open the strangely ornate and wavy door of the house, entering a spacy living room that contained an excessive amount of couches and tables, it looked more like a reception room than a living room. Seeing Zhao Feng and Fang Ying sitting on two of the couches that surrounded a rectangular crystal table, drinking tea from what appeared to be jade cups, he couldn''t help but comment.


    "Why the hell are you just carrying a house wherever you go?"


    He was certain that Fang Ying wasn''t the one who brought this house so it could only have been Zhao Feng. But he couldn''t figure out just why he would be carrying around an entire house, taking up needless space in his interspatial ring. Zhao Feng put down his cup and then waved his finger in front of his face, clicking his tongue a few times.


    "Houses, it''s plural, get it right. And what, you don''t carry around a few houses with you as you travel? I''d say it''s pretty normal."


    Fang Ying let out a soft laugh when she saw Zhao Feng''s haughty manner, she had already undone her fusion so Langshen was lying on her left and resting his head in her lap, clearly somewhat drained after having to stay fused with her for the entire previous battle. Li Yang walked over to the couch, rolling his eyes all the while.


    "Oh well, fucking excuse me for not knowing the contents of your interspatial ring. And no, no I don''t carry around a few houses, I''d say it''s pretty far from normal. What sort of reason could you possibly have for bringing along a house, much less more than one?"


    Not even in his past life had Li Yang, or Zhao Feng for that matter, dragged around a house in their interspatial ring, they just dug simple caves or rested in inns when they wanted to sleep. Li Yang meant for his question to be rhetorical, but Zhao Feng still stretched out finger after finger, listing several reasons.


    "Well, first of all, you can use it to sleep at night, you can cover it in arrays for defense, use it for cooking when you want fresh food, when you want to invite guests, when you want to rest in a good be..."


    Li Yang snapped his finger and caused a small hand of ice to appear above Zhao Feng, the hand chopped down on Zhao Feng''s head and interrupted him. Meanwhile, Li Yang rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated breath.


    "I''ll cut you off there, I feel like listening to anymore will give me a headache. Really, you were eccentric in the past, but you''ve reached new heights now, you''ve become an actual spoiled prince."


    Li Yang could only chalk this up to the fact that Zhao Feng had been born as the Silver Dragon Prince of the Demon Race, who else would give him stupid ideas like this? Zhao Feng didn''t disagree, swatting away the hand of ice while beating his chest and declaring in a grand voice.


    "Damn right! Once you get a taste of the good life, you can never go back! Just you wait, Shu''er will agree with me once we find her again!"


    Li Yang could only let out a sigh, waving his arm and causing the hand of ice to dissipate. He glanced at the jade cups and the tea in them for a short second before sitting down on the seat right next to Fang Ying, leaning against the back of the couch.


    "Alright, hand me some actual drink and let''s get on to the actual topic at hand, how you guys managed to reincarnate."


    Li Yang wasn''t much of a tea person, he had always been fonder of wine, a fact that was true even in this new life of his. Now that they weren''t in the midst of a battle they also finally had time to hear about how Zhao Feng and the others had managed to reincarnate on their own, a feat that was practically impossible. Zhao Feng nodded his head but then seemed to remember something, swiping his interspatial ring and bringing out a gourd that seemed to have been made using the shell of a strange pear-like fruit that had markings similar to a watermelon.


    "Before that, you should try this. I had the brewers in our capital do their best to replicate Old Mam Chao''s wine, it''s quite an experience to drink it."


    Li Yang slightly raised an eyebrow when he accepted the gourd. The wine from Old Man Chao was one of the best wines even back when they were at their peak, they had drunk it whenever they had the chance. Fang Ying had the people of the Tian clan attempt to replicate it, but while it ended up close it wasn''t quite the same. Li Yang put the gourd to his mouth and swallowed a good mouthful, spitting it out almost instantly while cursing.


    "FUCK! That''s absolutely vile!"


    The wine in the gourd wasn''t even fit to be called drinkable, it tasted like muddy water that had been tainted with blood and all sorts of excrements. Zhao Feng burst out laughing when he saw Li Yang''s reaction, slapping his thighs while tears started to gather at the edge of his eyes.


    "HAHAHA, it really is, isn''t it?! They failed horribly, spectacularly so, so much that I find myself wondering justhow they fucked up that much!"


    Li Yang quickly cleaned the insides of his mouth, using fire to burn away any traces of the wine and then melting some ice in his mouth to wash it all away. He then threw the gourd at Zhao Feng, who quickly dodged it.


    "If you knew that, then why the fuck would you make me taste it?"


    Zhao Feng didn''t respond, he simply used his chin to point at the person sitting next to Li Yang, Fang Ying. Li Yang turned his head and saw that Fang Ying was covering her mouth with her hands, doing her best, and failing, to suppress her laughter. Now that he looked closer at her he could see that the sleeves of her robe were slightly wet, she must have tried the wine and then spat it out, drying her mouth with her sleeves. Once again betrayed by his own wife, Li Yang felt a sense of deja-vu wash over him.


    "You''re a monster, woman, you know that?"


    Fang Ying wasn''t bothered by Li Yang''s cursing, removing her hands from in front of her mouth and smiling at him. She stretched out one of her hands, sliding her finger down Li Yang''s nose before giving it a slight tap, smiling charmingly.


    "Yup, and so are you. But I''m your monster and you''re mine so it''s all fine."


    Li Yang wanted to at least maintain a sliver of his annoyance, but he knew he had lost when he saw her charming smile, he never could say no to that. He leaned his head closer, Fang Ying mimicking his actions, but a loud cough from Zhao Feng interrupted them.


    "Guys, please stop, the sweetness will make me nauseous."


    The two of them turned their heads slightly and glanced at him but then swiftly ignored him, leaning closer to each other and sharing a long kiss. They kept their kiss going until Zhao Feng waved his hands in defeat and started telling their tale.


    "Alright alright, I won''t joke around anymore, so please stop. Shortly after the two of you were killed, I and the others felt that the speed at which our strength grew became even slower than normal, it even started to decrease after about a hundred thousand years passed. We wanted to take revenge on Jing Yimu, but he seemed as spry as ever, even when our strengths started to decrease. As our strength decreased more and more, we decided to try and merge our powers and reincarnate so that we could start cultivating again, we''d be able to perfectly utilize our talent and previous knowledge."


    Li Yang and Fang Ying ended their kiss, intently listening to what Zhao Feng was saying. They couldn''t help but share a glance when they heard that their strengths started to decrease after time. It wasn''t exactly uncommon amongst cultivators, but that was only amongst cultivators who were approaching the end of their lives. At that point in time, they should only be around a million years old, they should have at least a few hundred million years left in them considering their cultivation. Zhao Feng stopped talking to give Li Yang and Fang Ying a chance to digest the information, letting out a sigh as he continued to speak.


    "Even with all our powers combined, it was far from easy to maintain our souls and try to sneak them into reincarnation, but we seemed to be on the right track. But then, just as we reached the final step, we failed. Something interfered, actually interfered with our souls just as we placed them into reincarnation. I know it sounds impossible, but that''s actually what happened. The last I heard before my soul started to disintegrate was ''we want our freedom, so you must perish for them''."


    The expressions of Li Yang and Fang Ying grew serious when they heard how Zhao Feng and the others failed. The cycle of reincarnation was governed by the heavens themselves, just sneaking in a few souls was hard enough, so just how hard would it be to interfere with souls already located in the cycle? They kept listening, because the presence of Zhao Feng meant that something else had surely happened in the end.


    "And then, just when I thought my soul had completely dissipated, I heard a jovial laughter ring through the darkness. ''Heheheh, those two old bastards think they can play around as they please, eh? But if they think that I''ll let them fuck around like that then they''re dead wrong. Oy, little kiddo, I''ll give you and those buddies of yours a hand here, I''ll even have those other lazy bones help me hide you from those old bastards. You''ll end up where you want to be, so you just run around and cause as much chaos as you like''."


    Zhao Feng''s story reminded Li Yang and Fang Ying of how the two of them had ended up being able to reincarnate, two unknown people or beings had sent their souls into reincarnation. Could the one that helped, as well as the one that interfered, with Zhao Feng and the others be people of the same class?


    The serious air Zhao Feng had about him while telling his story vanished the moment he finished talking, he leaned back in the couch and downed his cup of tea in a single gulp, grinning at Li Yang and Fang Ying.


    "I''ll tell you, at that time it had already been quite a few years since I was last called kiddo by someone. But whoever that was, they weren''t lying, I ended up where I wanted to be. Had we reincarnated as we planned, I would have been born about two million years before the two of you, we''d already be old fogies by the time we met again."

 132 Jinwus circumstances.

    Both Li Yang and Fang Ying raised an eyebrow when they heard Zhao Feng''s statement. The two shared a short look before Li Yang rubbed his chin lightly, giving a somewhat surprised exclamation.


    "Two million years huh? So that''s how long it''s been since we died, not as long as I expected honestly."


    This was the first time the two of them actually got any information on how long it had been since they died. Looking at the changes that had taken place since they were alive, Li Yang had expected it to be around a hundred million years or so, maybe even more, two million years was a rather short time, especially considering the number of changes. Zhao Feng gave a light nod of his head, leaning further back against the couch while shrugging his shoulders.


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    "Yup, my guess is that something happened in those two million years that greatly sped up the changes, but I''ve yet to discover any sort of clue as to just what this something is. Well, not really any point in wasting time on something we know nothing about right now, better to focus on the present. And by the present I mean, what sort of chaos are the two of you planning on causing now? And whatever it is, I want in."


    With how long the lifespan of strong cultivators was, there could easily be tens of millions of years where almost nothing changed about cultivation, so it was a bit strange for things to change so greatly in just two million years. Li Yang temporarily ignored the excited Zhao Feng, placing his hand on his dantian.


    "Well, first of all, I got to take care of something quickly."


    He pulled out Jinwu and Shenlong, Fang Ying pulling Huanglong out of her own dantian. Li Yang had already handed over Huanglong shortly after they reunited, Fang Ying had carried her ever since and taken care of her. Looking at the three comatose Divine Beasts that suddenly appeared in front of him, Zhao Feng couldn''t help but look greatly shocked.


    "...Just where the hell did you get those?"


    Fang Ying pulled out the hydra blood and the life elemental that she had acquired in the previous fight, giving the blood to Huanglong while giving the elemental to Langshen. The blood didn''t share an element with Huanglong, but the strong lifeforce in it would still be very useful to her, the same was true for the elemental that she fed to Langshen, it would help greatly improve his own lifeforce and recovery speed once he fully digested it. While she was doing so, Li Yang was doing the same to Jinwu and Shenlong, handing them the fire and lightning element parts respectively while also responding to Zhao Feng.


    "These? The two dragons, Shelong and Huanglong, I actually got from the hidden realm you set up, they were born when the remnant energy from me and Ying''er mixed with the remnant energy in the dragon skeletons. As for this fellow, Jinwu, I got him in the Cloud Wilderness."


    Li Yang gave a more in-depth explanation of how he encountered them while making sure that the comatose beasts safely absorbed the blood and elementals. Just as he suspected, they didn''t wake up after absorbing the blood and elementals, but at least their conditions stabilized greatly, thanks to the vast energy, they were a large step closer to waking up. After hearing the full story behind Jinwu, Zhao Feng''s air once again became serious.


    "You''re saying that his mother is Yangwu and that his father is probably Bing Di? And that not only are the two of them dead, but even Zhulong has also fallen?"


    Li Yang had overheard the Golden Crow and the Torch Dragon as they spoke, this was how he knew their names as well as the name of Bing Di. He didn''t know if this Bing Di was Jingwu''s father, but why else would his mother fight so desperately to protect the corpse of Bing Di? Zhao Feng tapped the table in front of him with his fingers for a short moment before looking at Li Yang with a serious gaze and giving him a sincere warning.


    "Brother Yang, whatever you do, do not let this information reach anyone else from the Demon Race. Also, never tell anyone else about Jinwu''s origins, the fewer people know about it the better."


    Li Yang and Fang Ying''s eyebrows rose once more as they stored their now stabilized Divine Beasts back into their dantians, only Langshen remaining in the room, his head still resting on Fang Ying''s lap as he worked on digesting the life elemental. Li Yang leaned back against the couch again, a gourd of wine appearing in his grasp as he gestured with his hand.


    "I''d ask why and what you know, but I have the feeling you''re going to tell me anyway, so hit me."


    Li Yang could read Zhao Feng well enough to know how he would act, his words swiftly proven correct as Zhao Feng leaned forward and actually brought out a map of the entire Cloud wilderness, pointing out several marked areas while talking.


    "The truth is that even though we call ourself the Demon Race, we aren''t the rulers of all Demonic beasts, we aren''t even the rulers of the entire Cloud wilderness, that''s only a front we put up. In truth, very few Divine Beasts actually listen to the Demon Race, you''d be surprised by how many of them are actually against the Demon Race. But this isn''t necessarily a bad thing, the existence of these hostile and neutral Divine Beasts prevents the Demon Race from taking over the entire Cloud Wilderness and spreading too far. You see, once the Demon Race spreads far enough they plan on starting a full-scale invasion of the lands controlled by the humans, their end goal is to control this entire planet and then spread to the surrounding ones. If they move forward with those plans there is no telling how many from both sides will die, it will be horrible."


    Each area Zhao Feng pointed out marked the territory of a different Divine Beast that wasn''t part of their Demon Race, a grand total of five, their territories almost forming a complete circle around the territory of the Demon Race. Li Yang slightly raised an eyebrow at the ambitions of the Demon Race, but he didn''t think too much of it, most races had the same ambitions after all. Zhao Feng continued to talk, tapping two of the Divine Beast territories.


    "Should the Demon Race learn that Yangwu, Bing Di, and Zhulong have all died, there is at least an 80% chance that they''ll go forward with their plan, they''ll probably start by killing or enslaving the remaining two free Divine Beasts in the Cloud Wilderness, at which point there will be nothing left to stop them from taking over the entire Cloud Wilderness. Luckily, the Divine Beasts are very secretive so it should still take the Demon Race several years before they figure out that something is up."


    Divine Beasts could do much like cultivators, go into hiding for several years so that they could quietly cultivate or rest, one could only assume such a being to be dead upon actually seeing the body with one''s own eyes. Zhao Feng''s gaze drifted onto Li Yang''s dantian, pointing at it with his thumb, his eyes gleaming slightly.


    "As for him, I do in fact know what he is. If he is the son of Yangwu, there is only one thing he can be, the son of Bing Di. You know that Yangwu was a Golden Crow, correct? Well, Bing Di was a Glacial Nethersky Tiger, a Divine Beast born with control over the supreme Nethersky Ice, you can consider it on the same level as the Golden Flames."


    Li Yang had never heard about the Nethersky Ice but he knew that the flames of the Golden Crow were among the most supreme in the entire universe. So for this Nethersky Ice to be on the same level as the Golden Flames, its might could be imagined. Li Yang himself had already experienced the might and strangeness of this ice, it was even able to freeze things like Qi and souls, it truly deserved to be ranked amongst the most supreme of ice.


    Li Yang had always known that Jinwu was special for being a Golden Crow that could also use ice, but he always guessed that he was a mutated Divine Beast, not one that was naturally born the way he was, mainly because that should be impossible. Fang Ying had the same thoughts, her head tilting slightly as she questioned.


    "A Divine Beast of the fire element and a Divine Beast of the ice element, ones that even carried supreme elements... had a child together?"


    If two flames of the same rank were to encounter each other, they would start a violent battle for supremacy, they would not fuse together. As such, it was impossible for Divine Beasts carrying different supreme flames, like the Phoenix and the Golden Crow, to have children together, the flames would fight in the body of the child and kill it before it could be born.


    If this was the case for Divine Beasts who shared an element, just how would it be for two Divine Beasts carrying supreme elements of opposing elements? Ice and fire would not coexist, they should not coexist together, it was a simple fact of life. Li Yang himself had experienced this fact of life when he altered his body using the crystal droplet in the Frozen God''s Tomb, the ice and fire fighting in his body could have killed him if he hadn''t been careful. And he would certainly not have been able to fuse them had it not been for Jinwu fusing his own blood into Li Yang''s body. Zhao Feng excitedly nodded his head, pointing at Li Yang''s dantian with gleaming eyes.


    "Yes! You don''t need me to tell you how rare, even downright impossible, such a thing should be. And yet here is just such an impossibility, a dual-element Divine Beast that should not exist. There is no telling how much war the humans or the Demon Race would wage in an attempt to get their hands on him, just his blood alone is extremely valuable to them. Luckily, he looks very unassuming so no one will be able to tell what he is just by looking at him or sensing his bloodline, but once they learn of his origin or get their hand on some of his blood, or see him use both his supreme elements, they will instantly know."


    A Divine Beast that should not exist, just how exciting wasn''t news like this? Li Yang once again raised an eyebrow, pulling Jinwu out of his dantian and holding him up in front of him, giving his head a light flick while chuckling.


    "Heh, little lazy bones had such a grand history huh? He sure doesn''t act the part, I''ll tell you that."


    A Divine Beast that should not exist, and it''s preferred way to pass time was to rest on Li Yang''s left shoulder, it truly wasted that grand title it had been given. Zhao Feng leaned back against the couch again, taking a breath to calm himself while smirking at the scene in front of him.


    "Heh, I wonder just how furious the people of the Demon Race would be if they learned that you are treating such a special Divine Beast like that."


    If the Demon Race learned of Jinwu they would likely spare nothing to get their hands on him, they would probably either try to raise him to be perfectly loyal, or they might just use him as a living blood bank that they could harvest as they please. Li Yang put Jinwu back into his dantian, pointing at Zhao Feng with his chin while taking a sip of wine.


    "You tell me, aren''t you from the Demon Race?"


    Fang Ying snagged the gourd of wine from Li Yang as he was in the middle of taking his sip, resulting in him spilling some wine on his robe and sending a light glare at Fang Ying, who simply winked at him and then drank some of his wine. Zhao Feng ignored their little flirting, puffing out his chest in an arrogant manner.


    "I''m a special existence, I''m a classification of my own."


    His words couldn''t exactly be denied, he was after all someone who had succeeded in reincarnation, at least he would have if it weren''t for the fact that something interfered at the end. Li Yang and Fang Ying simply rolled their eyes at Zhao Feng, both choosing to not humor him, resulting in him clicking his tongue and pouting slightly while changing the subject.


    "So, what have you decided to do? I haven''t left the Cloud Wilderness in what feels like forever, so I''ll follow you just about anywhere else."


    Li Yang snagged back his gourd of wine from Fang Ying after a short scuffle and put it to his lips so that he could take a drink, only to discover that it had been completely emptied by Fang Ying. He put the gourd away, smirking at Zhao Feng.


    "Well, let''s go hunt some Divine Beasts then."


    They had no leads on Bai Yawen and Ye Ning so finding them was going to be very hard, in that case, they might as well continue what they were doing here, hunting Divine Beasts to awaken Jinwu and the dragon twins. Zhao Feng nodded his head, but Fang Ying rolled her eyes after hearing Li Yang''s grand declaration.


    "You know, I''m sure there are clearer ways of saying that you intend to follow Tian Zheng to see if the two islands he''s going to inspect carry Divine Beasts."


    They had no leads on where to find any Divine Beasts, and searching blindly was highly inefficient. In that case, it would be best to go to a place where they knew something had happened, such as the groups that Tian Zheng had lost contact with. Li Yang didn''t deny what his plans were, defending his choice of words.


    "Yes, but my way sounds cooler."


    Zhao Feng ended up snorting slightly, choking on the tea he was drinking when he heard Li Yang''s shameless admittance. Fang Ying also let out a chuckle and nodded her head, the three of them simply enjoying the peace of having reunited.


    "Aye, fair enough, I''ll give you that."

 133 The strange slime.

    Zhao Feng finished the last of the tea that remained in his cup, putting it away and storing the entire house that they were resting in back into his interspatial ring, the three people and one wolf appearing in the somewhat sandy cave. Zhao Feng turned his head towards the west, tilting it slightly while pointing.


    "That Tian Zheng was heading west, no? There''s no telling what sort of strange things might happen here so I suggest we head out immediately to make sure we don''t lose track of him."


    This Ocean God''s Graveyard had only opened one other time ever since it had been brought to this planet, there was no telling what might be living here, or what had been born and evolved here in all those years. Li Yang gave a light wave of his hand to stop Zhao Feng from leaving the cave, crouching down and cupping his right palm, filling it with some of the sand and dust in the cave.


    "Give me a few minutes before we leave, I''ll prepare something neat for us."


    A deep crimson flame sprouted from Li Yang''s palm and swallowed the sand, which then quickly started to liquify under the intense heat. While the sand was melting in his right hand, his left hand took out the furs of the invisible panthers they had fought earlier, placing them on the ground and lining them up so that they formed four carpets large enough to cover Li Yang and the rest.


    The sand turned into liquid glass which Li Yang then formed into somewhat thin strings with some careful control. He used the glass to sew together the various furs, using a bit of ice on the fur to ensure that the heat from the liquid glass didn''t incinerate them. He finished sewing them together after a few minutes, ending up with four large rugs of white fur. The work wasn''t immaculate but it was good enough to hide them for now, he would have to leave the task of improving the rugs into actual clothing to Fang Ying in the future. Li Yang stood up after he finished the work, looking at the completed products.


    "Alright, let''s test if it works."


    Li Yang tossed one of the rugs onto Langshen, who was understandably caught off guard for a moment due to the sudden action. But he was sensible enough to quickly understand what Li Yang was getting at, letting out a somewhat grumpy growl while unleashing a little bit of his Qi. The rug that covered Langshen''s body became completely invisible once his Qi entered it, Langshen turning invisible alongside it. Zhao Feng''s eyes lit up with interest when he saw the scene but Li Yang was more preoccupied with testing how effective the invisibility was, rubbing his chin slightly after testing a few things.


    "The effectiveness hasn''t decreased, it blocks out your own Qi, and all light and Qi simply slide over the fur. Langshen, run around a bit without making any sound. Oy, Feng, can you sense his soul as he moves?"


    The panthers from which they had gotten these furs were rather annoying to fight, the only way they could discover their locations was by tracking the effect they had on the world around them, such as the heat they produced when they stepped on the ground. Zhao Feng temporarily shook himself out of his interest, making a mental note to have them spill the beans on these furs later on. He then narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze starting to roam around the cave as he stretched out an arm, pointing around as he moved his gaze.


    "Yeah, I can still sense the slight fluctuations of his soul, he should be moving in that direction right now."


    Langshen appeared right as Zhao Feng spoke up, he was indeed just where Zhao Feng had been pointing so it seemed like the fur was unable to hide the energy that their soul released. With that being the case they also guessed that it might also be unable to hide the faint energy that their flesh unleashed, meaning that someone cultivating the law of flesh might just be able to spot them. Li Yang tossed a rug to Fang Ying and one to Zhao Feng, keeping the last one for himself.


    "It''s good enough, the law of flesh and the law of soul are decently rare, probably even more so now that soul and body cultivation seem to have become rather common. And hey, even if we do end up getting discovered, we''ll just have to figure out a way to deal with it then, it''ll be just like in the good old days."


    Zhao Feng and Fang Ying rolled their eyes when they heard Li Yang''s statement and saw his smirk, a nearly deafening silence their only response. Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders to their unamused responses, draping the rug over his body and inserting his Qi into it to turn it invisible. He couldn''t see through it when he first put it on, but once it became invisible he naturally became able to see through it. He could also see Fang Ying, Zhao Feng, and Langshen, so it seemed like the panthers had been able to see each other because of the specialty of their furs, not because of their eyes.


    The four of them made sure that they could all see each other and then left the cave, heading westward to follow Tian Zheng to the two larger islands he was heading to. If their luck was good they might find more Divine Beasts there, and even if their luck was bad it was unlikely that they would end up finding nothing, this place was a bit too special for a place to really contain nothing.


    They quickly picked up on Tian Zheng''s tracks, he had already left the island in the short time that Li Yang and the others had been talking and making these rugs, he seemed to be in quite a hurry. Zhao Feng aided them in crossing the water that separated the various islands, using his law of motion to completely stop the movement of the water beneath their feet. Li Yang could create bridges of ice they could use, but these would be far more visible than if Zhao Feng simply aided them.


    They managed to avoid both Demonic beasts and other groups thanks to the rugs keeping them invisible, allowing them to quickly move from island to island without having to engage in any pointless battles. But they had yet to catch up with Tian Zheng even after crossing over the eighth island a week after setting out, the tracks were getting fresher but they were still not able to see him. They even spotted the occasional sign of battle, some smaller islands had been turned into smoldering craters while entire forests on some of the larger islands had been completely reduced to ash.


    It seemed like they had underestimated just how much he worried about the two groups that went missing, that or he had gotten his hands on some new information about the groups, information that was reason enough for him to hurry like this. The three people and one wolf locked eyes, nodding at each other before speeding up. And then, another half a month later, they reached one of the islands where Tian Zheng lost contact with one of his groups.


    This island was marginally larger than any of the others in the area, it was practically an entire continent. The only island that came close to it in size was one that was slightly smaller, the second one where Tian Zheng had lost contact with another one of his groups. They picked this particular island because the tracks that Tian Zheng left behind showed that he himself was heading here, he had likely arrived here only a bit before they got here.


    When they stepped on the sandy beach that served as the edge of the island, their gazes all automatically turned towards the eastern part of the island, towards a part of the island where they could see a forest made up of palm and umbrella-shaped trees. Looking at the distant forest, Fang Ying''s brows started to furrow slightly.


    "A battle took place over there a short while ago, the fluctuations from some of the stronger attacks still linger in the air. There''s also a strange aura over there, I can''t really explain it properly."


    It wasn''t necessarily Tian Zheng that had been the one fighting, but when one considered the timing, they could safely guess that he was likely part of the battle. The strange aura she mentioned caused Li Yang and Zhao Feng to raise an eyebrow, mainly because they weren''t able to feel anything, but since she couldn''t explain it then they could only head over there and see what was up.


    The four quickly entered the forest and headed deeper into it, a strange scene unfolding around them as they got deeper into the forest, the land was starting to die. It started out as just small changes, some leaves changing color while others had not, but it quickly escalated to entire trees and even the earth itself drying up and withering away, as if all life and energy had been drained from them. Looking at how the changes got stronger as they got deeper into the forest, it seemed like whatever caused the land to die like this came from deeper in the forest.


    The four quickly grew vigilant and prepared for battle, following the traces of battle as well as the strange aura that only Fang Ying could feel. And before long, they found the center of the strange aura, as well as what appeared to be the thing causing the land around it to die, a door in the ground leading down into an underground dungeon.


    The door was made from a thick and strange metal that none of them had seen before and it was currently flung wide open, a set of narrow stone stairs leading down into the darkness. Looking at the large indent in the door as well as the fact that it was almost torn off its hinges, it was clear that something had forced the door open using a powerful blow, and looking at how fresh the dug up earth around the door looked, this had likely happened recently.


    Other than the somewhat fresh-looking dug up earth around the door itself, all the trees, as well as the rest of the earth, in the area had practically turned completely white and almost bone-like, on the cusp of turning into dust. Fang Ying''s eyes narrowed as she pointed at something in front of the blown open door, notifying the others.


    "There, that should be the group that Tian Zheng lost contact with."


    Lying in front of the stone stairs that led down into the darkness were several robes belonging to the Tian clan, a few dried up and cracked bones scattered around the robes. One of the robes even contained the dried up skin of one disciple, it was a rather macabre and strange sight. Li Yang''s eyes landed on the dried up skin, his own eyes narrowing slightly as he walked over and crouched by the skin, pointing at a small dot of slime located on what should have been the youth''s neck.


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    "This slime, can you guys also feel it? Have you ever heard about anything like it?"


    Fang Ying and Zhao Feng nodded their heads to the first question and shook them for the second, their expressions turning grave. The slime was a dull white in color and looked completely normal, but Li Yang and the others could feel that this slime not only seemed to be completely separate from this universe, the laws and Qi in the area seemed to actively avoid and even attempt to repel the slime. None of them had ever seen anything like this before so Li Yang could only let out a mutter that contained a mixture of curiosity and shock.


    "Tian Zheng, just what the hell did your people unleash here?"

 134 The strange race.

    As Li Yang and the others looked at it, the dull white slime actually shook slightly, a minute tremor running through it. Their eyes narrowed as the Qi within their bodies started to move, each of them preparing to deal with anything that might happen. The drop of slime continued to shake slightly at slight intervals, it was almost as if it was just waking up.


    But each time the slime shook, the dried up skin that it was resting on would have a small portion of it dry up further and turn to dust, the drop growing a tiny bit larger. Looking at the scene, it seemed like the slime was sucking up the minuscule remaining lifeforce in the skin and using it to grow. Li Yang''s mouth twitched slightly as he looked at the scene, his eyes sweeping the surrounding lifeless area.


    "Really makes you wonder what is capable of killing such a large portion of this forest, if a small drop of slime is capable of doing that. Think it can grow without limit as long as it has enough lifeforce to feed on?"


    This single drop of slime was likely just a small piece dropped by a larger beast, Li Yang wouldn''t be surprised if someone told him that this drop was negligible to the beast that dropped it. Asking the questions about this drop also made another question pop up in his mind, did the monster that dropped it have the same properties? It surely must have, he guessed, otherwise, how could such a large portion of this forest have ended up dead? Zhao Feng also crouched down by the slime, his expression somewhat uncertain.


    "I hope not, otherwise I dread to imagine how much lifeforce it would need to grow or live once it reached a certain size. Imagine if it were to reach a state where it would need all the lifeforce from a universe to survive, who would be able to kill a beast containing that much energy? Try killing it."


    The bigger something was, the more sustenance it would need to support itself, this was a universal fact for all living beings. Li Yang thought of himself as pretty darn strong when he was at his peak, but strong enough to defeat a beast that could eat an entire universe? Not even he was so arrogant as to believe he had been that strong.


    Li Yang stretched out his right arm and pointed his index finger at the drop of slime, a crimson flame sparking into existence at the tip of his finger. He slowly pushed the finger closer to the slime, a strange scene taking place and causing their brows to furrow even further. The flame started to flicker as it got closer to the slime, Li Yang noticing that the Qi he used to sustain it was growing unstable and trying to avoid the slime.


    He concentrated a bit more on controlling his Qi and had the flame fly a bit ahead of his finger, making contact with the slime. The slime started to bubble and evaporate when the fire touched it, but Li Yang could sense that the slime actually devoured some of the Qi inside the flame, weakening the flame while simultaneously somewhat increasing the slime''s resistance to his fire. His lips twisted slightly as he increased the strength of his flames, the slime fully evaporating after a few seconds.


    "Geh, it seems to use a principle similar to a fusion between the law of devouring and the law of evolution, it even managed to devour some of my Qi and use it to increase its resistance against my flame, it''s like the creepiest little parasite I''ve ever encountered. If left unchecked, it might just have the chance to become a real fucking headache."


    Devouring and evolution, two laws which started out weak but could reach the pinnacle of creation, just how strong would a fusion between the two be? Li Yang could only hope that whichever creature dropped this slime was a Divine Beast, at least then there wouldn''t be a lot of them in existence. Li Yang stood up from his crouched position, his eyes landing on the steps that descended down into the earth.


    "You guys wanna check what''s left down there? We might learn a bit abo...!"


    Fang Ying cut off Li Yang with a wave of her hand before he got to finish his sentence, her head turning to the left as she looked deeper into the forest with furrowed brows. She spoke up after a few seconds of silence, turning her head towards Li Yang.


    "Tian Zheng just entered the range of my senses, he seems to have been flung over here after suffering an attack, he is slightly wounded."


    Li Yang moved his gaze away from the dungeon and turned his head in the direction that Fang Ying had been looking earlier, doing his best to peer through the dried up and bone-like trees. But as he hadn''t touched upon the law of space like Fang Ying had, he was unable to detect the distant Tian Zheng. He cast one more glance at the descending stairs before casting a quick glance at Zhao Feng, shrugging his shoulders after another second.


    "I get it, I get it, we''ll go save him. He should be dealing with whatever escaped from here so it''ll also be a good chance to learn more about it."


    Fang Ying didn''t have to state her desire, Li Yang knew her well enough to understand what she wanted just from the way she looked at him. Tian Zheng had been a bit overly close to her in the past, but that didn''t mean that they had a bad relationship, especially now that he had taken a step back after realizing that he stood no chance. Li Yang himself had no personal reason to save Tian Zheng if he was in trouble, but since it was a request from Fang Ying, that didn''t go against his bottom line, he had no way of refusing.


    Zhao Feng cracked his knuckles with a wide grin, it was finally time for all three of them to let loose once more, no more skulking and sneaking around. Fang Ying flashed a smile and then took the lead, the three of them dashing deeper into the forest, the bone-like grass shattering beneath their feet.


    With their speed, it only took them about three minutes to reach Tian Zheng''s position, Li Yang stopping them when they were a short distance away from Tian Zheng. The forest here hadn''t completely died yet, the trees and land had clear signs of drying up, but it had yet to reach the stage where everything became bone-like. Li Yang pointed at one of the taller and healthier trees in the area, speaking in a hushed voice.


    "First we observe and learn, then we jump in and save him at the appropriate time."


    Neither Fang Ying nor Zhao Feng spoke up against his plan, they knew that running in blind against an enemy they knew nothing about was dumb. The three of them quickly ascended the tree and hid in its crown, observing the small clearing that Tian Zheng was currently standing in, gazing into the distance with grave eyes. His right arm was spasming slightly as he clenched his fist, he clearly hadn''t fully recovered from the battle against the hydra.


    Half a minute after Li Yang and the others reached the area, Tian Zheng''s enemy stepped into the clearing. The enemy looked like a human male with black hair and orange eyes, his skin somewhat pale as his body seemed to be starved for energy. But his right arm was far from human, it looked like a mass of black tentacles and worms coiled around each other, writhing incessantly as small drops of white slime occasionally dripped off of it. The man looked at Tian Zheng and spoke up, his voice grating on the ears.


    "I just want to go home, why must you keep stopping me!?"


    Li Yang''s expression was a bit dark as he looked at the man and his writhing right arm. Now they knew where the slime had come from, but the problem was that Li Yang couldn''t sense the slightest Divine Beast aura from this man, he didn''t feel like a Demonic beast at all. He also wasn''t a cultivator, Li Yang couldn''t sense a shred of Qi from his body, his body was just like the earlier slime, the laws and Qi in the area seemed to avoid him while also trying to repel him.


    Not human, nor Demonic beast, he was likely from a completely different race. But that was what made Li Yang''s expression turn dark, an entire race of people like him, who could eat away at the lifeforce and Qi of everything around them? Just how dangerous would a race like that be? Tian Zheng seemed to have similar thoughts, he forcefully clenched both hands and raised his fists, his eyes solemn as he looked at the man.


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    "If you for one second think that I''ll let one of your kind leave this place alive then the years of imprisonment must have ruined your intelligence."

 135 Void Born.

    The strange human with the writhing arm took a step forward and lashed out with his writhing right arm. The tentacles that the arm was composed off grew longer as he lashed out, his right arm acting like a whip as it swung sideways at Tian Zheng. Fang Ying kicked off the branch she was crouching on just as the man swung out his arm, moving so fast that she turned into a blur and appeared atTian Zheng''s side in the blink of an eye. Her red-veined sword appeared in her grasp and swung down at the incoming arm, a red mist spawning in the air around the blade.


    The sword and the arm collided, the red mist turning into six rice-sized droplets that shot at the arm, two of them piercing cleanly through it while the other four only managed to dig slightly into it. Fang Ying exerted all her might and smashed the arm down into the ground so hard that the earth cracked. She then grabbed onto Tian Zheng''s shoulder and jumped back, putting some distance between him and the strange man. Tian Zheng pointed at the strange man the moment they landed again, warning Fang Ying.


    "Junior Sister, thank you for saving me, but we cannot let that man leave here! He is a Void Born, they feed on all types of energy, if he is left alone he could easily end up turning several planets into bony wastelands!"


    Li Yang and Zhao Feng jumped down from their hiding place atop the tree while Tian Zheng was warning Fang Ying. Li Yang felt like letting out a sigh at how rapidly Fang Ying had jumped in to save Tian Zheng, but as he knew that this was simply how she was he could only accept it. Fang Ying looked at the two of them as she landed, pushing Tian Zheng back a few steps while giving a light nod of her head.


    "Alright, but we''ll be the ones to deal with him. In your current state, you are more likely to be a hindrance than any help."


    Tian Zheng wasn''t surprised at seeing Li Yang, but his eyes opened wide when he saw Zhao Feng. As the future patriarch of the Tian clan, how could he not be familiar with the various high-ranking people of the other organizations?


    "You... Silver Dragon Prince?"


    Zhao Feng turned his head slightly to look at the surprised and confused Tian Zheng. He gave a casual shrug of his shoulders before turning his head back, not going into any details as he spoke.


    "Name''s actually Zhao Feng. Now''s not the time for details, just know that these two assholes are dear friends of mine."


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    Zhao Feng seemed to suddenly think of something when he turned his head away from Tian Zheng, suddenly turning his head back once more, looking at Fang Ying this time. He smirked slightly and pat Li Yang on the shoulder, both of them ducking under a swipe from the Void Born as Zhao Feng started talking.


    "Now that I think about it, you''ve already gotten to hog him for a while, don''t you think it''s about time you share him with the rest of us? You just leave this freakish thing to the two of us, I''ll leave taking care of Tian Zheng to you."


    Li Yang raised his arm to file a complaint at how he was spoken about like an item, but he quickly lowered it again when he realized that complaining was pointless. Fang Ying let out a light laugh, gesturing towards Li Yang with her hand.


    "Alright, he''s all yours for now. But do remember that I want him back spotless, otherwise I''ll hunt you down for compensation."


    Li Yang quietly rolled his eyes as he was lent to someone else, inwardly sighing to himself and wishing that there was at least one person here on his side. Zhao Feng nodded his head with a loud laugh, heavily patting Li Yang on the back as the two of them jumped over another sweep by the Void Born.


    "You heard the wifey, you''re mine for now! So let''s go a bit wild here, let me show you that it ain''t just you that''s improved!"


    The air beneath the two of them suddenly turned stagnant, giving them a place to temporarily stand. Zhao Feng shot forward almost immediately, moving faster than even Li Yang could by using his law of lightning. The Void Born punched out with his seemingly normal arm, but even it extended as he punched out, something that looked like black worms crawling beneath his skin.


    Zhao Feng looked at the incoming fist with a faint smirk, the index finger on his left hand flicking slightly. As his finger flicked, the fist coming for his head suddenly changed direction, the entire arm seemingly breaking as it was forcibly bent to the other side, away from his head. Zhao Feng ran right past the bent arm and reach the Void Born''s front, both arms stretching out and grabbing onto the tattered Tian clan robes that he was wearing.


    Zhao Feng''s muscles bulged slightly as he exerted his might and spun around, throwing the Void Born over his shoulder and launching him directly at Li Yang. Li Yang clicked his tongue slightly but still did his part in the battle, his golden sword appearing in his grasp.


    He first cut off the extended arm that had just been sweeping underneath them, a golden flame spawning from the cut and starting to quickly eat away at the arm. The Void Born was able to quickly adapt to any energy it came in contact with, something they had already learned while examining the slime earlier. But compared to the crimson flames he used against the slime back then, the Void Born was clearly having a harder time adapting to the golden flames, the entire arm quickly swallowed and turned to ash.


    Li Yang quickly changed the direction of his slash after severing the arm, his sword turning upwards and leaving a trail of icy mist in its wake as it cut through the torso of the Void Born. Li Yang utilized the speed of his law of lightning after he cut through the Void Born, his sword turning into a golden blur as it cut through the Void Born time and time again, splitting him into several smaller pieces.


    All the pieces were then frozen solid by the ice that was coursing through the sword, the frozen pieces falling to the ground. Li Yang didn''t feel that it was enough with just this so he snapped his fingers and created a small golden sun in front of him, the sun splitting up into several smaller orbs of fire that swallowed the frozen pieces, turning them all to ash. In less than three seconds, the entire Void Born had been cut into small pieces and then turned to ash. Li Yang looked at the ash that was blowing away in the wind, glancing at Zhao Feng.


    "Think that did the tri..."


    A glooping sound caught his attention and interrupted him before he got to finish his sentence, Li Yang turning his head and looking at a spot a few tens of meters ahead of Zhao Feng. A drop of pale white slime on the ground was wriggling intensely, the land in a ten-meter radius around it dying in less than a second. The slime rose up after the land around it died, once again forming the now nude Void Born, whose hair had now turned golden while his eyes had turned silver. Li Yang clicked his tongue once again, muttering quietly while walking to Zhao Feng''s side.


    "Figures that it wouldn''t be that easy. Well, guess we gotta manhandle him for a bit to discover the limits of his regeneration."

 136 The princes eightfold daggers.

    Li Yang somewhat curiously inspected the Void Born in front of him, especially his now golden hair and silver eyes. Looking at the fact that the Void Born had the ability to adapt to any energy that it ate he guessed that these changes meant that the Void Born had grown more resilient towards his own golden flames as well as Zhao Feng''s law of motion, there was even a chance that it had grown to resist Li Yang''s law of ice.


    The Void Born was starting to walk towards them, parts of its body occasionally twitching and turning into the same tentacle-like state as its right arm, it seemed like having to regenerate like that took quite a bit out of it. Li Yang cast a quick glance at Zhao Feng, gesturing towards the Void Born with his chin.


    "Your law of the soul, how useful will it be against him?"


    Zhao Feng had been in contact with the Void Born for at least two full seconds earlier, that was plenty of time for him to use his law of the soul. And Li Yang knew him well enough to know that Zhao Feng would test out anything he could as quickly as he could, especially in a battle like this. Zhao Feng clicked his tongue once, shaking his head and mimicking Li Yang''s glance.


    "It''ll be able to do about fuck all. I''ve never encountered anything like it, but that thing doesn''t have a single soul, it has millions of them, about 17 million to be exact. It''s as if each cell in its body has its own soul, all of them able to become the main soul of the body at any moments notice. If we wanna kill it by destroying the soul, we gotta kill all 17 million at once. What about your ''special'' law?"


    Tian Zheng was crouching on the ground a few tens of meters behind them, this wasn''t exactly the best place for Zhao Feng to loudly name Li Yang''s law of destruction. Li Yang sucked on his teeth for a short moment while narrowing his eyes, eventually shaking his head.


    "It might be able to work, but I''m not going to test it out against this thing. The last thing we need right now is for that law to run rampant on our asses."


    They had already discovered earlier that any law that got close to the Void Born would become unstable, the Qi used to control it would even try to avoid the Void Born. If Li Yang tried to use his law of destruction against the Void Born and it ended up becoming unstable then there was no telling how disastrous the consequences would end up being. Zhao Feng had somewhat expected an answer like this, nothing ever ended up being easy for them after all, letting out a sigh while rolling his shoulders.


    "Alright, then I guess we gotta smack him around until he gives up on living, a rather novel concept if you ask me. I''ve got more spare energy than you, so I''ll take the lead, but I''ll leave the killing blow up to you, that isn''t exactly my specialty against things like this."


    Zhao Feng stretched out his arms while he was talking, making a tearing motion with both of them. The two arms of the Void Born, that were heading straight for their skulls, started to twitch in slight resistance before being forced to the side, the wrist parts of the arms breaking and bending backward. Li Yang saw Zhao Feng''s brows furrow slightly so it seemed like the Void Born had indeed somewhat adapted to his law of motion.


    Zhao Feng quickly stepped forward after redirecting the attack, his form turning into a blur as he shot forward at full speed. By the time Zhao Feng arrived in front of the Void Born, eight small daggers made from a mixture of silver scales and transparent crystal had appeared in the air around him, each of them moving in small rhythmic movements that resembled dancing.


    The Void Born''s chest split open, tens of black tentacles wriggling forth and heading directly for Zhao Feng, who responded by grabbing onto the hilt of two of the daggers. He cut through the tentacles with relative ease thanks to the sharpness of his daggers, the severed tentacles falling to the ground at a strangely slow speed. The six daggers still floating around him also started to move, each of them moving around like wasps as they started to cut away at the Void Born.


    Black tentacles started to grow out of the entire body of the Void Born, tiny black holes covering every inch of the tentacles as they lashed at Zhao Feng and the six daggers. But just as the Void Born was focusing on Zhao Feng and the daggers, a golden light appeared behind it, the subdued rumbling of thunder causing the earth to vibrate.


    Li Yang was already slashing out with his sword when he appeared behind the Void Born, golden lightning arcing out from his eyes and paralyzing any tentacles that got close to him. His sword cut cleanly through the abdomen of the Void Born, lightning sinking into its body through the wound. But the Void Born didn''t even seem to feel the pain as its body started to fall to the ground, it dug two tentacles into the ground and turned its torso around, its chest once again splitting open and spawning tens of tentacles that shot at Li Yang.


    But just as its chest split open and the tentacles appeared, one of Zhao Feng''s daggers stabbed into the back of the Void Born. The dagger suddenly vibrated and unleashed a bright light, the entire chest of the Void Born disintegrating and only leaving behind its head and arms, which quickly fell lifelessly to the ground.


    Li Yang''s eyes couldn''t help but fall onto the dagger, which had now become somewhat darker in color. He couldn''t tell what sort of arrays had been engraved into it, but it was clearly a very powerful one. His gaze then drifted toward the remaining seven daggers, the corners of his lips twitching slightly when he saw Zhao Feng''s insufferable smirk, all eight daggers clearly had the same arrays engraved into them. Li Yang clicked his tongue once, muttering a quiet curse.


    "Tch, damn rich boys flaunting their expensive toys."


    These daggers had clearly been supplied by the Demon Race, one of the perks of being the Silver Dragon Prince. Zhao Feng''s smirk grew even wider as he opened his mouth to respond, but his eyes grew sharper before he got the chance to say anything. Both he and Li Yang threw their bodies to the side just as black tentacles pierced through the spot where they had just been. They dodged as fast as they could, but none of the tentacles had released any sign of their presence so they ended up dodging a bit too late, both of them getting grazed by two or three tentacles.


    The tentacles that grazed Li Yang''s abdomen caused his flesh to twist and turn, tearing itself away from his body and leaving three holes in his waist that were as deep as a finger was wide. Zhao Feng was actually a bit worse off than Li Yang, the two tentacles that grazed him burst into flame the moment they touched him, golden flames turning his robe to ash and scorching his flesh so badly that it started to look like cracked charcoal. Zhao Feng quickly sucked in a breath of cold air through clenched teeth, cursing loudly


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    "FUCK! Damn, do you have any idea how much that shit hurts? You absolute asswipe! Of course this asshole can copy the things we hit him with, no it makes perfect sense, thank you life! "


    Zhao Feng turned his head in the direction that the tentacles had come from, his gaze landing on 12 tentacles that were now sprouting from the ground where the Void Born''s slime had dripped. Each tentacle was wriggling and twitching, with 7 of the tentacles withering and dying as the two of them were looking at them. But the five tentacles that ended up hitting either Li Yang or Zhao Feng, and thus snatched away some of their energy, actually grew thicker and then coiled around themselves, each tentacle turning into another Void Born that each looked identical. Zhao Feng pat the wound on his waist, sucking in another breath of cold air and turning to look at Li Yang.


    "A fucking treasure trove of surprises that one, no? I''ll supply you with all the energy you could ever want, can you utterly crush this bastard for me?"


    Li Yang moved his gaze between the five Void Born''s and Zhao Feng, whose eyebrows were twitching slightly as he was talking. He then swept his surroundings with a glance, the corners of his lips slowly turning up.


    "You give me three times my full energy and I''ll even throw in crushing this entire area, fully free of charge."


    Li Yang''s main weakness was his lack of energy, it limited the number of attacks and tactics he could use, that was why he had to rely on arrays to gather energy at times. But now that Zhao Feng was volunteering to donate some energy to him, the sheer number of tactics and techniques he could use would increase by quite a bit. And if there was one thing to be said about Li Yang, then it was that he was not lacking when it came to destructive techniques.

 137 Sword Gods Horizon Splitter.

    Zhao Feng rubbed his hands together, his own lips curling up slightly when he got Li Yang''s swift reply. He stretched out both arms with his palms facing each other, only a few centimeters separating them as the veins on his arms started to bulge up, a silver tint flowing through them as energy started to gather between his palms. He cast sideways glances at the five Void Born around them while doing this, using his law of speed to slow them down slightly so that they hopefully wouldn''t be able to interrupt him.


    He then used the few seconds he bought himself to gather more energy in his palms, the concentrated energy slowly forming a grape-sized silver blob. The energy was so concentrated that the wind in the area got a bit violent, lifting up and swaying Zhao Feng'' silver hair and Li Yang''s blue hair. After a further two seconds passed, Zhao Feng''s entire face had turned as pale as a sheet of paper, his golden eyes so bloodshot that they looked cracked. The grape-sized blob had turned into a perfect orb, the violent energy perfectly contained within it. Zhao Feng flicked the orb over to Li Yang, walking over to Fang Ying with unsteady steps while leaving behind a few words.


    "Fuck man, haven''t been this tired in years. You''d best make all that effort worth it, otherwise, I''ll tell Sister Ying about that one time you snuck out and went to that Burning Heaven galaxy."


    Li Yang''s smile cramped slightly when he heard Zhao Feng''s threat, quietly cursing him under his breath. Zhao Feng arrived next to her and was quickly supported by Fang Ying, a weak stream of orange poison flowing into his body from her fingers, his tense and weary muscles forced to relax. She cast a glance at Li Yang while taking care of Zhao Feng and making sure that Tian Zheng didn''t interfere, using her eyes to ask him a question.


    Li Yang calculated the distance between him and the three others, eventually shaking his head and turning his gaze back onto the five Void Born, which were now starting to fully adapt to the law of speed. Li Yang stretched out his arm and grabbed onto the silver orb floating in front of him, his lips curling up somewhat as he muttered to himself.


    "All right then, drug me up."


    Li Yang popped the orb into his mouth and swallowed it, the orb dissolving into thick streams of energy before it even passed his throat. A burning sensation followed the streams of energy as they started to burrow through his body, forcing his body to adapt to it or fall apart. This orb contained almost all of Zhao Feng''s energy, swallowing it and containing the energy was the same as Li Yang temporarily increasing his cultivation to the middle stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, slightly lower than Zhao Feng''s own cultivation.


    But it wasn''t called the Immortal Rebirth realm for nothing, containing the dense energy of this cultivation realm required a vessel far stronger than normal. Li Yang luckily had his body cultivation, as well as the fact that his body had been baptized by fire, ice, and even infused with Divine Beast blood, so it was well suited to contain vast amounts of energy.


    The energy quickly settled down within Li Yang''s body, leaving Zhao Feng''s control and entering Li Yang''s, acting like soldiers upon meeting their general. Li Yang let out a deep breath, sparks crackling in the air as he exhaled and clenched his fists, enjoying the feeling of power that was coursing through his veins. He looked at the golden-haired and silver-eyed Void Borns, whose movements seemed to have dulled somewhat after they split into five. After giving it some quick thought, he raised his right arm and pointed at the sky, once again muttering quietly.


    "Right, guess we''ll try something like this then."


    The air in the area rapidly chilled after Li Yang''s mutter rang out, frost appearing on the dead trees and ground in the area, stopping a few centimeters in front of Fang Ying but continuing for at least six kilometers in the other direction. They had already somewhat adapted to his fire and lightning so he figured that he might as well just use his ice to deal with them.


    The ground around him creaked and cracked slightly, bulging outwards as the tentacles that the Void Born had hidden underground tried to burst out, but the cold quickly froze the ground so solid that the creaking stopped. The air got colder and colder, the bodies of the Void Borns turning stiffer and stiffer as they did their best to rapidly adapt to the cold.


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    The clouds above the area were also starting to become affected, the water and ice particles that formed them getting drawn towards Li Yang, resulting in a strange scene where the clouds were gathering together into a slow spinning tornado that was reaching for his outstretched finger.


    Before he knew it, Li Yang started to tap into the Divine Beast bloodline flowing in his body, a few golden scales starting to appear on his neck while his crimson eyes turned the same icy blue as his hair. The robe on his back burst open as two feathery wings unfurled behind him, a golden one draped in brilliant flames and a blue one surrounded by icy mist.


    Fang Ying reacted the moment Li Yang''s robe started to bulge, placing her hand on Tian Zheng''s head and taking advantage of his unprepared state to flood his body with a poison that assaulted his brain, shutting down his senses so that he wouldn''t be able to detect anything. It would be a bit unpleasant for him to be conscious but robbed of all his senses, but he would just have to live with it for now.


    The tornado of clouds finally made contact with Li Yang''s outstretched finger, a harrowing chill assaulting everything within six kilometers around Li Yang, everything except Fang Ying and the others. The clouds rapidly condensed above Li Yang''s finger, forming a single normal looking sword made from the purest of ice that immediately sucked in all the cold in the area, a pleasant warmth once again spreading through the area.


    But the warmth only lasted for a single second before Li Yang grabbed onto the hilt of the sword and slashed out with it, another strange scene taking place. Everything simply stopped moving for a split second, the wind stopped blowing, the trees stopped swaying, even the wings of the insects in the area stopped moving. For a single split second, everything froze in front of the slash, even time itself in that small area forced to halt under the unearthly chill.


    And then, the slash finished its arc and the attack was finished, everything within the six-kilometer area splitting in two, one top part and one bottom part. The trees, the hills, the Void Born, any beast or insect that might still linger, everything was sliced in twain, only the pale-faced Li Yang and his companions remaining intact. The sword of ice dissipated, a thin layer of ice immediately covering everything that had been cut in half and was currently falling to the ground.


    The Void Born also fell to the ground, their frozen bodies shattering once they hit the earth. But this time they didn''t regenerate, not only had every single drop of slime they could regenerate from frozen, but each and every one of their souls had been frozen solid. Li Yang''s ice element specialized in targeting the immaterial, which was why it could momentarily even freeze time when he pushed it to the limit. Under the assault of this ice, it didn''t matter just how many souls the Void Born had, they would freeze just like everything else did.


    Li Yang let out a heavy breath, his body screaming from exhaustion after he had unleashed everything he had in that attack. In truth, despite not lacking in destructive techniques, the one Li Yang had just used wasn''t one that he had come up with, it was one he had stolen from his friend Ye Ning, the Sword God''s Horizon Splitter. It attacked everything that his Qi could come in contact with, using a sword as a brush to draw a line, splitting everything in half down that line, all the way down to a molecular level if given enough energy. Li Yang did not have that much energy, so he used his ice to make up for it, attacking the souls of any living being that was hit by the attack.


    Li Yang quickly undid the changes to his body, his bloodline calming down as the wings and scales vanished, his eyes returning to normal. He observed the Void Born for half a minute, making sure that they didn''t regenerate themselves again, before turning around and heading over to Fang Ying and the others, sitting down in front of Tian Zheng with a heavy thud. Fang Ying extracted the poison she had put into Tian Zheng, returning his senses to him. The first thing Tian Zheng saw was the pale Li Yang and the split apart frozen area behind him, but Li Yang cut him off just as he opened his mouth.


    "Now, how about you tell us exactly what the hell it is that your clan members unleashed?"

 138 Nature of the Void Born.

    Tian Zheng took half a minute to make sure that all his senses had properly returned, choosing not to ask Fang Ying why she had robbed him of his senses. Once he made sure that everything was working as it should, he looked at Li Yang with an eyebrow raised in surprise, casting a sideways glance at Zhao Feng.


    "You don''t know about them? The Demon Race should have some information about them, so I guessed that the Silver Dra... No, Zhao Feng, would have told you."


    Tian Zheng wanted to ask what their relationship was with Zhao Feng, but he was smart enough to know that there were a time and place for everything, and this certainly wasn''t the time for that question. Li Yang and Fang Ying both turned to Zhao Feng, who looked just as surprised as the two of them. Seeing their gazes locked on him, he let out a cough and shrugged his shoulders.


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    "What can I say, I''ve been so busy looking for you lowlives that I haven''t really bothered with much else. So as you can see, it''s clearly your fault."


    Li Yang''s right eyelid twitched for a split second upon hearing Zhao Feng''s reply, his eyes spinning over to Fang Ying. Fang Ying''s left arm was already swiping out by the time she and Li Yang locked eyes, a heavy slap hitting the back of Zhao Feng''s head, a small punishment for his shamelessness. Now it was Tian Zheng''s eyelid that twitched, he never would have thought he''d get to see someone as esteemed as the Silver Dragon Prince get slapped like that. And he most certainly would not have thought that he''d only respond with a grin and a chuckle, it seemed like his earlier words about their friendship weren''t just an empty gesture.


    After finishing their routine, the three people all placed their gazes on Tian Zheng, gesturing for him to start talking. Tian Zheng took in a quick breath and immediately regained his usual composure. Li Yang and the two others were all very strong and talented, and were all doomed to reach high positions in the future, telling them more now would only be beneficial.


    "That thing that you just killed comes from a race of beings called Void Borns, they come from the lifeless void that separates the various universes, multiverses, and in some very rare cases, the void that separates some planets. Most are born between two Void Borns, but there are several known cases where the void will simply birth new Void Born from nothing. This, coupled with their strong ability to replicate themselves, ensures that their numbers are always increasing."


    It wasn''t unheard of for beings to be born without parents, that was how most elementals were created after all. But for a being to be born from actual nothing, that was a different story altogether. The void didn''t even have any energy that it could use to facilitate the birth, so there should be no way for anything similar to an elemental to be born in the void. Tian Zheng himself didn''t know what caused the birth of Void Born so he simply glossed over the fact and continued to talk.


    "Void Born come in all shapes and sizes, but they all share the same ability to devour all energy and adapt to it, making them exceedingly troublesome, they only get worse with age. They are capable of blending in with other people by exerting some effort, but they return to their natural state once their concentration slips. Their natural states are basically living ruin, they destroy everything around them by existing, their sole purpose seemingly being to return everything to the void."


    Tian Zheng took a short break, removing a waterskin from his interspatial ring and taking a swig of water to wet his throat. But just as he put the waterskin away and opened his mouth again, Li Yang raised his own arm and interrupted him.


    "Do you know how they adapt to the energy they devour? Is it the law of evolution, or maybe the law of devouring?"


    The tactic used to fight them would have to be changed depending on what sort of law the Void Born used. The law of evolution would activate just by coming into contact with a new law, but the law of devouring would have to devour some of the law to let them adapt to it. The first could be dealt with using a single destructive attack while the second could be dealt with using an array. Tian Zheng shook his head, shooting down both of Li Yang''s guesses.


    "It''s neither. The Void Born are hollow, they are the void itself. As they are nothing, they have the ability to be everything. They absorb everything around them and turn it into a part of themselves, in most cases rendering that very element useless against them. They have perfected the art of assimilation and unification."


    Evolution and assimilation seemed similar at first glance, but one was simply adapting to something while the other was to become one with something, they were fundamentally different. Tian Zheng moved his gaze slightly, nodding in the direction of Zhao Feng.


    "And just as he said, they have so many souls that it almost induces despair, allowing them to be reborn from even the smallest part that remains, no matter how great the distance is between the various parts. Soul, body, energy, all three are practically perfect, we consider the Void Born to be the most perfect race, and the greatest enemy of all creation."


    Tian Zheng''s voice contained a rare mixture of awe and fear as he spoke, but that was to be expected. When one was faced with what could be considered perfection, despair was one of the more common emotions to feel. But even this perfection had been killed by him, so Li Yang wasn''t terribly worried. But just as the arrogant thought crossed his mind, Li Yang''s eyes shot open and he jumped up.


    "The dungeon!"


    Li Yang didn''t pay any attention to his exhaustion as he kicked off the ground and shot into the distance, tearing through the trees that stood in his path. Fang Ying and the others had also come to the same realization and did their best to quickly follow him, Tian Zheng''s expression exceedingly grim.

 139 Xiang Hongs 71st prison.

    It didn''t take long for them to reach the dungeon, the knocked open door that led down into the ground. Li Yang''s expression sank somewhat when he arrived there, the dried up bones and skin had vanished completely, only a few scattered footprints rushing away from the area remaining. Li Yang crouched by the footprints, tracing them with his finger.


    "They''re only about as long as one and a half of my fingers, there probably wasn''t enough energy here for it to regenerate to its normal size. I''m fairly certain there were no more drops of slime when we left, so the most likely spot is..."


    Li Yang''s voice trailed off as his gaze landed on the steps that led down into the earth. They had never gotten to explore the dungeon so they had no idea what was actually down there. Li Yang heard some rustling behind him as Fang Ying and the others caught up, turning around to look at Tian Zheng while pointing at the dungeon.


    "Did you ever investigate what was down there?"


    Li Yang''s eyes were uncharacteristically serious as he spoke, his crimson pupils piercing directly into Tian Zheng. If more of those Void Born were able to escape and reach their planet, then there was no telling what might happen. Not only was there a chance that Fang Ying and Zhao Feng could die, the reincarnations of Bai Yawen and Ye Ning, as well as the other people he cared about, all of them might die. Tian Zheng''s mouth twisted slightly, Li Yang didn''t even need to hear his answer to know what it would be.


    "I didn''t. The Void Born was already up here feasting when I arrived, I never got to go down there."


    Li Yang clicked his tongue and turned around again, his sword appearing in his grasp as he started to descend down into the darkness. The stone stairs were cut into perfect rectangles, the edges so sharp that they could cut flesh if one was careless. They seemed to be practically untouched by the hands of time, still releasing a gleam and a faint warmth. The Void Born should have stepped on them to leave the dungeon, but there wasn''t a trace of decay on them, not even a single chip or crack.


    Li Yang traced the walls with his left hand as he walked, a crimson sun floating above him and illuminating the area around him. The walls were somewhat coarse and sharp to the touch, almost like the hide of a shark, they were also covered in minute runes, each one about as large as an ant''s leg. The runes likely gathered together into a complex image, but thanks to their minute size the image basically covered the walls in such a manner that one couldn''t see it. Li Yang considered himself pretty darn good with arrays, but even he had to admit that he had never seen any runes like this, he couldn''t even recognize the smallest line.


    The stone stairs continued downwards for so long that it took two minutes just to finally reach the bottom and arrive in a slightly arched hallway that was about four meters tall and two meters wide. The earthen brown hallway went on for about four hundred meters before it ended in another metal door, this one blown open even worse than the other one, it was practically torn in two by the force of the attack.


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    Li Yang moved over to the door with quick steps and inspected the dent that appeared when the door was blown open, his expression sinking when he saw it. The dent was about four times as large as his head, the Void Born he had fought would not be able to produce such a large dent. Li Yang stepped over the shattered door and entered the main part of the dungeon, his expression turning somewhat grim.


    The dungeon was far larger than he first expected, a cursory glance caused him to guess that it was likely about a hundred or so kilometers wide and long. Square blocks that were about two meters wide and long were neatly lined up as far as the eye could see, some of the ones further away being somewhat larger. Each of the blocks was covered in intricate runes that seemed to form an orb-shaped ocean.


    Li Yang turned around to inspect the area around the door and saw that some of the runes right next to the door had a slight crack going over them, a few torn Tian clan robes spread in front of the runes. Li Yang touched the cracks, a few metal shards cutting his finger and causing him to mutter.


    "Door must have closed behind them, resulting in them attacking it to force it open. Their attacks must have cracked the runes and weakened the array enough to allow some of the things trapped here to escape. Everything probably went to hell after that."


    Arrays were finicky and delicate things, it was their main drawback, the slightest change or deviation and the entire thing could fall apart. Li Yang turned around again and swept the square blocks with narrowed eyes, about 99% of them had a small portion broken off, just large enough for someone to escape from them.


    Li Yang walked a bit further forward, to the block closest to the door. This block was one of the few that was still intact, but that wasn''t the reason that Li Yang walked up to it, he stepped up to it to read the writing that had been carved into it using smooth strokes.


    ''This is the 71st prison for the Parasites created by I, Xiang Hong, it is my deepest desires that none shall ever lay their eyes on it and see the horrors sealed within.''


    Li Yang''s expression became something of a grimace after he finished reading the words. This was just the 71st prison, there was no telling just how many more Void Born there were sealed in the other prisons, just how many more bombs like this one there might be hiding outside. Even worse, there was no telling just where all these escaped Void Born had gone, where they might be hiding.


    Li Yang lowered his gaze slightly, looking at the hand that was holding his sword. It was trembling slightly, the blade thrumming in response. Li Yang''s lips curled up slightly, a fire burning in his eyes. How many years had it been since he last felt something like this, this fear and excitement? He felt like he returned to his earliest days of cultivation, when he was just a wandering cultivator challenging others to a battle. He heard Tian Zheng and the others enter the room, turning to look over his shoulder as he spoke.


    "What is it they usually say in a situation like this? Look at the hell that you hath wrought?"

 140 The second lost group.

    Fang Ying and the others weren''t idiots, seeing the thousands of blocks that filled the entire room, how could they not understand what purpose they served? Tian Zheng was the one who had the most experience with the Void Born, so his lips couldn''t help but tremble slightly upon seeing all these opened cells.


    "All these... it can''t be..."


    Tian Zheng''s face paled and he lost the grand demeanor of the future Tian clan patriarch, his fingers twitching incessantly.If all these Void Born managed to make it out onto their planet, and they weren''t found in time, there was no telling what sort of havoc they would wreak. Even worse, they would move on and spread throughout the rest of the universe, it would be an utter catastrophe. Fang Ying also understood the severity of the situation, her brows furrowing as she swept the blocks with a swift gaze.


    "Check all the blocks, we need to know how many have actually escaped. We should also send out a message to anyone we can, the more people learn of it the better. Yang''er, you probably don''t have a lot of people you can inform, but you can at least send a message to Yuan Peng, he should be able to spread it further."


    There was no one more familiar with Li Yang''s mostly isolated personality than Fang Ying, it was to the point that she would be surprised if he had anyone other than her, Zhao Feng, and Yuan Peng to contact in a situation like this. And even then, the only reason he could contact Yuan Peng was due to the fact that Yuan Peng had been the one to hand over something that the two could use to communicate.


    Li Yang and the others nodded their heads and the four of them then split into two groups, just in case there were still some Void Born that remained here. Zhao Feng raised his arms in defeat before anyone had to mention how the groups would be split, he knew that he didn''t really have a choice in the matter.


    "I get it, I get it, I''ll bring along the Tian clan boy, you two run along on your little escapades. But I swear, if you end up raising more hell in the two seconds that I leave you unsupervised, I''ll have to smack the both of you."


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    Li Yang and Fang Ying simply rolled their eyes in response while Tian Zheng seemed somewhat against being described as a boy, but now really wasn''t the time for him to protest, so he remained silent. The two groups then headed in different directions, Li Yang and Fang Ying checking the right half of the prison while Zhao Feng and Tian Zheng checked the left half.


    Li Yang and Fang Ying walked up to the block closest to them, peering in through the hole while Li Yang traced the edges of it with his fingers. The inside of the block was also covered with minute runes that formed the image of countless chains coiling around each other. The inside of the block was completely empty, an apple-sized indent smashed into the back wall of the block. Li Yang frowned slightly as he looked at the inside of the cell, entering it and crouching in the top right corner of it, clicking his tongue.


    "It left behind a tiny drop of slime, it''s probably worried about getting killed and wanted to leave behind some insurance."


    Li Yang pointed at a drop of slime so small that it was hard to see, especially since the inside of the prison was so dark. Li Yang didn''t touch the drop of slime, he simply created a flicker of golden flames in front of him and had it reduce the slime to ashes. While he was incinerating the slime, Fang Ying traced the edges of the hole, inspecting the empty prison with slightly narrowed eyes.


    "Have you noticed it?"


    Li Yang raised his head from the burning slime, ignoring the foul smell that tickled his nose. He stood up and walked over to Fang Ying, nodding his head as he slid his finger along the edge of the hole.


    "Yeah, this cell was broken into, not out from. So either someone helped everyone here escape, or they might have engaged in cannibalism to restore their own energy."


    Li Yang wasn''t quite sure which of the two options he would prefer, the first would mean that the Void Born were united and probably clever enough to come up with dangerous plans, but the second one meant that they were likely ruthless and without scruples, able to do just about anything.


    The two left the cell and continued to inspect the other blocks around them, methodically checking each and every one of them. But each block they checked only made their expressions sink further. Not one cell contained any remains or corpses, only one or two drops of slime, far from enough to figure out just how many Void Born had actually escaped. After spending about two days checking all the blocks on the right half of the prison, they met up again with Zhao Feng and Tian Zheng in front of the entrance.


    "No luck on finding out how many have escaped, all the cells were empty. Have you found anything, or gotten any responses from the other groups?"


    Li Yang and Fang Ying had sent the news out to those they could, with Yuan Peng swiftly sending the news on to both the clan and the other groups. They hadn''t heard anything else from Yuan Peng, or those that Fang Ying had sent the news out to, so they had either died or were currently busy looking for the Void Born. Zhao Feng glanced at Tian Zheng out of the corner of his eyes, gesturing that he should respond, something he did with a sigh while rubbing his temples.


    "There''s nothing, not a single cell that contained anything other than those fucking drops of slime. They were also all broken into, so we''re guessing that someone broke the Void Born out. I''ve informed everyone I can and warned them to be on the lookout. The clan has already started to prepare, and I received a message from Cui Xiuying about three hours ago, she''s lost contact with a group of fellow disciples on an island about 700 kilometers to the west of here, there''s a chance that they were killed by the escaped Void Born. Did you discover anything else?"


    700 kilometers was quite a long distance, if the group had truly been killed by some Void Born then it would mean that there was at least one or two among them that was rather strong, and had restored a lot of their energy. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders lightly in response to Tian Zheng''s question, turning his body slightly to point at the other end of the prison.


    "Empty cells as far as the eyes can see. But we found five cells that were different, they were clearly broken out of rather than into. So the five escaped Void Born either helped the others escape, or they killed the others and ate them to restore their energy. Of course, they might have done both, but we don''t really have any way to know right now."


    There was one question on the minds of the four, but none of them wanted to really say it out loud. Just what was different about these five Void Born, that they were the ones who could break out of their cells? Was it just luck, or were they stronger than the other Void Born locked up here? Tian Zheng gnashed his teeth slightly, looking at Li Yang and the two others.


    "What will you do now? Will you help me look for and hunt down the Void Born?"


    Not just Fang Ying, but even Li Yang and Zhao Feng all had great strength, they were probably within the top ten of this entire competition. If they were to join him, then he would feel much more at ease about hunting down the escaped Void Born. But in response to his question, Li Yang looked at him as if he was an idiot.


    "What we''ll do next? Did you become retarded after fighting the Void Born? You lost contact with two groups from your clan, both went silent at about the same time, no? And both vanished on the two larger islands in this area, with this one being one of them. If one of the larger islands held one of these prisons in it, what do you think the other island is going to contain?"

 141 Mao Tengzou.

    Li Yang''s group of four plus one wolf quickly made their way out of the underground dungeon and cut a direct path through the forest, Tian Zheng guiding them towards the second island where he lost contact with one of the groups from his clan. While they were running, Fang Ying was occasionally sweeping a glance across their surroundings, eventually clicking her tongue in annoyance.


    "It''s pretty troubling that they''re this clever, it''ll be hard to find them even if were to try and look for them."


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    The three others mimicked her movements and scanned the surroundings, Li Yang and Zhao Feng nodding their heads in agreement after a few seconds. Tian Zheng spent a few seconds longer scanning the surroundings but was eventually forced to shake his head.


    "Sorry, but I really have no idea what you''re talking about, I can''t see anything from the Void Born here."


    Tian Zheng had considered pretending to agree with them, but thinking about the embarrassment he would feel once exposed he decided that it was best to just come clean. Zhao Feng cast a sideways glance at Tian Zheng, his gaze eventually moving back to Li Yang, his eyebrow-raising somewhat. Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders, but as Fang Ying had the closest connection to Tian Zheng, she explained what she meant.


    "Exactly, there''s nothing. The only signs of the Void Born in the forest are the tracks left behind by the one that you and we fought. But from the underground dungeon, we saw that at least five or so should have been able to escape. At least five managed to escape and were smart enough to leave behind a piece of themselves for future regeneration, but there were only tracks from one Void Born in the forest. This could mean several things, but the most likely one is that the one that left behind the tracks was meant to serve as nothing more than a distraction, bait to draw all the attention while the others escaped. The smarter they are, the better they''ll be at hiding and the harder they''ll be to find."


    This was something Fang Ying had only started to think about as they left the dungeon, with how many Void Born might have escaped that dungeon, there was a suspicious lack of trails where the surrounding lifeforce had been devoured. Tian Zheng clicked his tongue and gave a nod of his head after Fang Ying explained what she meant earlier, being able to have one of them act as bait might also mean that that Void Born had a clear hierarchy among them.


    Although this point wasn''t too surprising to the others, at least not to Tian Zheng. The Void Born were just like Demonic beasts and humans, the only problem with their race was how they sustained themselves on lifeforce. Had it not been for this one trait of their race, they would never have been feared and hunted like this, they would have been able to live just like all the other races.


    They weren''t trying to lay low this time, so Li Yang and the others ran at full speed, tearing through any Demonic beast stupid enough to try to stop them. Thanks to this, they managed to step onto the next island after only half a day, sharing a collective click of their tongues when they saw that a trail of bone-like earth on the sandy and mostly barren volcanic island. Li Yang kneeled down at the side of the trail and broke off a piece, the piece turning to ashen dust once he placed a bit of pressure on it. Looking at the dust blowing away, Li Yang stood up and dusted off his hands.


    "Well, guess we were correct about there being another dungeon here. Expected, but still not terribly good. Well, let''s scope out the damage."


    The four followed the trail closer to the center of the island, a pillar-shaped mountain covered in crimson veins flowing with lava. The trail stopped at the base of the mountain, ending by a metal door that concealed another descending staircase. This door wasn''t blown out like the last one, it had been completely torn in two, the jagged shards running down what was once the middle of the door now covered in somewhat dry slime that was a mixture of red and white.


    The red didn''t seem to be part of the slime, it seemed more like drops of blood that had mixed with the slime. Tian Zheng''s gaze lingered on the empty Tian clan robes scattered in front of the torn open door and the surrounding area, a pained look flashing past his eyes.


    "So they also lost their lives..."


    Each of the disciples brought into this competition was an elite that would be extremely useful to the clan once they were nurtured and grown-up, each one lost was a punch to the clan''s gut. Li Yang swept his eyes over the empty robes for a split second before stepping over those in front of the door, walking through the torn open part and descending down the stairs. Fang Ying and Zhao Feng followed right after him, Tian Zheng offering the deceased half a minute of silence before following the others.


    Spreading out at the bottom the staircase was exactly what Li Yang had expected, another vast room filled practically to the brim with blocks that worked as prison cells. But they noticed that this place was different from the previous one the moment they set foot into it, Zhao Feng whistling while sweeping the room with a quick gaze, placing his hand above his eyes as if he was trying to shield them from the sun.


    "Whew, this place sure has been turned upside down. Pretty stark contrast to how neat the previous place was. Think it''s like this because others have already been here?"


    Compared to the previous dungeon, where each block only had a hole large enough for a normal person to exit torn into them, the blocks in this dungeon were completely torn apart and crushed. There was no blood splashed around, but there was no denying that the dungeon had been the site of a pretty intense battle. Li Yang didn''t respond to the question, instead choosing to stretch out his arm and point at a stone block which stood not far from their current position. Just like in the previous dungeon, there were words carved into the block.


    ''This is the 59th prison for the Parasites created by I, Xiang Hong, it is my deepest desire that none shall ever lay their eyes on it and see the horrors sealed within.''


    The first part of the writing was practically the exact same as the one from the previous dungeon, with the prison number being the only difference. But the first part of the writing wasn''t what Li Yang was pointing at, he was pointing at some words that hat been carved closer to the bottom of the block, carvings that looked far fresher.


    ''Hehe, Xiang Hong, I told you that not even your prisons would be strong enough to hold me forever, the Void eventually comes for all creation. By the time you''re reading this, I''ll be long gone and will have entered hiding, but don''t you worry, I''ll come for you again, I''ll always come for you. - Mao Tengzou.''


    The words were practically dripping with hatred and bloodlust, to the point where Li Yang''s eyes stung slightly after just looking at the eyes for a few seconds. Whoever this Mao Tengzou was, he clearly had an immense grudge with the creator of these prisons, something Li Yang could somewhat understand. Li Yang turned his head to look at the others, Zhao Feng placing his hand on Fang Ying''s shoulder the moment Li Yang opened his mouth to speak.


    "Yeah yeah, we''ll check the place to check of any signs, you don''t have to spell it out for us. But if you think I''m dragging the new kid around this time, you''re dead wrong. I''ll kidnap your wife for a bit, you get to deal with that kid''s awkward silence."


    Zhao Feng did not let Tian Zheng save any face as he used his thumb to point at him, nor did he give Li Yang a chance to protest before dragging Fang Ying away to investigate the eastern part of the dungeon. Li Yang was left behind with Tian Zheng, casting a sideways glance at him before slumping his shoulders with a sigh.


    "Alright, let''s get this over with, follow me."

 142 starting his breakthrough.

    Li Yang turned around and started walking, heading for the closest of the ruined blocks. Tian Zheng had never been treated in a manner like this so he was temporarily too stunned to move, only coming to his senses when Li Yang stepped into the first ruined block. He quickly made his way over and helped Li Yang inspect the block, but the results were the same as the blocks in the previous dungeon, completely empty.


    The two went from block to block, quickly discovering that these blocks were even emptier than the cells in the previous dungeon, they didn''t have any drops of slime hidden away within them. Were the Void Born here just careless, or did they have some specific reason for not leaving behind any part of themselves as a precaution? The two continued to investigate the various blocks, but not even the smallest drop of blood was present in the dungeon, it was so clean that it was eerie. While they were walking, Tian Zheng broke the silence by asking Li Yang questions.


    "How long have you known Junior Sister Ying? You both should be rather young, so I''m also curious as to how and when you got married. Also, seeing how close you are, you must have known him for quite a while already. Oh, and how and where did you meet Junior Sister Ying? It must certainly be a grand tale for the ages."


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    Tian Zheng did his best to hide it, but how could Li Yang not notice the point of the questions? Both he and Fang Ying were very young right now, and Fang Ying had spent most of her life in the Tian clan, so there should be almost no way for the two of them to have met, and certainly not enough time for them to get married. Tian Zheng had, of course, noticed this too, so now that he had the chance he was trying to get to the bottom of it, just what was the truth between Li Yang and Fang Ying?


    Li Yang turned his head slightly, his eyes flashing with faint light as his gaze pierced into Tian Zheng, a regal and imposing air radiating from his body. The aura of the man once known as the Thunder Monarch crushed down onto Tian Zheng, causing his breath to get stuck in his throat as Li Yang only gave a simple response.


    "If you ever hear about the Thunder Monarch, you might just learn the truth that you seek."


    The response sounded serious, but it was in truth just a misleading answer. Li Yang knew that Jing Yimu had already done everything in his power to erase the Thunder Monarch from the history books and stories, that was why it was borderline impossible to find any information about Li Yang''s previous life. But Tian Zheng didn''t know that, so he would likely be fully focused on trying to find out things about the Thunder Monarch, ending up empty-handed.


    Li Yang removed his gaze from him, Tian Zheng''s breath slowly returning to him. He felt like he had gotten a somewhat decent grasp on Li Yang after chatting with him previously, but not once had he ever felt anything like this from Li Yang, forcing him to once again change his opinion of him. But at the same time, he was somewhat excited, he had gotten something of an answer, he had a starting goal at least. With that being the case, Tian Zheng decided to continue asking questions, asking another one that had been nagging at his mind for a while now, his expression twisting from slight disdain.


    "Brother Yang, tell me honestly. Are you one of those people from the Demon Race?"


    The man known as the Silver Dragon Prince had practically never left the headquarters of the Demon Race, so Tian Zheng could only assume that Li Yang and Fang Ying knew Zhao Feng due to being part of the Demon Race. Li Yang didn''t stop in his tracks, he simply cast another sideways glance at Tian Zheng. And for the first time in tens of years, Tian Zeng felt someone look down on him.


    "Heh, you''re a surprisingly small person, huh? What does it matter whether or not I''m part of the Demon Race or the Human Race? Disliking someone because of their race or background is inane and pointless. In the end, it all comes down to whether or not a person is your friend or foe, everything else is pointless and petty. Even now I''m only helping you deal with these Void Born because they''re a threat to those who fall into my friend category."


    That was the only trait of a person that Li Yang had ever cared about, whether they were friends or foes. Foes were killed and friends were treated as best he could and nothing else mattered, that was his opinion and belief. For the most part, he was indifferent towards those who fell into neither category, but he was more inclined to treat them better rather than worse. After all, making more enemies without good reason was pointless.


    Tian Zheng wanted to retort, or at least push Li Yang to actually answer the question he asked. But upon seeing the look of faint contempt in Li Yang''s eyes, he could only swallow his words. Just like Li Yang said, he should see it from a perspective of friend or foe, useful or useless. Right now, Li Yang was on his side, or at least not against him, so there was no reason to push him too much and risk pushing him away.


    The two quickly finished up checking the rest of the ruined prison cells, returning to the entrance of the dungeon and meeting up with Zhao Feng and Fang Ying again. When they reunited, Zhao Feng shrugged his shoulders and pointed behind him using his thumb.


    "It''s all fucked, not a single cell that remains intact. But there are no corpses, no blood, no drops of slime. Fuck, there''re barely any grains of dust present here, the ones that escaped must have really cleaned house for every single scrap of energy they could devour."


    It wasn''t just Li Yang and Tian Zheng who found the place to be so clean that it was eerie, Zhao Feng and Fang Ying had clearly come to the same conclusion. Fang Ying and Zhao Feng locked eyes for a quick second, both nodding their heads once before Zhao Feng spoke up.


    "I and your wifey talked about it and came to the same decision, we wanna help Tian Zheng hunt down those Void born. They''re too dangerous to be left to their own devices, they cannot be allowed to leave this place, who knows how much havoc they''ll cause. That''s our stance at least, but what about you?"


    No matter how they looked at it, the two of them always came to the same conclusion, the Void Born were too dangerous to be unleashed. Normal Void Born might be fine, but the ones here had likely been imprisoned for countless years, they were probably filled with fiery rage that they were just waiting to unleash on everything around them. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders in response, pointing at the block carved with words standing by the entrance.


    "I''ll help, can''t really let those go out and possibly fuck up things for the others. They''re also likely to head to areas filled with dense energy, they should help us find some good treasures. But before I go do any of that, I''m gonna sit down over there and increase my cultivation, this lack of energy is a serious pain in the ass. You guys can choose to wait for me or you can already head out, but I want at least one of you to protect me while I do my cultivation, it''ll let me focus fully on it so that I can get it over with faster."


    Li Yang was still only in the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm, it was far from good enough to deal with the enemies that they were usually taking on. With that being the case, it was about time for him to take a few days off so that he could increase his cultivation somewhat by using the resources he had on hand. Fang Ying and Zhao Feng nodded their heads immediately, nobody requiring any spoken words to understand the division of labor.


    "Aight, guess I''m stuck with the kiddo then. You can enjoy a few days with the wifey, but I swear, if you guys end up running late because you felt a sudden hankering for some pankering, then I''m gonna slap the ever-loving shit out of you."


    Zhao Feng shook his head with a somewhat exasperated expression as he walked forward, grabbing onto the collar of Tian Zeng''s robe and dragging him with him as he headed for the exit. Li Yang sent Zhao Feng a smirk and flipped him off, waiting for him to vanish out of the dungeon before sitting down by the engraved block and closing his eyes. Fang Ying also walked over, sitting down at his and taking out her sword, placing it across her lap and keeping it at the ready. Langshen laid down at her side, his eyes vigilantly sweeping the surroundings as he mimicked his master, keeping a watch over Li Yang as he started his cultivation.

 143 Completed breakthrough.

    Li Yang closed his eyes and spent a bit of time regulating his state, calmly breathing in and out, the Qi in the area flowing towards him in a steady stream. You had to be as calm as possible when you tried to perform a breakthrough, especially when you were planning on brute-forcing one like Li Yang was about to. Li Yang felt confident in his calmness after only two minutes, opening his eyes and glancing at Fang Ying. She had been waiting for him to finish regulating his state, her finger fiddling with her interspatial ring the moment he turned to glance at her.


    "How much do you plan on increasing your cultivation?"


    Brute-forcing a breakthrough required not only a strong body but also a vast reservoir of resources. She knew that Li Yang was just about scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to resources right now, so it was up to her to provide the resources. But contrary to what she expected, Li Yang shook his head, scratching his chin while gesturing towards a spot a few kilometers away.


    "Oh, I don''t need any resources, I''ve got plenty. I was actually gonna tell you to back up a little, I plan on heading directly for the Immortal Rebirth realm, so it''s most likely gonna get pretty noisy and messy."


    Fang Ying raised one of her eyebrows while looking at Li Yang with a somewhat curious gaze. She knew that he still had two secondary hearts belonging to the Devil''s Grasp Vine, but just those two shouldn''t be enough for his breakthrough, especially if he was planning on breaking through directly to the Immortal Rebirth realm. Li Yang understood her curiosity, swiping his interspatial ring and bringing out several handfuls of other interspatial rings.


    "Picked them up both after and during the battle with the hydra fellow, would have been a shame to let all these resources just go to waste."


    It wasn''t just Li Yang and Tian Zheng''s group that had been there when they first entered the den of the hydra, there had been hundreds of other cultivators there as well. But most, if not all, of those cultivators died when the beast revealed itself to actually be able to become a hydra. Each of the dead cultivators left behind their interspatial rings, some ending up destroyed while the rest ended up in Li Yang''s hands, allowing him to not worry about how many resources he spent right now. Fang Ying nodded her head in understanding, patting Langshen on the head and giving his fur a few rubs.


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    "Let''s back up a little, you don''t want to get caught in the crossfire."


    Langshen raised his head and let out a low whine, clearly too tired or lazy to actually bother moving right now. Fang Ying clicked her tongue once and flicked Langshen on the forehead, standing up and wrapping her arms underneath his body, lifting him up and carrying him away.


    They quickly reached their new position a few kilometers away and sat down, Fang Ying giving Li Yang a thumbs up to show that he could proceed.


    Li Yang sent his mind into the various interspatial rings and brought out any resources that suited one of his laws, barring his law of destruction, of course, finding resources for that law was nigh impossible. Three veritable mountains of resources quickly formed around him, even Tian Zheng and the other future clan leaders would find it somewhat hard to produce this amount of resources for their cultivation without saving up for a bit.


    But Li Yang didn''t stop after building the three mountains of resources, he also took out the two centerpieces that were vital to this cultivation, the secondary hearts of the Devil''s Grasp Vine. The gnarly vines that coiled around each other and formed the shape of two hearts were still pulsating faintly, highly concentrated lifeforce coursing through them without pause. With how much lifeforce was gathered in them, a normal person would explode if they were to attempt absorbing it.


    Li Yang closed his eyes and sank his vision into his dantian, taking a deep breath in the process. At the center of the black void that was his dantian stood his Ascending Foundation, the platform built when his 36 runes formed a circle and connected to each other through a thick stream of Qi. Standing atop the Ascending Foundation was the barren and craggy mountain that was his Ascending Road. Once this mountain became unable to grow further, he would be only a single step away from the Immortal Rebirth realm.


    Small tendrils of Qi extended from Li Yang''s body, each of his breaths causing the tendrils to grow a little larger as they connected with the mountains of resources. The various plants, herbs, fruits, ores, and vegetables started to disintegrate under the tendrils of Qi, turning into streams of pure elemental energy that was then absorbed by the tendrils and brought back to Li Yang''s body.


    The elemental energy rushed through his veins in a rampant manner, doing its best to break free of Li Yang''s chains and tear a way out of his body. Li Yang''s brows furrowed slightly at the pain, but he didn''t allow it to halt his cultivation, directing all the energy into his dantian, pouring it into 27 of his 36 runes.


    He focused the incoming energy on the runes that resembled nine golden suns, nine roaring white tigers, and nine golden-purple dragons, his nine black hole runes would automatically siphon any energy that they needed. His runes started to swell and surge under the influx of the energy, the craggy mountain slowly starting to grow as parts of the energy that entered the runes was transformed into part of Li Yang''s own energy.


    But of the vast amount of energy, only a small portion of it was able to quickly be changed into Li Yang''s own energy, the rest continued trying to wrest free of Li Yang''s control. His runes started to bulge and twist as a result, forcing Li Yang to put more of his focus on the runes themselves, preventing them from collapsing and the energy from escaping.


    As a result, the iron-hold he had over the rest of the energy that was currently flowing through his veins was loosened somewhat, allowing the energy to tear through his veins and start digging through his flesh in an attempt to escape. Blood started to seep out of Li Yang''s skin as pain wracked his body, but he had been prepared for this to happen from the start.


    He sent out two more tendrils of Qi, each one connecting with one of the two secondary hearts and tapping into the seemingly boundless lifeforce within. The lifeforce flowed into his body, and thanks to some nudging from Li Yang''s mind and the Dark Start Essence that his body cultivation granted him, he pushed the lifeforce directly into his wounds, healing them as they appeared.


    In this state of continuous breaking down and healing, the Ascending Road within Li Yang''s dantian slowly grew taller and taller, an imposing and regal mountain forming. The mountain continued to grow as Li Yang''s body was shattered and then quickly repaired, suddenly stopping after six days.


    The mountain stopped growing because it seemed to collide with something, cracks appearing in the void directly above the mountain. Invisible energy started to seep into Li Yang from the cracks, the energy growing more potent as the cracks started to grow larger. The energy felt imperial and dreadful, Li Yang''s very being feeling an intense desire to kneel down in worship and reverence.


    Li Yang had been in contact with this energy and this feeling plenty of times before, it was the energy of the heaven''s themselves, warning him that he should submit or face what was to come. Li Yang hadn''t bent to the heavens in the past, and he certainly wouldn''t start now. He continued to pour more energy into his runes, forcing the Ascending Road to grow a little larger and resulting in the cracks above it to spread out to cover the entirety of Li Yang''s dantian.


    With the cracks spreading to cover his entire dantian, the dreadful energy grew even thicker and more potent, seeping out from the confines of his dantian and spreading throughout his entire body. Since he dared resist the will of heaven, he would have to face the first of the three Immortal Tribulations, the bodily rebirth. Either he would survive and acquire an even stronger body, or he would perish and become nothing more than another one of the skulls that formed the throne of heaven.


    The imperial energy spread to pervade every inch of his body, eating away at him like countless worms. He had already bled so much that his entire body was covered in a thick layer of dried blood, the blood that was a result of this tribulation wasn''t even visible to those on the outside. But Fang Ying, who was sitting several kilometers away, safe from the volatile Qi that was intermittently erupting from Li Yang''s body, was still able to sense that the energy belonging to the heavens had started to spread through his body.


    Li Yang did not change his actions even when faced with this tribulation, he continued to draw upon the energy of his resources, greedily absorbing the lifeforce from the two secondary hearts at the same time, staving off his wounds for as long as he could. Li Yang wasn''t worried about this first tribulation, his body was already abnormally strong thanks to the fact that he was a humanoid Divine beast, this tribulation did not present any challenge or danger to him.


    Just like he guessed, the tribulation receded after a further two days, the remaining wounds quickly vanishing thanks to Li Yang''s Dark Star Essence and what little remained of the lifeforce within the two secondary hearts. The energy receded into the cracks in his dantian, but the cracks didn''t vanish, they remained and awaited Li Yang''s next challenge.


    But Li Yang had no intention of taking on the second tribulation, the one that would test his Qi, just yet, he wasn''t completely confident that he could pass it in his current state. He took a deep breath, sucking in a vast amount of Qi and enjoying the sensation of being in the Immortal Rebirth realm again. His entire body was incredibly sore after the ordeal, but he could feel strength bubble forth from within him, his Qi feeling as thick as mud as it coursed through his veins.


    Once he finished getting some rest and restoring the lost energy, his strength would have made a very decent leap. But while Li Yang was relishing in the sensation of his breakthrough, it seemed like someone else had different plans. He felt a rolled-up cloth hit his face, shattering the dried up blood that now formed a cocoon around his body. While he was slightly disoriented from the sudden cloth hitting him, the cheerful voice of Fang Ying reached his ears.


    "Rise and shine, slowmo, we still have to catch up to Brother Feng and Tian Zheng, he really will slap the shit out of you if we keep him waiting for too long."


    Li Yang removed the cloth from his face and saw that it was a fresh and clean purple colored robe, a replacement for his that was currently caked in blood. He stood up, the cocoon of blood shattering and falling down his body, cracking his neck while muttering to himself.


    "Can''t even let me relish in peace, just watch me spank you when we get some time alone..."

 144 Sect meeting.

    Li Yang stripped down and brought forth some ice and some fire, melting the ice and using the water to give himself a quick shower. Fang Ying stood a bit further away and was working on preparing some food, stirring in a few pots that she had placed over several smaller portable stoves that were filled with pre-prepared logs of wood. Langshen was resting on the ground next to her, quickly snatching up any food that she dropped or tossed to him.


    It was quite a lovely scene, one that Li Yang had missed dearly. Had they not currently been in a prison prepared for a highly dangerous species, and for the fact that Zhao Feng would most definitely smack him viciously, Li Yang might have suggested that they stay here a bit longer. Li Yang finished his shower and dried himself using some flames, putting on the purple robe that Fang Ying had tossed to him and then sauntered over to her, dipping his finger into the various pots and tasting what she was making.


    "So what''s the situation on the outside right now? Oh, this one''s good, fish stew?"


    Li Yang had put his trust in Fang Ying and cut off all his senses while cultivating, he had only barely been able to notice the passage of time. But even without keeping an eye on his surroundings he could guess that Fang Ying had been staying in contact with Zhao Feng and Tian Zheng, making sure that they were still safe and that no unexpected situations occurred. Fang Ying slapped out fast as lightning, hitting the back of Li Yang''s hand with a wooden spoon just as he was about to dip his finger back into the pot he had just tasted.


    "Close, but not quite, it''s a crab soup I learned to make in the clan. As for the situation outside, it''s a bit worse than originally thought. Zhao Feng and Tian Zheng have managed to kill two Void Born in the last eight days, but the problem is that Xiong Xieren and the others have managed to kill a total of 6 Void Born. Eight of them have been killed, but the number of groups that they lose contact with isn''t really decreasing, so it seems like our worries that quite a few of them escaped was right on the mark."


    Li Yang pulled back his hand and rubbed the backside a bit, pulling a spoon out of his interspatial ring and carefully making his way towards the soup again, making sure that Fang Ying wasn''t going to smack him again. He continued his line of questioning while eating a few spoonfuls of soup, ignoring the side-eye that Langshen was giving him for eating too much too early.


    "What about the clans and sects, have they decided on what to do with the situation? And where are we to meet up with Zhao Feng and Tian Zheng, they haven''t gone too far away, have they?"


    It had already been quite some time since they discovered the Void Born here, even if the clans and sects hadn''t come to an agreement on how to act, they should have at least put together an emergency meeting by now. Fang Ying pointed at the flames inside the portable stoves, responding to the question while doing so.


    "Kill the flames for me, will you? And no, they haven''t gone too far, they''re within 50 kilometers, they''re not confident that it''s a wise idea to expand the search area any more than that when it''s just the two of them. And the clans haven''t said anything about their plans yet, but they should be holding a meeting today, if they haven''t already done so yesterday."


    Li Yang nodded his head and lowered his left arm slightly, the flames within the stoves flying out through the airholes and gathering by his hand. He clenched his fist around the flames and sucked them into his body, allowing them to flow into his fire runes. He ate one last spoonful of soup before putting away his spoon and stretching his body, his shoulders producing popping sounds when he rolled his arms to loosen them up.


    "Alright, let''s go meet up with the cunt and with the kid, there''s only one person here who I want to smack me even when they don''t have a good reason, and it sure as fuck isn''t him."


    Li Yang winked at Fang Ying while stretching, causing her to roll her eyes once before hitting him on the forehead with the spoon. She put lids on the various pots of food and sealed them shut using some sticky paper, putting all of them into her interspatial ring so that they had easily available food whenever they wanted it. She then put away the stoves themselves and pulled out a jade bead from her interspatial ring, sending a bit of Qi into it before putting it away again.


    "Alright, I''ve told them that we''re coming to meet up with them now, they''ve notified me of their position and have will wait for us to meet up with them."


    Li Yang nodded his head, the two of them heading up the stairs and leaving the dungeon, Langshen following them while chewing on what appeared to be a roast leg of lamb. They could see a thin stream of smoke stretch towards the sky before they even finished leaving the dungeon, most likely Tian Zheng signaling their position to make it even easier for them.


    --


    Floating in the vast ocean that covered most of Li Yang''s home planet, Heaven''s Funeral Pyre, was a large island with a jagged and bent mountain stretching towards the skies serving as the centerpiece. The mountain was somewhat strange, in that it resembled both a spear, an ascending dragon, and a raging lightning bolt, it seemed to change slightly every time you looked at it.


    This island was named Heaven''s Last Stand and it was one of the only six neutral areas on this planet, areas not owned by any clan or sect. The other five areas were the five most dangerous locations on the planet, and they were only neutral because none of the sects or clans were strong enough to grab hold of them.


    Located at the foot of the seemingly ever-changing mountain was a surprisingly simple building, it was nothing more than a simple square made from a strange type of sturdy metal covered in white runes. The inside of the building was just as simple as the outside, it was just a single room containing only a single circular table with a large jade plate embedded into its center.


    But despite looking simple, this room was one of the safest places on the planet. It was engraved with countless arrays of different effects, the most notable one being that none were able to launch any attacks within the confines of the array. Should anyone try to break this rule, the array would automatically activate upon sensing their hostility and moving Qi, killing them by taking over the Qi within their body and disintegrating them from inside.


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    The arrays were powerful, but that was to be expected, they had been created using the essence blood of five different Divine Beasts, an expenditure only possible thanks to the fact that all the clans and sects had worked together to build this place. This was where they held their emergency meetings, it would also be their final bastion should a threat strong enough to threaten all of them appear.


    There were currently eight people sitting around the circular table, leaving only three empty chairs. Each person sitting here was a Qi clone sent over by the leaders of the various sects and clans, with the three empty chairs belonging to the Roaring Soul Sect, the Heaven''s Gate sect, and the Demon Race. The clan leaders were currently discussing rather heatedly how to deal with the current situation.


    "...And I''m telling you that we can''t do that! Sending in people at the Celestial Immortal realm is retarded, do you have any idea how much in-fighting there''ll be if they find any good resources? The Celestial Immortals are the pillars that hold up our sects and clans, losing even a single one can mean that the sect will be swallowed! We need to send in the Primordial Immortals, and even that is a bit excessive!"


    The one shouting was shrouded in a dark veil, but she had the voice of a charming young woman, only her voice was currently somewhat distorted from annoyance. A somewhat old and hoarse voice quickly shouted out in retaliation, the room trembling slightly as some of the runes covering it started to release a faint light.


    "Woman, have you lost your mind! These are Void Born, fucking Void Born! You know just as well as I what sort of havoc they can wreak if we let them roam freely, sending in Celestial Immortals isn''t just the best choice, it''s the only choice!"


    The door to the room was suddenly thrown open while the others were throwing out their own opinions and ideas, silencing all discussion. Two tall and mature women walked into the room, their faces nearly identical with their sharp eyebrows and cutely small noses. But one of them had orange eyes and somewhat curly crimson hair while the other one had green eyes and ocean-blue hair, the one with crimson hair let it freely hang down her back while the one with blue hair had tied it up into a neat ponytail.


    The ones sitting around the table looked at the two women in surprise, partly because they had come here with their actual bodies and partly because of the fact that they were walking side by side. The one with orange eyes and crimson hair was Fang Yazhu, the sect leader of the Roaring Soul sect, while the one with green eyes and blue hair was Fang Xiulan, the sect leader of the Heaven''s Gate sect. The two sects didn''t have a very good relationship, mainly thanks to these two sect leaders, so seeing them walk side by side, and even seeming somewhat friendly, was rather strange. The somewhat old and hoarse voice that shouted out earlier greeted the two of them, seeming somewhat perplexed.


    "Greetings, Sect Leader Xiulan, Sect Leader Yazhu. Why have you come with your true bodies, could it be that you fear that the threat is greater than we think?"


    The two women only took two steps into the room before stopping, their eyes sweeping over the eight people sitting around the table. They didn''t waste any time or words, directly stating their purpose and then immediately turning around and leaving.


    "We have decided that the Void Born threat is too great, so we''ll be heading directly into the Ocean God''s Graveyard to deal with it. Don''t bother trying to persuade us, our Big Brother is in there, so we''ll go there even if it means declaring war on the lot of you."

 145 The demon in plain sight.

    Tian Zheng''s eyes darted around the area as he was moving around with Zhao Feng, both of them looking for any traces that might lead them to any of the escaped Void Born. Tian Zheng''s eyes weren''t darting around just because of the fact that they were looking for Void Born, they were also darting around because he was slightly worried that Zhao Feng might find out that he was currently in contact with one of his men that had remained in the clan.


    "Shing Yatyu, I need you to head to the clan archives, head directly for the sealed off sections in the deepest part. Don''t worry about the guardian, I will give you the authority to enter the sealed off parts. Once inside, look for anything about someone known as the Thunder Monarch, I need to hear about everything you find."


    Tian Zheng made sure to memorize the name that Li Yang had mentioned while they searched the previous dungeon, the Thunder Monarch. If he could find anything about him, he should be able to learn the truth behind Li Yang''s strength and his relationship with Fang Ying.


    As for the sealed-off section of the archive that Tian Zheng wanted his junior disciple to search, it didn''t just contain the oldest books that the clan had, it also contained any books or texts that they had acquired from other planets or from the top five danger zones on the planet. Each grand clan and sect had one such section, but as the Tian clan was among the oldest of the clans, they had the largest archive among the various sects and clans.


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    He received an affirmative reply from his junior disciple almost instantly and then quickly sent over directions to the sealed-off section of the archive. He then sent a quick message to the clan head to inform him about Shing Yatyu''s task and then even went as far as to send a message to the guardian of the archive, the Demonic beast partner that had followed their founder. Once he finished everything on his end, he put all his focus on searching for Void Born while waiting for a reply from Shing Yatyu.


    He received a few questions about why he was looking for information about someone known as the Thunder Monarch, but Tian Zheng felt a nagging sense that the fewer people knew about it the better, so he made up a quick excuse for himself. Zhao Feng glanced over at Tian Zheng while they were walking, starting some idle conversation to chase away some of his boredom.


    "Must suck for you to have to look at Brother Yang and Sister Ying flirting like that all the time, you were probably really eager to make her your wife. Believe me or now, but I know how it feels, there was a time where I was just like you. Best advice I can give you is to do your best to get over it and find someone else, if you''re as lucky as me, you''ll end up finding the one for you after a while. Oh, and I probably don''t have to say this, but give up any thought towards Sister Ying. Depending on what you do to her, it might not be just you that gets dragged to hell, your entire clan might just follow suit if you''re foolish."


    Few people knew Li Yang as well as Zhao Feng did, should there come a day where he became truly enraged, he would turn into a true demon that even the universe itself would have to fear. For a split second, Tian Zheng wanted to wave away Zhao Feng''s words as an exaggeration, but remembering the horrifying dread he felt when Li Yang glanced at him while they were inspecting the prison, he couldn''t completely toss it aside.


    The two of them continued their search for Void Born, occasionally contacting Fang Ying or one of the other future clan leaders to make sure that everyone was constantly caught up on the situation. The first Void Born they encountered they managed to catch off guard while she was feeding on a large Demonic beast, ambushing her and wounding her enough to make sure that the battle ended quickly.


    The second one was a bit more troublesome, they found his tracks but he had also discovered them, so he started hiding and fleeing. Luckily, he ended up fleeing into the territory of a somewhat strong Demonic beast and was forced to engage in a battle with it, giving them enough time to catch up and kill him.


    They didn''t find any new Void Born before receiving the report that Li Yang had finished his cultivation, so they settled down and sent Fang Ying their current location, Tian Zheng making up a fire to send up some smoke so that it would be even easier for them to find their location. The two didn''t sit down after making up the fire, vigilantly keeping an eye on their surroundings. The fire didn''t just allow Li Yang and Fang Ying to know their locations, it also let anyone else in the area know where they were.


    But it seemed like luck was on their side, nothing attacked them while they were waiting for Li Yang and Fang Ying to catch up with them. But when they finally heard the sound of Li Yang and Fang Ying''s footsteps getting closer, Tian Zheng''s breath caught in his throat, his heart skipping a beat. He finally received a report from Shing Yatyu.


    "Senior Brother Zheng, I''ve acquired a scroll that mentions someone known as the Thunder Monarch! It didn''t come from the clan''s archive, it was the archive guardian himself who gave it to me, it comes from his personal collection, he apparently received it while out adventuring on a rather distant planet. The title is ''Fall of the Fang clan, rise of the Thunder Monarch.''"


    Shing Yatyu quickly started to read the book, Tian Zheng doing his best to still his drumming heart. He could excuse some of the earlier parts as coincidence, being named Li Yang and Fang Ying and using lightning and poison. But then the name Zhao Feng was added, the fact that the Zhao Feng in the story liked Fang Ying, the golden thunder and pink poison, the golden sword, the skill with arrays. When too many coincidences were stacked on top of each other, they stopped being coincidences.


    The scroll ended with the death of Fang Ying and Li Yang, but who was to say that they hadn''t found a way to reincarnate themselves? Zhao Feng was titled the Soul King and his wife had excellent control over time, the chances weren''t exactly zero. If Tian Zheng''s current guess was correct, it would also explain the relationship between Li Yang and Fang Ying, as well as their freakish strength, it made all the pieces fit together nicely.


    And it was because of how perfectly the pieces fit together that Tian Zheng struggled to get his breathing under control as Li Yang and Fang Ying entered the clearing that he and Zhao Feng had created. He was now certain that Zhao Feng''s earlier words were correct, his entire clan might vanish if he was careless or foolish, swallowed up by this demon that was hiding in plain sight.

 146 The darkening sky.

    Li Yang and Fang Ying entered the clearing and saw Tian Zheng and Zhao Feng standing around the fire they had made up, their eyes occasionally darting around the area to make sure that nothing snuck up on them. Tian Zheng''s pupils shrank slightly when he saw that Li Yang had jumped directly to the Immortal Rebirth realm, but Li Yang couldn''t really be bothered with his shock, jumping directly onto the main topic.


    "So what sort of plan have you worked out with Xiong Xieren and the others? I can''t imagine that you intend for us to just continue searching around blindly like this."


    Zhao Feng nodded his head in response to Li Yang''s statement, removing a waterskin from his interspatial ring and dousing the flames, the smoke quickly dying down. After putting out the fire, he gestured towards Tian Zheng using his thumb.


    "Kiddo here''s been diligently keeping in contact with the others and got them to agree to form a net of groups covering the surrounding ten islands, that''s the largest area we can cover while still maintaining acceptable co-operation should it be needed. The others got into position about a day and a half ago, but we were waiting for you guys to meet up with us, so they''ve been on standby for now. Oh, our start point is about 30 or so kilometers to the north, here''s a map of the route we''re gonna follow."


    Zhao Feng removed a jade slip from his interspatial ring and tossed it to Li Yang, who caught it and sank his mind into it, giving the map and route a quick look over before handing it to Fang Ying. Tian Zheng cringed slightly at being referred to as a kiddo, but he chose to remain silent, this wasn''t exactly the first time he had been treated like this since he met up with Li Yang and the others.


    After going over the map and the route they were supposed to take, the four people and one wolf set off for their starting point, a triangular lake with somewhat rounded edges and light green water. Once they were in position, Tian Zheng sent a message to Xiong Xieren and the others, notifying them that they could start, the various groups heading down their respective routes.


    Most groups were spaced in such a manner that there was only about 20 kilometers between them, making it easy for at least one group to rush to another group''s aid at any time. The various clans and sects had gathered all the disciples within the Ocean God''s Graveyard to these ten islands, showing how seriously Tian Zheng and the others viewed the situation.


    There was only one group that did not have any other groups within 20 kilometers of them, and that was Li Yang''s group. The reasoning behind this was simple, their group was by far the strongest one here, there were very few groups that could actually be of help to them even if they rushed there. As such, the group closest to them was about 70 kilometers away, forcing Li Yang and the others to cover an area larger than the other groups.


    But strangely enough, even after the first two days passed, they hadn''t discovered a single Void Born, not even the tracks of one. And it wasn''t just Li Yang''s group that failed to find anything, only a single group found something that could be considered strange. They found a ruined location within the forest that seemed to have been the location of a battle recently. And while it carried the tell-tale bone-like areas that the Void Born left behind, there were no drops of slime or dried up corpses in the area, making it hard to figure out exactly what had happened there.


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    After four days of searching with no results, Li Yang''s group decided to take a short rest during the night, setting up a small camp and making up a fire they could use to heat up food. The fire would also serve as a beacon that might attract any Void Born that might be foolish enough to be drawn towards it. They put up logs around the fire to sit on, and while Fang Ying was reheating a pot of soup and Zhao Feng went a bit away from the camp to answer the call of nature, Li Yang turned his head to look at Tian Zheng.


    "Tell me, why are you so afraid?"


    Tian Zheng''s fingers twitched slightly in response to Li Yang''s question, tapping against the log that he was sitting on. He turned his head and gave Li Yang a casual look, tilting his head slightly in perplexion.


    "Sorry? I''m afraid I don''t quite understand what you mean."


    Li Yang wasn''t fooled by Tian Zheng''s hand, his right arm stretching out and stopping only half a centimeter in front of Tian Zheng''s face. Tian Zheng''s gaze was fully focused on the tip of the finger, his body subtly tensing up as Li Yang started to talk.


    "Your pupils shrink when I glance at you, your throat rolls when you sneak glances at me, sweat keeps running down your back whenever we''re walking close to each other, and your heartbeat is erratic whenever I''m near you. Even right now I can feel it, thundering in your chest so hard that it seems like your ribs will shatter. Your pupils are also trembling right now, quite a bit actually, they look like they''re trying to tear themselves out of your eyes. So tell me, Tian Zheng, what have you learned, that it causes you such fear?"


    Li Yang slowly moved his finger down Tian Zheng''s body as he spoke, halting it in front of his throat and chest for a bit. Tian Zheng was the future patriarch of the Tian clan, and while he might not have gotten a lot of chances to show who he was now that he was tagging along with Li Yang and the others, it didn''t change who he was. It was strange for him to be unable to hide his fear to such a degree, it either meant that he didn''t have good enough control over his emotions or that the fear was too great for him to contain it.


    Tian Zheng wanted to continue playing dumb, but glancing at the finger currently pointing directly at his throat, he couldn''t help but swallow a bit of saliva that felt drier than sand, a low whisper escaping his mouth.


    "I know about the Fang clan massacre, as well as the death of the Golden Dawn."


    Li Yang''s finger stiffened slightly in front of Tian Zheng''s throat, stretching out just enough to barely make contact with his skin, causing the hairs on Tian Zheng''s neck to stand on end as he quickly started to maneuver his Qi. But luckily, Li Yang didn''t do anything to him, pulling back his arm and slightly narrowing his eyes.


    "Hoh, so you''ve learned about those things, huh? Should have known better than to trust what Jing Yimu said back then. So, tell me, what do you plan to do with that information? Let me warn you right now, trying to use it to blackmail me is useless, doing so will only end in catastrophe for you."


    It was indeed a slight miscalculation on his part that Tian Zheng actually managed to learn about Li Yang''s actual identity, but he didn''t consider it to be the end of the world. Tian Zheng breathed a stealthy sigh of relief when Li Yang pulled back his finger,


    giving his throat a quick rub while talking.


    "I don''t need you to tell me that, I know full well what can befall the Tian clan should I be careless. You might not be there now, but there''s no telling how quickly you''ll regain your former strength, antagonizing you without being 100% certain that I can kill you is nothing but foolish so I plan on doing nothing with the information, I''ll be the only one who knows."


    Li Yang''s eyes narrowed faintly as he observed Tian Zheng, studying his face and mannerisms for a short few moments. After making Tian Zheng nervous for a few moments, Li Yang shrugged his shoulders and leaned back slightly, looking up at the night sky with a nonchalant expression.


    "That''d be best for you, but we''ll see if you''ll actually live up to your word."


    Even if Tian Zheng ended up spilling Li Yang''s secret, it wasn''t guaranteed that people would believe him without any proper proof. And even if they did end up believing him, Li Yang wasn''t without options and actions he could take. Just as Tian Zheng opened his mouth to ask a question, Li Yang''s eyes, which had been lazily roaming across the night sky, stopped and narrowed dangerously.


    "Somethings wrong, the stars are vanishing."

 147 Mao Tengzou, Xing Yuyen

    Li Yang stood up from his seated position, his narrowed eyes remaining locked on the sky as he swept it in a vigilant manner. Tian Zheng also raised his head to carefully inspect the night sky, the stars vanishing was rarely a good sign. The sky was completely free of clouds, a large yellow-tinted moon hanging high above them and casting a faint light down onto Li Yang and the others.


    Li Yang''s eyes locked onto a star close to the previous on that vanished, one on the left side of a rhombus-shaped star pattern, managing to observe it just as it turned dark. Li Yang clicked his tongue and turned his head to the side, shouting into the forest and after Zhao Feng.


    "Oy, Feng, tie up your robes again and get your ass here, we''ve likely got a problem on our hands!"


    The sound of low curses came from the forest after Li Yang called out, Zhao Feng entering the small clearing shortly afterward. Fang Ying had also stopped working on the food, she and Zhao Feng moving closer to Li Yang and following his gaze as he pointed at the sky.


    "That rhombus over there, it used to contain 28 stars but it''s now down to 22. One vanished while I was looking at it, but I''m not sure when the others started vanishing, but knowing our luck, it likely has something to do with why we haven''t been able to discover any Void Born lately."


    Zhao Feng and Fang Ying didn''t even have the chance to make a comment before another star vanished in front of their eyes. Another star vanished right away as they were temporarily dumbstruck, one star after another vanishing in quick succession, the entire star pattern turning dark after about a minute, resulting in Fang Ying''s brows furrowing.


    "Whatever is causing it seems to have sped up. If a living being is causing this, then we should consider this increase in speed a sign that it is no longer worried about being discovered, it would be best to prepare for the worst."


    Li Yang and his group had experienced something blotting out the stars before, it was rather easy for the people they fought when they were at the peak of their power. But they could see that there wasn''t anything blotting out these stars, the stars themselves had simply vanished one by one as if they were swallowed whole.


    OF course, the thing that made this situation a bit more special was that there weren''t any actual stars here, they were still within the Ocean God''s Graveyard after all. Both the stars and the moon they were looking at were most likely created by the array that should be supporting this entire place''s existence, nothing more than masses of Qi brought together and molded to imitate the real world. Li Yang clicked his tongue once again as he looked at the sky, his expression sinking somewhat as the scene above them evolved further.


    "Tch, seems like it was as you said, that it no longer worries about being discovered. I don''t know about you, but those things give me a pretty bad feeling."


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    The places where there had once been stars changed further in front of their eyes, what looked like white lights replacing the stars. But the white lights stretched out and expanded, revealing themselves to be massive bone-white tentacles that latched onto all the other stars around them, quickly swallowing them before stretching further and seeking out more stars to eat up. Li Yang was quick to act once the strange tentacles appeared, turning his gaze onto Tian Zheng.


    "The exit to this place, where is it?"


    Li Yang didn''t really care what the tentacles were or who created them, he just knew that they gave him a bad feeling so it was best to avoid them as much as possible. It was a bit of a waste to leave this place without getting his hands on more Divine Beast blood, but it was better than foolishly risking his life in a situation he didn''t fully understand. Tian Zheng was equally quick to react, bringing out an orb of jade while responding.


    "Exit''s the same place we entered, we just have to get about five kilometers into the air and we''ll be automatically sucked out. I''ll send a message to the others, but they should have reached the same conclusion, this situation has already escalated out of our control."


    Li Yang glanced at Fang Ying the moment Tian Zheng answered, the two locking eyes for a short moment before Fang Ying nodded, placing her hand on Langshen and once again merging with him. Zhao Feng also nodded his head when he saw the scene, pulling out all the energy restoring pills he was carrying on his person and handing them to Fang Ying. Li Yang also did the same, Tian Zheng following suite when he saw their actions and understood what he had to do.


    The exit was quite far away, it would take at least a few days to reach it even if they ran there at full speed without taking any rests. Having Fang Ying teleport them would be faster, but it would drain her energy far faster than running at full speed, so she would need a constant supply of pills to quickly restore all the energy she drained.


    Fang Ying didn''t bother being courteous and accepted all the pills, space around the four of them starting to ripple slightly as she tapped into her law of space and sent all of them through space. With Fang Ying taking charge of their fleeing, they quickly hopped from island to island, but the situation only became worse, and it was getting worse at a hastened pace.


    Each star that was swallowed by a tentacle would cause the tentacles to grow faster, some of the stars would even turn into new tentacles that only further increased the speed at which they spread. Some of the tentacles split off and descended to the ground, attaching to some of the islands and starting to drain them of all energy. The islands rapidly became bone-like in appearance, all forms of life on the islands dying as every last scrap of energy were drained from the island.


    If they hadn''t already guessed that the scene had something to do with the Void Born, then this would certainly convince them, this bone-like appearance was characteristic of areas where the Void Born had drained all the energy. It was only that none of them had ever seen it on such a scale before, entire islands turning bone-like in the manner of seconds.


    Li Yang had come to the realization that the Void Born were dangerous ever since his first encounter with them, but only now did he realize that they were far worse than he first anticipated. If the Void Born responsible for this got to escape from here, how long would it take them to drain the entire planet, or even more planets? He thought that he himself was destructive and dangerous thanks to his law of destruction, but this was something else entirely.


    As they arrived on an island quite a bit away from their previous destination, the situation changed once more. The massive ocean that housed all the islands in the Ocean God''s Graveyard started to seethe and surge, frothing in a manner that almost made it seem like the water was boiling.


    The surface of the ocean burst out as a gargantuan creature burst forth from the water, stretching towards the sky like a pillar connecting the heaven and the earth. The creature looked like a serpentine dragon with a rather long head, its entire body covered in brilliant blue scales that dripped with water. But rather than wings on its back, the dragon had azure tentacles covered in thick spikes growing out from where its wings would be.


    The tentacles flailed around as the dragon rose towards the sky, occasionally forming the shape of wings while at other times smashing entire islands in half with a single swipe, pushing the islands to the bottom of the ocean. The dragon was larger than any Demonic beast Li Yang had ever seen, it had to be at least several thousand, if not tens of thousands, of kilometers long.


    The power he felt radiating from it was also on a whole other level, above any Celestial Immortal that Li Yang had ever met. Whatever this beast was, he knew that it was above even him when he was at his prime, it was in a completely different realm. As the dragon rose towards the white tentacles, its face contorted in rage, it also roared out in a voice so loud that it caused the bones of everyone currently inside the Ocean God''s Graveyard to reverberate.


    "Mao Tengzou, how dare you escape the confines of your prison?!"


    Li Yang recognized the name that the dragon roared, Mao Tengzou, it was the name of the Void Born that escaped from the previous dungeon they checked out, the one that had challenged the creator of the prisons. Shortly after the dragon roared out, a human figure became visible amongst the massive white tentacles, standing on one as he smirked at the dragon with a confident grin.


    "Oh, Xing Yuyen, you''re still parked here like a good boy, are you? That''s good, I''m still grumpy about how you treated me last time, so let me take out some petty revenge on you before I leave."


    Li Yang also recognized the name Xing Yuyen, he was the one who had called him and Fang Ying paragons while Li Yang was unconscious. Li Yang temporarily put it aside and focused on Mao Tengzou, studying him and memorizing his features. Mao Tengzou had rather tanned skin and a rugged and heroic figure, his black hair hung down past his feet and was currently rather dirty and unruly, he clearly hadn''t taken care of it in a while. His eyes were amber in color, but they had faint ripples in them that almost resembled bark, a rather strange sight that was somewhat uncomfortable to look at for too long.


    But the situation didn''t stop evolving there, the air high above them suddenly split open, tongues of flame and snow-shaped fragments of ice bursting out and fully tearing open space within the area. Li Yang''s gaze was temporarily drawn towards the scene, his lips involuntarily forming a wry smile as he saw two familiar sisters stepping through the crack in space, choosing the worst possible time to arrive.

 148 Rain of blood.

    Li Yang''s wry smile twitched slightly as he looked at the two sisters stepping out of the spatial rift, they had sadly picked up his habit of having terrible timing. The scene also caught the attention of the others, Fang Ying and Zhao Feng looking pleasantly surprised while Tian Zheng looked taken aback.


    The strength of the orange-eyed and crimson-haired Fang Yazhu and the green-eyed and blue-haired Fang Xiulan was well known to everyone from the sects, they were among the strongest people on this planet. But it wasn''t just their presence that caused some shock to Tian Zheng, there was also the fact that they arrived together. The rivalry between the leaders of the two sects was well-known, they would basically be at each other''s throats the moment they set foot in the same city. But if that shock wasn''t already enough, he nearly felt his heart stop when he heard Li Yang call out to the two.


    "Oy, crybabies! Over here!"


    Tian Zheng didn''t even have the opportunity to look at Li Yang as if he was a madman before he saw a shiver run through both Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu''s bodies. Their heads quickly spun around, their gazes riveting on Li Yang, who still carried his wry smile while looking at the two of them.


    Li Yang''s group of four was only able to see the air in front of them shimmer slightly before both Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu arrived in front of them, their already red and teary eyes trembling as they looked at Li Yang. They stretched out their shivering arms, stopping in front of Li Yang as if they were afraid that he was going to vanish if they touched him. Li Yang stretched out his own arms towards the two girls in front of him, but rather than grabbing onto their arms, he gave both of them a vicious flick to the forehead.


    "Yeah, no, we don''t have time for the two of you to start bawling now. Knowing you, we''ll be here for the next week if I were to allow that. Our priority now is to get out of here, before that shit over there gets even worse. You can cry all you want after that."


    Li Yang used his thumb to gesture towards the scene unfolding above them, the battle between Mao Tengzou and Xing Yuyen. He could feel that both of the Fang sisters had reached the middle stage of the Celestial Immortal realm, but both the combatants above them were most definitely at a higher level, staying here was tantamount to suicide. Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu obediently nodded their heads and wiped their eyes, their words causing another shock to run through Tian Zheng.


    "As you say, Big Brother. But we''ll have you keep us company for at least a month once we''re out of here, that''s the least you can do for us."


    Tian Zheng thought there was no longer anything that could shock him after he found out about Li Yang''s true identity, but now he realized that he had been wrong. He didn''t know anything about Li Yang''s relationship with Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu, the news he received contained nothing about them and neither of them had ever mentioned either the name Li Yang or Thunder Monarch.


    But Tian Zheng couldn''t help but wonder, why would Li Yang bother with joining the Yuan clan if he was this close to these two? But how could Tian Zheng possibly understand Li Yang''s pride, the pride of a man once heralded as the Thunder Monarch? He was not content with hiding behind others, he was someone who wanted to stand in the very front and at the very top, a man whose soul disdained even the heavens themselves.


    The group didn''t linger in the area for long after the Fang twins joined up with them, continuing their rush towards the exit. They couldn''t use the rift that the Fang twins tore open, a few of the white tentacles had already stretched toward it and started to eat away at the chaotic energy of it. There was also the fact that the environment within a spatial rift was incredibly chaotic and dangerous, it would be hard to guarantee the survival of Li Yang and the others, even with Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu at their side.


    Despite the vast distance between the two groups, the violent tremors from Xing Yuyen''s battle against Mao Tengzou were still able to reach Li Yang and the others as they ran, rippling through space and forming cracks all throughout the Ocean God''s Graveyard.


    Li Yang felt something heavy drip onto his face just as they arrived on an island only a few hundred kilometers from the exit. He quickly wiped it off his face and inspected his finger, discovering that it was a thick drop of crimson blood. Before he even had the time to raise his head, more and more drops of blood started to rain down on the area, each one only the size of a fingernail but as heavy as a mallet.


    Li Yang and the others all raised their heads and peered through the rain of blood, their gazes converging on the body of Xing Yuyen. The tentacles on his back had all been torn out in a violent fashion by the white tentacles that Mao Tengzou controlled, chunks of flesh still hanging on the ends of Xing Yuyen''s tentacles as they were quickly drained dry and turned to dust.


    Li Yang''s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the scene, not because of the fact that Xing Yuyen was losing this quickly, but because of what he could feel from the blood that was raining down. It was completely normal Demonic beast blood, it didn''t have an ounce of Divine Beast aura in it. Was this Xing Yuyen really not a Divine Beast, could a normal Demonic beast really reach such a level of strength? Fang Xiulan suddenly took a quick step forward, blue feathers appearing on the back of her left hand as she waved it.


    The rain of blood suddenly froze above them, the frozen droplets freezing mid-air and stretching out, connecting with each other and forming a large shield above them. A thick white tentacle suddenly pierced through space above them just as the shield finished forming, crashing into the thick shield and cracking it. Li Yang guessed that the tentacle''s purpose was to suck up all the blood that rained down, it would likely have shattered the shield almost instantly if it was sent out to attack them.


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    Fang Xiulan didn''t stop after blocking the tentacle, stretching out her other hand, which also started to sprout blue feathers. She clapped her hands together in a soft manner, but the simple motion caused ripples to spread throughout the surrounding space. The entire island, as well as the water for at least 100 kilometers around them all, froze instantly after Fang Xiulan clapped her hands. Surprisingly enough, the tentacle that had crashed into the wall of ice was unable to escape the same fate, freezing solid in less than a second and then scattering to the wind as tiny ice crystals.


    Li Yang''s eyebrow rose in surprise when he saw the scene, his gaze drifting towards Fang Xiulan and the feathers on her hands. Now that he looked closer, he saw that the feathers were actually formed from tiny ice crystals stacked so densely that they were almost impossible to discern with the naked eyes. He also noticed that Fang Xiulan''s normally green eyes had turned a transparent blue, a chilly sensation seeping into Li Yang''s soul as he looked at her eyes. Li Yang stretched out one hand and pinched the feathers on her arm, muttering somewhat quietly.


    "So you''ve strengthened it even further...can''t have been easy."


    The truth was that while the Liang tribe was indeed the first new Demon Warriors born since the fall of the Devil''s Gate sect, they weren''t the first Demon Warriors that Li Yang had ever created. The first Demon Warriors he ever made were the two abandoned and starving twins he picked up and raised as his own sisters. Fang Xiulan''s lips curled up slightly in response to Li Yang''s words, her chest puffing out in pride.


    "Hehe, did you think we would just sit around and do nothing without you? You wouldn''t believe me if I told you how many planets and galaxies we scoured in search of beasts that would be suitable as upgrades. Only the strongest would be good enough, otherwise, we wouldn''t be able to take down Jing Yimu."


    The two twins made sure to lay low after the death of Li Yang, scouring countless planets for beasts that could help them grow stronger, sharpening their fangs and claws so that they could sink them into the throats of those that killed Li Yang. They even faked a falling out and a long-lasting hatred just to trick everyone into thinking that they were fully focused on each other. They had already managed to kill four of the other people involved in Li Yang''s death, but Jing Yimu still eluded them, the two continuing to sharpen their fangs in the dark.


    The group quickly continued to flee after Fang Xiulan launched her attack, Mao Tengzou had most definitely noticed them after that move. Fang Ying''s law of space rapidly brought them closer to the exit, the group reaching the first island they arrived on after only another four teleportations.


    The Devil''s Grasp Vine was still lingering within the island, but the pressure unleashed by Mao Tengzou and Xing Yuying seemed to have scared it so much that it didn''t even dare show itself. Now they just had to go a few kilometers up into the air and then they would be automatically sucked out of this place and return to a somewhat safer place.


    But just as they raised their heads and Fang Ying started to channel her Qi, an eardrum-shattering roar echoed over the entire Ocean God''s Graveyard. The group managed to move their gazes just in time to see Xing Yuyen''s body get torn in half right down the middle, his rain dyeing the entire sky and ocean red as it hailed down. But even when he was torn apart like that, Xing Yuyen managed to remain alive, a testament to how unearthly strong of a Demonic beast he was.


    Shortly after Xing Yuyen was torn in two, the sky in the Ocean God''s Graveyard suddenly split open, a massive black crack spreading out to cover almost the entire sky. The crack resembled a disdainful smirk that looked down on creation itself, a figure appearing from the depths of the crack, bringing with it a pressure so horrifying that it silenced and froze everything inside the Ocean God''s Graveyard, even the raining blood was forced to halt in front of the approaching figure.

 149 Universal Heart Xiang Hong.

    As the human figure within the crack became more and more visible, the sky-covering crack itself also seemed to grow even larger and wider, the entire sky trembling as if the end times had come. As the human figure got so close to the edge of the crack that even its footsteps could be heard, even the tanned and rugged Mao Tengzou, who had valiantly faced the massive dragon that was Xing Yuyen, faltered slightly when the human figure fully revealed itself.


    Standing in the middle of the gargantuan crack was a youth with ocean-blue hair and light blue-eyes, a loose green robe covered in a wavy pattern draped over his body. The youth was somewhat short and lanky, but just looking at him was enough to fill the normally arrogant and confident Li Yang with limitless dread, he felt like an ant standing face to face with a god. Mao Tengzou''s lips curled up slightly, but it was clear that his smile was somewhat strained as he looked at the youth.


    "Xiang Hong, you came quite a bit faster than I originally anticipated, you must love me quite a bit. But tell me, are you really going to unleash all your power here, after going through all the trouble of creating these lovely cemeteries to seal away His Lordship?"


    The youth, Xiang Hong, didn''t seem to have any plans on responding to Mao Tengzou, calmly raising his right arm and pointing at Mao Tengzou. When Xiang Hong''s finger finished extending, the ocean all around Li Yang and the others all vanished, even all the moisture in the air completely vanished. The islands that hadn''t been sucked dry by Mao Tengzou suddenly withered and dried up in less than a second, every single trace of water that wasn''t within a living being''s body vanishing. In less than a second, Xiang Hong had turned the entire Ocean God''s Graveyard into a desolate place so dry that just swallowing was an arduous task.


    All the water and moisture that suddenly vanished appeared in front of Xiang Hong''s finger, gathering together into a pea-size orb that was practically completely translucent. Li Yang didn''t even dare to hazard a guess at how strong that orb was, just the sheer amount of water used to create it was something he had a hard time wrapping his head around. Ever since the appearance of Mao Tengzou, in just a few short minutes, basically all of Li Yang''s pride had been stomped down. Even if he was at his peak, he would not have a home in this battle, he would still just be able to watch and focus on fleeing.


    Mao Tengzou''s mouth started to move, but Xiang Hong unleashed his attack without bothering to hear what he was going to say. The translucent orb vanished from sight, Mao Tengzou''s body blurring as he rushed to dodge, appearing several hundreds of kilometers away from his previous position. Shortly after the orb vanished, the sky split open once more, a finger-thin line running through the air and vanishing into the distance.


    The energy gathered within the tiny orb was so great that it simply disintegrated everything it touched as it moved. The wind, space itself, even the laws and the Qi in the area, all was shattered into fragments so tiny that they looked like a thin line when they gathered together to fill the void that the orb left in its wake. Mao Tengzou dodged the attack early on, but he didn''t do so unscathed, his left arm and shoulder had completely vanished, a circular wound pulsating with white tentacles all that remained.


    Mao Tengzou glanced at the pulsating wound, looking surprisingly happy as he looked at it. His lips curled up slightly as he turned his head and locked eyes with Xiang Hong, his wound already regrowing so fast that it took his arm less than a second to grow back.


    "Come on now, what was that piss-poor attempt? I was able to absorb about half of the energy within that attack, it''s not like you to hold back that much. It seems like the law of the Void really scared you quite a bit, you must be terrified of unleashing His Lordship again. Is that why you didn''t bring that fucking Void King with you this time around? Scared that he''ll just break everything again?"


    The voice of Mao Tengzou carried with the wind and reached every corner of the hidden realm, but Li Yang had no idea if it was on purpose or not. At the same time, Li Yang couldn''t help but feel a mixture of curiosity and dread towards whatever being was apparently sealed here, that even someone as terrifying as this Xiang Hong would be fearful towards. Xiang Hong raised his head slightly while looking down at Mao Tengzou, opening his mouth for the first time since arriving here.


    "Still as arrogant and insufferable as always. There''s no need to act all cocky, how much energy did you have to expend to neutralize my attack before absorbing it, be honest now?"


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    Xiang Hong''s voice was soft and soothing, but it contained a strange sound that almost resembled rushing water, it made for quite a strange feeling when it entered Li Yang''s ears. Mao Tengzou didn''t deny Xiang Hong''s words, but his smile was no longer as cramped and stiff as it had been earlier.


    "You''re not wrong, but there''s always going to be a price to pay if you want to block an attack from a Universal Heart. I''m just glad we aren''t in one of your universes, otherwise it would really have been dangerous for me to take on too many of those attacks. And don''t you worry about how much energy that cost me, there are quite a few tasty snacks just waiting for me right here."


    Mao Tengzou cracked his knuckles with a light chuckle as he finished speaking, the remaining white tentacles that were still covering the sky falling apart into hundreds of differently sized fleshy chunks. The chunks flew away on their own, spreading out over the entire hidden realm before falling to the ground.


    Seven of the chunks fell to the ground in front of Li Yang''s group, two of the chunks being far larger than the others. The chunks grew into pure-white humanoid shapes the moment they touched the ground, their skin resembling the slimy exterior of the white tentacles that they spawned from. Looking at the humanoid shapes and sensing the energy in them, Li Yang could guess at what their purpose was.


    The humanoid figures lined up in front of Li Yang''s group, each one with a cultivation that was about two sub-realms above them. The one standing closest to Li Yang was in the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, but the two standing in front of Fang Yazhu and Fang Xiulan had only reached the late stage of the Celestial Immortal realm rather than entering the fabled True Deity realm. Li Yang guessed that Mao Tengzou had actually been drained of quite a bit of his energy, otherwise he would just have created a multitude of Celestial Immortal people like this to kill and absorb all the living beings still remaining here.


    Since there were seven chunks, it seemed like Mao Tengzou counted Fang Ying''s beast companion, Langshen, as a separate fighter. Fang Ying could of course fight alongside him, but when it came to combatants of this level, adding more people would only turn the battle more chaotic and difficult, single combat with the occasional assist was more suited for these enemies.


    The six of them locked eyes for a quick moment, agreeing on the same thing. The two at the Celestial Immortal realm would have to be left to Fang Yazhu and Fang Xiulan, the others would be worse than useless if they were to attempt helping them. Tian Zheng was a bit unfortunate here, he didn''t have the same tacit understanding that Li Yang and the others shared with each other, it would be a tad bit harder for him to both give and receive assistance.


    Li Yang stopped paying attention to Mao Tengzou and Xiang Hong, focusing his gaze on the seven humanoids in front of them. He gave his lips a quick lick, his crimson eyes turning icy-blue as golden scales became visible on his neck.


    "We can''t afford to drag things out, try to finish it within half a minute at most."


    This would be Li Yang''s first fight after increasing his cultivation, he would be lying if he said that he wasn''t looking forward to seeing how much strength he could release now, especially when he activated his bloodline as he did now. The time limit also wasn''t arbitrary, he could keep his bloodline active for at most half a minute right now, any more than that would harm Jinwu and Shenlong. There was also the fact that each second they stayed here increased their risk of getting dragged into the fight above, a scenario they had to avoid at all costs. So the answer was simple, hold nothing back and end the battle as soon as possible, show the others why you were worthy of having your position.

 150 Doom arrives.

    The back of Li Yang''s robe started to bulge slightly as the wings he grew when he activated his bloodline started to extend, but a quick thought from Li Yang prevented the wings from fully growing. There was no need for the wings right now, there was even a chance that they would be used against him if the opponent was smart enough to figure out how.


    Li Yang bent his knees and crouched slightly, the sound of thunder rumbling out from within his body as he injected lightning into all of his cells and gathered his power. Fang Ying and Zhao Feng each took a step to the side, finishing the movement just as Li Yang kicked off the ground and shot forward, leaving a trail of fire and lightning in his wake as he vanished from their vision.


    The fire wasn''t created by Li Yang, it was a natural reaction that occurred when the searing lightning came into contact with the air that had been drained of even the smallest trace of moisture. Li Yang arrived in front of the white and somewhat slimy humanoid figure nearly instantly, stomping down on the ground in front of it with his left leg and giving his body a slight twist to push out his left shoulder.


    The humanoid figure quickly retaliated by lashing out with both arms, one of them smashing downward towards Li Yang''s head while the other one swept sideways towards his chest. Li Yang''s right arm raised as fast as lightning and delivered an uppercut to the tentacle-like arm coming for his chest, a powerful blast of fire mixing together with the force of the punch and knocking the tentacle upward.


    To dodge the arm coming for his head, Li Yang simply gave the ground a light kick with his right foot, hopping forward and arriving directly within the bosom of the enemy. His shoulder crashed into the humanoid''s chest and unleashed all the force that Li Yang had gathered in it, a burst of flames sending the humanoid flying while a bolt of lightning pierced directly through its chest.


    Li Yang''s brows furrowed slightly as he kicked off the ground and shot forward to follow the humanoid. He had mixed in a bit of ice into that attack as well, it should have burst outward from within the humanoid after following the lightning that pierced through its chest. But the ice dissipated before it even got the chance to bloom, flowing away and heading directly for the distant Xiang Hong. From the looks of it, using his ice element right now was out of the question.


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    Li Yang heard the sounds of battle break out behind him as he chased after the humanoid figure, but right now he couldn''t afford to lose his focus so he ignored the sounds. The humanoid figure stretched out its arms and legs as it flew backward, the limbs stretched out like rubber as their ends turned sharp and pierced directly toward Li Yang.


    Li Yang''s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the tentacles coming for him, he could sense that the Qi in the area was refusing to get close to the tentacles, rejecting their existence. This meant that it would be harder for the humanoid figure to absorb Qi, but it also meant that Li Yang would have to expend a bit more energy to force his Qi to ignore the rejection so that he could use it to harm the humanoid figure. He also had to keep in mind that the humanoid figure would likely adapt to his elements if he let it absorb too much of them, so he had to be careful in how many attacks he launched. He almost felt like cursing the Void Born for being such an annoying race to deal with as enemies.


    Lightning flickered past Li Yang''s pupils, several bolts stretching out from behind his body and going all around the humanoid shape like a tight web. Li Yang raised his leg and set foot on one of the lightning bolts, his body whizzing forward as he rode on the bolt of lightning, rapidly getting closer to the humanoid shape. The enemy twisted his limbs to change their direction, but Li Yang simply stepped onto a different bolt of lightning when the attacks were about to hit him.


    Li Yang jumped from bolt to bolt, dodging the attacks every time they got close to him and rapidly approaching the humanoid shape, which finally managed to stop itself from flying further back by having multiple tentacles extend from its back and dig into the ground. Once the enemy stopped himself, it flexed its body and unleashed hundreds of tentacles that shot toward Li Yang, filling up his entire vision and giving him no room to escape.


    Li Yang''s eyes narrowed further as he quickly decided on his next course of action, jumping down from the bolt of lightning he was currently riding. He landed on the ground a few steps away from the humanoid shape, the earth cracking as the veins on Li Yang''s leg started to bulge and twist.


    He held out his right arm, the air rapidly heating up as an orb of roaring flames appeared in his hand. The orb rapidly pulsated as more and more power was gathered into it, all the energy condensing at the very center of it and causing even the surrounding space to ripple slightly. Li Yang clenched his fist around the orb and sent a punch toward all the incoming tentacles, the orb of flames unleashing all its gathered might as the tentacles and the fist were only a few centimeters away from each other.


    A crimson sun appeared around Li Yang''s fist, the rapid and forceful expansion of the flames creating a scorching shockwave that pushed away most of the tentacles while the flames burned most of those that weren''t pushed away. The few tentacles that made it through the blast stabbed into Li Yang, but their force had been weakened so much that they weren''t able to pierce through his body.


    Li Yang didn''t want the tentacles to stay in his body for too long, as he could already feel them drain his Qi and lifeforce, so he quickly stepped forward and once again entered the bosom of the enemy. He pulled back his right arm and punched out with his left, delivering a powerful upwards angled punch to the abdomen of the humanoid.


    The enemy was knocked off his feet and flew into the air, the tentacles stabbed into Li Yang''s body forcibly yanked out as the humanoid figure flew higher and higher. Li Yang raised his head to gaze at the enemy, his pupils flashing with a black light that affected the bolts of lightning that still lingered in the area. The lightning twisted slightly, black veins appearing in each of the bolts as they turned skyward and shot past the enemy.


    They turned around after passing him and then shot downwards all at once, every single one of them crashing into the back of the airborne enemy. The black veins in the lightning poured into the enemy, the law of destruction pooling in his body and forming several miniature black holes as the humanoid body was sent smashing into the earth.


    The enemy''s body started to twist and distort as the miniature black holes started to tear away at it, chunks of his body vanishing as they were churned into nothingness and sucked up by the black holes. The force of the lightning bolts hadn''t fully dissipated yet, the body of the humanoid figure being pushed deeper into the earth as it was being twisted apart.


    Li Yang let out a breath and undid his bloodline when his last attack hit, a sense of weakness enveloping his body. Controlling the law of destruction was hard, especially when he split it up into several smaller parts to create multiple black holes as he had done just now. But the end result was definitely worth it, he did just kill an enemy at the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm rather quickly after all.


    Li Yang turned his head and saw that while Tian Zheng and Fang Ying were still dealing with their enemies, as were the Fang twins, Zhao Feng had already killed his enemy and was observing the other battles going on, looking for a chance to enter one of them. His eight silver daggers were floating in the air behind him, moving in small rhythmic movements that resembled dancing. It wasn''t hard for Li Yang to guess that these daggers played a rather large part in Zhao Feng''s quick victory.


    Li Yang turned his head slightly to observe the battle taking place high in the sky, but the earth started trembling fiercely just as he did so. For a second he thought that the battle in the sky might be the reason behind the trembling, but his heart sunk a little when he saw that even Xiang Hong and Mao Tengzou were surprised at the sudden shaking.


    Cracks started to spread all across the earth, stretching out as far as the eye could see, but a quick check allowed Li Yang to see that the very center of all these cracks were the still twisting remains of the humanoid shape that he had killed just recently. A gray mist started to seep out of the cracks, slowly rising into the air and greedily sucking in even the smallest trace of energy in the surroundings, eating it far faster than any of Mao Tengzou''s tentacles had.


    Li Yang''s heart sunk even further when he saw Xiang Hong''s expression turn grim and Mao Tengzou''s expression turn ecstatic. He didn''t know what was beneath those cracks, what was going to come out after the gray mist, but he got the feeling that doom had just arrived for all of them.

 151 Gluttonera.

    The gray mist seeping out from the cracks rose higher and higher, entire islands completely vanishing as the mist swept over them. The mist luckily stopped just before it reached Li Yang and the others, all of the mist suddenly getting sucked right back into the cracks. The cracks suddenly expanded and connected once all the mist receded into them, all the cracks gathering together to form a single massive chasm that seemed to compete with the crack in the sky that Xiang Hong had created.


    A soft whooshing sound drifted out from the crack as a human figure slowly became more and more apparent. A rather tall and burly man with rather ashen skin and a bald head rose from the chasm, his hands clasped behind his back as a gust of wind brought him higher and higher. The man had peach-colored eyes that were looking at the solemn Xiang Hong with a rather victorious expression. When the man fully rose up from the chasm and set foot on the edge, both Xiang Hong and Mang Tengzou spoke up at the same time, one grimly while the other was ecstatic.


    "Your Lordship!"


    "Lin Qiu, I see that you want to get sealed up once more."


    Mao Tengzou completely ignored Xiang Hong and kneeled down in the air, reverently lowering his head towards the man who was called Lin Qiu. Xiang Hong also completely ignored Mao Tengzou, but he raised his arm and pointed at Lin Qiu, a small orb of water immediately forming before vanishing. It was the same attack he launched against Mao Tengzou when he first arrived, but this time it moved far faster than the first time,the line of shattered laws and Qi left in its wake was also much larger, almost as thick as a watermelon.


    Lin Qiu raised his right arm and gave a light wave of his hand, unleashing a nearly invisible energy that not only created a screen in front of him, it even appeared in front of Li Yang and the others. The hearts of Li Yang and the others clenched when they sensed this energy appear in front of them. The remaining humanoid figures unleashed by Mao Tengzou had stopped moving when the gray mist rose, but it seemed like their temporary reprieve from the attacks was ending right away.


    But contrary to what they expected to happen, the screen of energy rippled slightly as something hit it, a few drops of water sliding down the screen before dropping to the ground. Li Yang and the others didn''t need to be geniuses to understand that Xiang Hong''s attack had included them, and that Lin Qiu had protected them. Lin Qiu, who was completely unharmed after blocking Xiang Hong''s attack, waved his finger in front of his face, clicking his tongue at Xiang Hong.


    "Tsk tsk, come on now, no need to be so pissy with the children, how were they supposed to know that the law of destruction could break the seal? As for sealing me, come on now Little Hong, we both know that you specialize in defense and surviving. I''m not capable of killing you, but neither are you capable of killing me or sealing me. When I want to leave, you won''t be able to stop me."


    Li Yang could feel his heart thumping when he heard Lin Qiu''s casual and even somewhat lazy remark. This Xiang Hong had already displayed strength far above anything Li Yang had ever imagined, but he supposedly specialized in defense and survivability? While Li Yang and the others were fully focused on the stand-off between Xiang Hong and Lin Qiu, while also trying to figure out the best time for escaping, a somewhat cold voice rang out from behind them, instantly drawing the attention of everyone present.


    "The law of destruction is not a toy, it is one of the greatest weapons in the multiverse. Due to its special ability to destroy everything, you should only use it when you are completely certain that there is nothing in the area that you don''t want to destroy. It''s for the best that you keep that in mind for the future."


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    Li Yang and the others quickly turned their heads, their hearts lurching from the unexpected voice and what it meant, someone had managed to sneak up on them completely unnoticed. There was a small human-sized rift in space not far behind them, an uncharacteristic black emptiness visible within the rift. And stepping out of this rift was a slim youth clad in a blue robe, his snow-white hair was tied into a neat ponytail, only a few strands of hair hanging over his pitch-black eyes.


    Li Yang felt two things from this youth, a slight resonance from his law of destruction and a soul-shaking fear that felt like it came from a primal level, he was completely certain that this youth was on the same level as Xiang Hong and Lin Qiu. Luckily, the youth walked past Li Yang and the others after giving his advice, his slightly flickering gaze locked on Lin Qiu, whose expression turned solemn when he saw the youth.


    "Gluttonera, of course my luck is so shit that you ended up being nearby just as the seal finally broke."


    Contrary to the attitude he had when faced with Xiang Hong, Lin Qiu wore a solemn, nearly grim expression as he looked at the youth, who he called Gluttonera. Seeing that Gluttonera was completely ignoring his words, Lin Qiu sent him a slight sneer, grumbling and taunting him in a low voice.


    "Not even willing to talk to me, are you? You and that Hades are just as bad, if not worse, than us. How much havoc have you wrought on this multiverse, how many more universes have the two of you destroyed? Tell me, that minor universe of yours, how did it taste? It was your first, wasn''t it? Was it nice and filling for the Gluttonous God?"


    Gluttonera''s expression remained calm and casual despite Lin Qiu''s taunts, his steps not slowing once. He stretched out his right arm and gathered some black light in his palm, the outline of a spear starting to form in his grasp as he spoke up.


    "I don''t much mind you calling me those things, but if Brother Hao finds out you called him Hades again, I think he might just be liable to smash you down once more. Let''s try to avoid causing such a chaotic scene, so how about you just die right here and now?"


    Lin Qiu clicked his tongue in annoyance when he saw that Gluttonera didn''t bother much with him. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the spear that was quickly forming in Gluttonera''s grasp, space already starting to creak and crack before it had even formed. His eyes moved to the side and landed on Li Yang and the others, his tongue clicking once more.


    "This isn''t a place for kiddos like you, consider this another repayment for unsealing me."


    Lin Qiu raised his arm and snapped his fingers, space around Li Yang and the others starting to twist and distort around them, it was like tentacles wrapping around them and pulling them away. The last they managed to see before they were all pulled through space were the massive spatial cracks that spread all throughout the air as Gluttonera''s spear fully manifested.

 152 Strange location.

    Li Yang only felt everything around him spin violently, his body moving so fast that he didn''t have the slightest amount of control over it. Li Yang wasn''t able to see or hear anything as he was dragged through space by what felt like invisible tentacles, but his mind still worked perfectly, a bit of worry and curiosity seeping into his heart.


    Li Yang had traveled through space countless times already, both in this life and in his past life. But most of those trips would only take a second or less, only once the teleportation had to exceed the length of a galaxy would it slowly start to take longer to reach their destination. The longest teleportation he once engaged in was from the northern edge of the universe to the very center of it, the teleportation took about ten seconds back then.


    The problem he was facing right now was that he had already spent an entire minute being dragged through space like this. An entire minute of moving through space, just how far away had the strange Lin Qiu sent him, and would he end up in the same place as the others?


    But what Li Yang didn''t know was just how long Lin Qiu had been sealed in the Ocean God''s Graveyard, he was first sealed there many years before the continent that the graveyard was located on even reached their universe. But Lin Qiu didn''t know that the Ocean God''s Graveyard had relocated since then, so when he sent Li Yang and the others away he simply sent them to a random location he thought of that should be a short distance away from the original location of the Ocean God''s Graveyard.


    The invisible tentacles continued to drag Li Yang away for almost a full half-hour, an amount of time he once thought was impossible for spatial movement. The dull gray world around Li Yang suddenly brightened up after the half-hour passed, the sound of rushing wind entering his ears as he finally got to taste fresh air again. But before he got to savor the sensation, he felt himself slam into the ground. Dust and sand entered his open mouth and spinning eyes, forcing him to close his eyes while coughing to get rid of the dust.


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    He quickly got rid of the dust in his mouth, but he couldn''t yet open his eyes due to the fact that they were still spinning. Li Yang relaxed his body slightly after coughing out all the dust, letting out a short sigh before calling out for the others.


    "Haah, I''m gonna hit him, I swear that I''m gonna hit him for this shit. Oy, guys, raise your arms and say ''present'' if you''re alive!"


    His first priority wasn''t to figure out where he was, it was to see if Fang Ying and Zhao Feng were there with him. If they were forced to split up again after just reuniting, Li Yang would most definitely give Lin Qiu several good smacks to make up for this grievance. Luckily, both Fang Ying and Zhao Feng quickly responded, Li Yang playing along with Zhao Feng a bit.


    "I''m here, Langshen is with me too."


    "What happens if I can''t raise my arm?"


    "Then I''m sorry, but you''ll be considered dead."


    "Great, see you down at the yellow springs river then, I''ll reserve you a good spot."


    "Sorry, but as someone who''s actually died once, I can tell you that there is no yellow springs river waiting for us."


    "Ah fuck, guess I got no choice but to go on then."


    Li Yang''s body relaxed even further, practically leaning into the crater he undoubtedly created after crashing into the ground. As long as the lot of them were together then there was nothing to worry about, it wasn''t like this was the first time something strange or unexpected had happened to them. But just as the thought entered Li Yang''s mind, his eyes opened wide as he sat up, quickly rubbing his eyes to get rid of the last bits of dust and to dispel the dizzying spinning.


    "Little Red, Little Blue?"


    Li Yang''s eyes slowly regained their vision, allowing him to see that they had arrived on a vast and almost barren plain, the earth rather dry and brittle, with large cracks spreading out in several places. To the east there were some tall mountains that were so gnarly that they almost resembled bark, in the south he could just barely spot aged and dried up ruins of an old city, and to the west and north there was nothing but more plain vanishing into the horizon.


    His expression twisted slightly when he saw the situation around him. He could see Fang Ying and Zhao Feng around him, both of them sitting in small craters they had created in the earth. But Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu were nowhere to be seen around them, neither was Tian Zheng for that matter. Had the three of them been sent to a different place or had Lin Qiu not even sent them away to begin with? Li Yang couldn''t help but rub his temples, muttering quietly while Fang Ying tried to ease his worries.


    "That motherfucker, I swear I''m gonna kick his ass."


    "Don''t worry, the two of them are far stronger than us, they''ll have no problems no matter where they go. As for Tian Zheng, he''s loaded with treasures he got from the clan so he shouldn''t have too much problem with handling things on his own."


    Li Yang stopped rubbing his temples, quietly rolling his eyes at the unnecessary addition that Fang Ying placed into her sentence. He also didn''t stop worrying despite her words, he had raised the two twins from young girls to splendid teens, worrying about them had already become second nature to him, a nature that was only reignited by meeting them again. Fang Ying was far too familiar with Li Yang''s nature so she decided that the best course of action was to change the subject.


    "We should focus on finding out where we have ended up. Both the Qi and space here feel quite a bit thinner and weaker when compared to our home planet, we might have ended up on a rather peculiar planet."


    There was one thing that Fang Ying avoided mentioning, it was also the same fact that Li Yang and Zhao Feng were trying to avoid thinking about. Looking at how different the Qi and space here was, and thinking about how long they had been traveling through space, there was a chance that they had already left their own universe. But if that was the truth, there was no telling how long it would take them to go home so that they could start the search for their other comrades, so none of them wanted to spend too much time thinking about it. Li Yang nodded his head, his gaze drifting towards the distant ruins while he stood up.


    "Yeah, you''re right, it''s best to focus on the pre...woah!"


    Li Yang couldn''t help but cut his sentence short with a slight exclamation as he stood up. He was just trying to stand up normally, but that simple action actually ended up causing him to involuntarily jump into the air. It felt as if gravity had weakened many times over, forcing him to pay attention to how much force he used just for standing up.


    Fang Ying and Zhao Feng experienced much the same when they tried to stand up, with Fang Ying having it somewhat easier thanks to her experience with the law of space. The three people and one wolf quickly found their bearings and figured out how to properly move around in this seemingly low-gravity area.


    They then turned towards the distant ruins and started to dash towards them, slowing their speed somewhat so that they could still keep a close eye on their surroundings. But even when they intentionally slowed their speed, they were still able to run faster than they could back on their own planet.


    Thanks to this, it didn''t take them long to reach the aged ruins, not encountering anything as they ran. It seemed as if the entire plain was devoid of life, not even a single blade of grass growing anywhere. There was a chance that the plain was once the site of a massive battle that ruined it completely, but they couldn''t even see a single piece of bone or bone dust, so they had no idea if their guess was correct.


    The ruins were rather spectacular and grand, spanning at least a few hundred thousand kilometers in each direction. The buildings were built with a strange architecture, they were almost exclusively shaped like spirals that twisted themselves towards the heavens, the tallest buildings still piercing into the clouds. But it wasn''t the buildings that drew the attention of Li Yang and the others, the thing that drew their attention was a house-sized sign made from a strange blue stone, as well as the words engraved into the stone.


    "I pray that these words never see the light of day, but if they do, let it be known that Minor Universe Ruler Dong Ren was unable to defend this territory from the undying horde of the Bloodwind Emperor."

 153 Frozen kings cape.

    Li Yang and the two others inspected the house-sized sign and the words engraved into them. Just looking at the words caused a feeling of despair and hopelessness to well up in them, it was as if the words were imbued with the emotions of the one that carved them. Li Yang tried to trace the words with his finger, but an invisible force repelled his hand before he could touch them. He pulled back his hand and inspected his finger, which was now covered in several thin cuts that ran all the way to the bone.


    "Minor Universe Ruler Dong Ren, huh? Guess that means this is a minor universe, it would at least explain why both space and Qi here felt so thin and weak. This Bloodwind Emperor, I imagine none of you have heard anything abouthim?"


    Due to the height he had reached in his previous life, Li Yang knew that they lived in an utterly massive multiverse consisting of 51 major universes and countless billions of minor ones. Each major universe was not only hundreds of times larger than a minor one, but the laws and energy within them were also far stronger and oppressive, they were the very pillars that supported the multiverse. The universe they came from was one of the major ones, but not even when he was at his peak did he hear about any single person ruling it.


    Fang Ying shook her head while Zhao Feng shrugged his shoulders in response to Li Yang''s question, even with the vast amount of information they had at their disposal thanks to their positions, neither of them had heard about anyone known as the Bloodwind Emperor. But that was only to be expected, there were too many minor universes for every powerful person to be well-known everywhere. Li Yang shook his hand a little, splashing away a few drops of blood from the wound that had already healed, his gaze peering past the sign and further into the city.


    "Well, whoever it is he''s definetly someone we wanna get involved with right now. We oughta see if we can find any information on which minor universe this is, maybe we''re lucky and it''s one we know. I also wanna find out whether or nor Little Red and Little Blue have been sent here, preferribly I''d find that out before we return to our own universe."


    There was little they could do without knowing where they were, any plan they tried to come up with could easily collapse if they made a mistake because they didn''t understand where they were. Fang Ying and Zhao Feng had the exact same idea as Li Yang so they simply nodded their heads, the three people and one wolf heading deeper into the destroyed city while vigilantly inspecting their surroundings. As they made their way through the ruins, they couldn''t help but be somewhat taken aback by the architecture and material used to build the city, Fang Ying running her hand over the wall of a house next to her.


    "This pattern, doesn''t it seem familiar to you? Since he was the one who sent us away, it would make a bit of sense for him to send us to a place like this."


    The architecture of the city consisted almost solely of spirals twisting towards the sky, but the material used to make the buildings also resembled small spirals. Now that they were observing it from a closer distance, it resembled tentacles twisting around each other, looking almost identical to the Void Born they had fought not long ago. The person who sent them away was Lin Qiu, who seemed to hold a very high position within the Void Born hierachy, so it wouldn''t be out of the question for him to send them to a place controlled by his race.


    But if this city really belonged to the Void Born, did that mean that the Minor Universe Ruler Dong Ren was also a Void Born? The thought made their expressions change a little, ending up in a universe filled with Void Born did not seem like an ideal situation for them, it would be like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Luckily this place was already dead so it didn''t seem like they had to worry about any Void Born here.


    The group of four wandered through the city but were unable to find anything, the houses were completely devoid of even the slightest sign of life. Some of the houses contained piles of dust that Li Yang and the others guessed might have once been furniture long since corroded by the passage of time, it seemed like this city had already died countless years ago. Yet the tallest buildings still stood, still reached for the sky above them as a sign of their creator''s will.


    The four slowly went deeper into the ruins, a dry wind kicking up some dust and sand that littered the roads that were now a faded yellow due to the passage of time. After walking for over three hours, the group discovered something they hadn''t expected considering the state of the city, signs of people. There were several groups of footprints visible in the dust, all of them heading down a somewhat narrow alley that went on for a few tens of meters before curving deeper into the city. There were some strange triangular markings on the wall right by the alley, the paint used had already dried up but not yet faded, it didn''t seem more than a few days old.


    The group locked eyes and nodded their heads, carefully following the footprints while raising their vigilance. The footprints headed deeper into the city, but they moved in a rather roundabout path that made it seem like they were trying to avoid a certain area. The four of them were evidently moving faster than the people that left the footprints, the occasional marking on the walls getting fresher and fresher.


    The group followed the footprints, occasionally having to search around for a bit before they managed to pick up the trail again, for half a day before the scenery around them changed. No longer were they surrounded by tall buildings and moving through narrow alleys, the city around them had been completely devastated, everything that was higher than five meters off the ground completely gone. The buildings and occasional statue simply stopped when they reached five meters, the smooth surface that they ended in implying that it was all decimated by a single slash from some sharp weapon.


    Li Yang and the others hid at the edge of a building that was located at the very edge of this decimated area, their gazes focused on a building a few hundred meters ahead of them. The building was covered in several large windows that made it so that it was easy to inspect the surroundings when you were resting within the buildings.


    And currently sitting around a campfire within the building was a group of about 20 people, ranging from their early twenties to middle-aged, clad in earthen brown robes that had hoods you could pull over your head to cover everything except your eyes. Some of the people were covered in smaller wounds while others had large stains of blood on their clothing, likely from some beast they fought a while ago. There were several tents set up around the group and large bags that were likely filled with supplies were stacked close to the campfire, it seemed like this group had either been here for a while or intended to stay here for a while.


    The people looked to be human but Li Yang found himself unable to discern just what sort of cultivation system they used. But judging from the energy they radiated, the strongest person in the group was equal to someone who was between the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm and the early stage of the Primordial Rune realm. As for the rest of the people in the group, they were all between the early and late stages of the Immortal Rebirth realm, it was a rather sizeable group with good strength. While the four of them were observing the group of people, wondering what would be the best way to proceed, a somewhat lanky man with ruffled brown hair suddenly shouted out without warning.


    "FIRE!"


    All the people that had just been sitting around the campfire suddenly sprang up, metallic crossbows appearing in their grasps, bolts already loaded into the weapons. Like a well-oiled machine, they turned to face Li Yang and the others, some crouching to give those behind them better sight. All at once they fired their weapons, the bolts whizzing through the open windows and heading directly for Li Yang and the others. The group immediately started reloading after firing their weapons, clearly very proficient in the process.


    Fang Ying was the one closest to the edge of the building so most of the bolts were heading directly for her, the air whistling slightly as the bolts cut through it. But despite the fact that most of the bolts were heading for Fang Ying, it was Zhao Feng that let out a small curse.


    "Ah fuck, of course they went and did it."


    Zhao Feng felt something brush past him before he even managed to finish half his sentence, a few arcs of lightning crackling through the air. Li Yang appeared in front of Fang Ying almost instantly, an icy mist so dense that it almost resembled fire stretching out behind him like a cape.


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    Li Yang stomped the ground once and then almost vanished from sight, the only sign of his movement being drops of frozen Qi that fell to the ground in his wake. The bolts froze solid the moment he passed by them, freezing so thoroughly that they fell apart into icy dust that stuck to the drops of frozen Qi. He arrived in front of the lanky middle-aged man almost instantly, his eyes flickering with fire and lightning. There was one thing Li Yang would never allow, and that was for anyone to attack Fang Ying, she was his reverse scale.


    The man didn''t even have the time to react to Li Yang''s moves, Li Yang had lower cultivation but their strength was worlds apart. Li Yang''s left arm shot out and grabbed onto the opposite side of the man''s neck, a jerk of his arm bending the entire man''s body to the side as if he was trying to fold him sideways. Li Yang''s left knee shot up at the same time, the man''s waist colliding with Li Yang''s knee, his spine fragmenting from the fierce power contained within the knee.


    Blood shot out from the man''s mouth as the organs in his abdomen ruptured, his injuries ensured that he would die even if he somehow managed to escape. But with Li Yang intent on killing, how could the man possibly have the chance to escape? The hand that was grabbing onto the man''s neck clenched, a terrible chill spreading through his flesh and completely freezing his neck.


    His neck ended up shattering due to the force of Li Yang''s grasp, his body collapsing to the ground while his head remained in Li Yang''s grasp. Li Yang casually tossed the head aside and set his eyes on the remaining 19 people, the icy mist that flickered like a flame fluttering behind him like the reaper''s cape. But before he could launch his next attack, a hand landed on his shoulder.


    "Yang''er, stop."


    Li Yang gazed at the 19 people with narrowed eyes but eventually raised his hands and shrugged his shoulders, the words of Fang Ying causing him to dispel the icy mist around him. The reason that Fang Ying spoke up only now was simple, she knew that there was no saving the lanky middle-aged man. She and Li Yang were extremely close and loving, but that didn''t mean that they did everything that the other said, they were still their own individuals after all.


    If someone attacked her, Li Yang would kill them even if Fang Ying told him not to. If an army attacked her, the general that gave the order had to die no matter what, the rest of the soldiers could be spared if she spoke up. Due to this, the two had even fought a few times in the past, Fang Ying insisting on protecting someone while Li Yang insisted on killing them.


    Zhao Feng casually sauntered in after Fang Ying stopped Li Yang, shaking his head slightly. The moment he saw them unleash their bolts he knew that things would be unable to end peacefully, that was just how Li Yang was. A somewhat chubby person took a slightly trembling step forward after Li Yang was stopped, placing his fists together in what seemed to be a salute as he gave a fractional bow.


    "We are the 71st Scouting Legion of the Silver Army working for the Earth-Rendering Deity. We mistook you for Deathcloud Warriors and mistakenly attacked, and we do apologize for that. But I hope you understand that we are forced to report this to our superiors, so I hope that you can give us your names."


    The man spoke politely, but it wasn''t hard to see that he was trying to use the name of their organization to intimidate Li Yang and the others. Sadly, he never imagined that Li Yang and the others wouldn''t know who he was talking about, neither would he ever expect Li Yang to be the type of person that he was. The moment the chubby man spoke, Li Yang''s hand flashed forward and heavily slapped his face, knocking out almost half of his teeth.


    "I don''t like being threatened, so I suggest you watch your words real carefully. This''ll be simple, we ask, you answer, nothing more. Every useless word you spot will result in another slap, I''d like to see your teeth handle another slap."

 154 Heavens First Desire.

    The somewhat chubby person unsteadily stood up from the ground, his eyes spinning a little as he rubbed the side of his face that was slapped. Some blood leaked out of his mouth due to the missing teeth that had been knocked out from the slap, but even so, he didn''t dare show too much anger on his face, gritting his remaining teeth while nodding his head.


    "Very well, I will answer your questions, but please leave the rest of my men alone."


    Li Yang gave a non-committal nod of his head in response to the chubby man''s words, sitting down on the log that the now headless leader had used. The chubby man quickly acted upon seeing Li Yang sit down, waving his hand and having two of the men behind him bring forward another two logs, one for Zhao Feng and one for Fang Ying. Li Yang gave another slight nod of his head and didn''t bother wasting any more time before starting his questioning.


    "Alright, so where exactly are we, both city-wise, planet-wise, and universe-wise? Who exactly is this Earth-Rendering Deity, what sort of cultivation realm has he reached? And do you know the best place to move between universes?"


    Moving between universes was actually rather simple, you just had to break through the Universal Border that surrounded your universe, anyone who had reached at least the Ascending Heaven realm could do so. But the problem was that there were differences in distance between the universes based on where you broke through the border, so you might have to spend quite a bit of time traversing the chaotic void if you broke through the Universal Border at the wrong place. The chubby man looked at Li Yang and the others with a somewhat shocked expression and couldn''t help but exclaim in surprise.


    "You don''t know about the Earth-Rendi...!"


    The man''s words were forcefully cut off by a backhanded slap from Li Yang, another ten of his teeth falling out as a result. Along with the teeth that had been knocked out earlier, the chubby man now only had nine teeth left in his mouth, and even those were starting to show cracks. The man glared daggers at him, but Li Yang simply raised one finger.


    "I already told you earlier, useless words get you slapped. This is your one warning, and trust me, I''m not known for giving more."


    Fang Ying frowned slightly at Li Yang''s exceedingly forceful manner, but this was still well within her tolerance limit so she didn''t say anything. The chubby man swallowed his indignation and took a deep breath, slowly nodding his head in understanding and properly responding.


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    "This used to be the Spiral''s Desire city, but after the ancient war this entire area has been reduced to a land of death due to the power of the Bloodwind Emperor, no life can grow here and any life that enters the area will wither after at most three months. As for the planet, it is known as Heaven''s Border due to the fact that it is located very close to the Universal Border of this Heaven''s First Desire universe."


    Li Yang and the others couldn''t help but be somewhat alarmed by the chubby man''s words. It was one thing to render a location inhospitable to life, it was another entirely to leave it in such a state that it would even drain the life of any being that entered it. Just what sort of state had that person''s law of death reached to make something like that possible?


    Li Yang and the two others then exchanged glances, all three of them shaking their heads to show that none of them had ever heard about this Heaven''s First Desire universe. The chubby man opened his mouth to talk again but Li Yang gave a slight wave of his hand and cut him off.


    "Before you continue, who is this Bloodwind Emperor, what''s his name and cultivation?"


    Li Yang couldn''t help but be curious after hearing about how powerful the Bloodwind Emperor was, knowing a bit more about such an expert was always a plus. Not just the chubby man, but even the people behind him couldn''t help but have a change of expression after hearing Li Yang''s new question, the chubby man gritting his teeth and biting the bullet.


    "I can''t answer that question, but it''s only partially because I don''t want to. I can''t answer the second part because I simply don''t know his actual cultivation I only know that even the Earth-Rendering Deity has only met him once before, and had to be exceedingly respectful when he did. As for the first part, answering it is dangerous. Even the enemies of the Bloodwind Emperor don''t refer to him by his name, solely because he has reached such a realm that he will instantly know whenever someone uses his actual name. If I were to say it, he would instantly be able to know about it and send a bit of his consciousness here."


    The chubby man looked at Li Yang with incomparably determined and sincere eyes, doing his best to show Li Yang that he wasn''t lying to him. Li Yang''s eyebrow rose in surprise, but Zhao Feng clicked his tongue and waved his hand before Li Yang could say anything.


    "Heh, seems like this Bloodwind Emperor has reached at least the peak of the Empyrean realm, what a terrifying thought. You can go on with the other questions."


    Li Yang glanced at Zhao Feng, who nodded his head to show Li Yang that he was speaking the truth. Zhao Feng was one of the princes of the Demon Race back on their planet, he had access to far more information than Li Yang so he knew more about the higher cultivation realms. The chubby man glanced at Li Yang, making sure that he didn''t show any reaction before he dared to continue talking.


    "There are three places in this universe that are well-suited for easy travel to other universes, one is the headquarters of the Shadow Emperor sect, the second is the headquarters of the Heaven Devastator sect, and the third one is the castle within the capital of the Earth Rendering Empire, which is where we come from. The ruler of the Earth Rendering Empire is Gong Peyong, the Earth-Rendering Deity that we serve. I don''t know his exact cultivation realm, but the rumors say that he reached the very peak of the Heaven Imitating Soul realm 10 000 years ago and is working on entering the Heaven''s Soul realm."


    Li Yang and Zhao Feng shared a glance, Zhao Feng nodding his head to symbolize that this Gong Peyong hadn''t reached a realm where he would know the moment someone said his true name. The chubby man didn''t speak too much about the two sects that held one of the best locations along the Universal Border, but it still allowed Li Yang to learn a little. The locations that were best suited for universe travel were usually the most important areas within the universe, so for there to be three different powers holding one location each it was likely that the three different organizations were just about even in power.


    This meant that there wasn''t any single person or organization in control of this universe, which made things a little easier for them, it meant that they could afford to offend at least two of the organizations should there be a need. But rather than this, it was actually the last thing the chubby man mentioned that caught Li Yang''s attention.


    "Gong Peyong is a soul cultivator? Despite having such a domineering name?"


    Soul cultivators were just as strong as normal cultivators, some would even consider them even harder to deal with due to the fact that they could survive as long as their soul remained. But the Vital Essence that one gained from soul cultivation was not as destructive as Qi, it was more ethereal and mysterious, it didn''t seem terribly suited for such a domineering name. Then again, Li Yang knew very little about soul cultivation so he didn''t consider himself the best person to speak about the subject. The chubby man''s eyebrows twitched when he heard Li Yang refer to the Earth-Rendering Deity by his name, an act that was considered disrespectful, but he still had to nod his head and answer.


    "Yes, and not just the Earth-Rendering Deity, soul cultivation is the main cultivation system in this universe, making up at least 90% of the total cultivators."


    Li Yang couldn''t suppress the surprise expression that surfaced on his face after hearing the chubby man''s words. For soul cultivation to be so widespread here it must have been around for quite a while, which meant that it wasn''t that soul cultivation didn''t exist back when he was alive, it simply meant that it had yet to spread to any of the universes he visited back then. At the same time, he couldn''t help but glance at the headless corpse of the leader, as well as the swollen cheek of the chubby man.


    "Soul cultivators, huh? Well, that explains why you felt so soft and squishy."


    Normal Qi cultivation, while far from as effective as body cultivation, would at least strengthen the body somewhat due to the fact that the Qi had to travel through your body. This also meant that the leader of this group should have survived even though his body was destroyed, but unfortunately for him, Li Yang''s ice element was exceedingly special, almost fully geared towards freezing immaterial things such as the soul.


    The chubby man''s face twitched again after he heard Li Yang''s words, which were borderline insulting towards not just him, but also his deceased leader. But as he was busy swallowing his anger and indignation, Fang Ying spoke up after remaining silent for a while.


    "There are people coming from the north. They''re all clad in black robes and have some strange black mist coiling around them. The robes are embroidered with an image resembling a two-headed man covered in darkness, I''d probably guess that they''re from this Shadow Emperor sect."


    As someone who had come in contact with the law of space, Fang Ying was far better at observing the surroundings than Li Yang and Zhao Feng so they didn''t doubt her words. Li Yang glanced at the chubby man, who somewhat fearfully nodded his head, causing Li Yang to let out a light chuckle.


    "Wonderful, it seems like we''ll get to interrogate another group right away to make sure that these people were saying the truth."


    Li Yang didn''t stand up from his seat, but his golden-purple sword appeared in his grasp with a flash, the tip stabbing into the ground. Fang Ying said that the people were coming so they were likely headed directly for them, all they had to do was wait and the information banks would walk right into their grasp.

 155 Wastelands Wall.

    The expression of the chubby man twisted into one of amazement when he heard Li Yang''s words and understood that he wasn''t worried about forming any grievances with the Shadow Emperor Sect. But seeing Li Yang remain seated, his face couldn''t help but blanch and distort into one of fear.


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    "No, you can''t let them come here! If so many people gather in one spot we are sure to alert the Deathcloud Warriors, and it won''t just be the normal scouts and stragglers, even the soldiers and general-level one''s will take notice and come over!"


    The chubby man was completely aghast at the thought, spitting saliva everywhere as he spoke. If it hadn''t been for the faint glimmer in Li Yang''s eyes, he would have rushed over and grabbed onto Li Yang''s collar while shouting. This wasn''t the first time that these people had mentioned these warriors so Fang Ying tilted her head slightly, none of them looking the least bit worried.


    "You said something like that earlier, you thought we were Deathcloud Warriors and that''s why you attacked. What exactly are Deathcloud Warriors, are they a type of Demonic beasts native to this universe?"


    They had never heard about these Deathcloud Warriors before so they were unlikely to be Demonic beasts that could be found just about anywhere. They also seemed to be divided into different levels despite being beasts of the same race, something that was a tad bit uncommon amongst Demonic beasts, which would more often evolve and change name whenever they increased their strength to a new realm.


    The chubby man seemed somewhat caught off guard and even shocked at their lack of knowledge, but remembering their earlier questions he realized just what sort of people he was dealing with. He quickly responded, his eyes flickering around as he fearfully checked their surroundings.


    "They''re not Demonic beasts, they are a byproduct of the Bloodwind Emperor, who is said to be able to give life to all things in the multiverse. A Deathcloud Warrior is pure death energy given life and consciousness, they occasionally pop up in places where the Bloodwind Emperor has battled. Only the strongest of them ever leave the place they were born, exploring the greater universe in search of their creator. Those that remain have much simpler minds, instinctively searching out signs of other lifeforms in their territory and killing them to increase their strength."


    The more Li Yang and the others heard about this Bloodwind Emperor, the more shocked they ended up getting. Not even when they were at their peak could Fang Ying use her law of creation to create a consciousness in an item, much less create a consciousness being from scratch. And according to the chubby man''s earlier words, it was the Bloodwind Emperor that was responsible for the lifelessness of this entire area. This meant that he had probably cultivated both the law of life and the law of death to the very peak, a rather scary thought.


    Li Yang and the two others locked eyes for a short moment, quietly communicating while Langshen remained at Fang Ying''s side, completely uninterested in the things going on around him. A small smirk appeared on Zhao Feng''s face after a few seconds, Fang Ying nodding her head at Li Yang and causing him to stand up with a sigh.


    "Fine, fine, I''ll go deal with it. Feng, just remove a few heads if they start getting uppity."


    If these Deathcloud Warriors really were a byproduct of the Bloodwind Emperor, and he really was as strong as the chubby man said, then they couldn''t afford to underestimate them. There was no point in taking on a pointless risk so it would be better to deal with the incoming group before they got too close.


    Li Yang walked forward and made his way through the group of people that were so scared of angering him that they moved aside to make a path for him, the tip of his sword dragging a small line on the ground as he walked. He quickly left the ruined building and continued heading north, which was the direction from which the group of people was coming from.


    The chubby man and the others still remaining within the building snuck glances at Fang Ying and Zhao Feng, wondering if their chance to escape had come. But Zhao Feng simply smiled at them, his eight silver daggers starting to dance through the air around him, flickering around like the tongue of a snake and quickly dispelling the thoughts of the captured people.


    Li Yang quickly made his way through the ruined city, following Fang Ying''s directions by moving in a straight line. With his speed, it only took him a minute to cross the 15 kilometers that were between him and the other group. The two spotted each other as they were passing through a rather wide street that could comfortably fit 15 people standing shoulder to shoulder.


    The spiraling buildings around them were mostly intact, the only sign that something had happened to the buildings being that the spiral material used to build them had withered somewhat and thus lost most of their color. Standing about 100 meters in front of Li Yang was a group of almost 30 people walking in a triangular formation, with the tip of the triangle making up the back of the group.


    They were all indeed clad in black robes embroidered with the image of a two-headed man covered in darkness, black mist seeping out of their backs and coiling around their bodies. The woman leading the group had brown hair that hung down to her ears and rather pale skin, a few black veins visible through her pale skin. Her skin and black veins were rather similar to the traits of the Heaven Devouring race of his own universe, one of the ruling races living there, but he couldn''t feel the usual aura that the people of that race had coming from this woman.


    The woman quickly stopped her group, her eyes narrowing and flashing dangerously as she looked at Li Yang''s seemingly careless demeanour. Li Yang only gave the group a fleeting scan, they were at about the same level of strength as the group they were keeping in the ruined building, they weren''t on the level of being a threat. He finished sweeping his eyes over the group, his gaze eventually landing on the woman in the lead.


    "I''ll keep it simple for you. I''ve just interrogated a group from the Earth Rendering Empire but I''m not certain if everything they''re saying is the truth so I''ll have you guys answer a few of my questions. I''ll give you this warning only once, launch any attacks and I will kill, so just focus on answering the questions, ''kay? Oh, and I despise getting threatened, so don''t even bother trying it."


    The leading woman frowned slightly when she heard Li Yang''s domineering words, not even bothering to ask about their opinion. But she hesitated slightly on how to act, the situation was a bit too strange for her liking. But while she was trying to think of how to proceed, a man behind her took half a step forward and raised his head righteously, casting fleeting glances at the leading woman while speaking with a strong tone.


    "We are the 51st Scouting Legion of the Shadow Emperor sect and we are here on an official mission that we must complete with haste, who do you think you are to stop us? Obediently let yourself be captured so that we can identify you, if there is nothing wrong with your identity then we will only give you a small punishment for sto..."


    The eyes of the leading woman shot up the moment the man started talking, but he spoke too quickly for her to stop him. And by the time she managed to turn her head to glare at him, it was already too late. She only felt a tingle on her skin as Li Yang passed her like a bolt of lightning, arriving in front of the man who spoke and cutting off his sentence by smashing the side of his fist into the side of the man''s chest.


    A shattering sound resounded from the man''s chest and his feet lost touch with the ground, his body sent flying into the nearest building. A crack and a splat echoed throughout the area, the man''s body turning into a bloody stain on the wall. Li Yang glanced at the bloody stain, a soft mutter slipping out of his mouth.


    "Oh, right, soul cultivators, squishy bodies."


    Li Yang not only cultivated his body, but he also had the body of a humanoid divine beast, every inch of his flesh was bursting with lifeforce and power. Facing such a strong body, the bodies of these weak soul cultivators were unable to resist even a single punch. Li Yang''s right arm moved just as his mutter ended, the edge of his blade reaching the leading woman''s neck and letting her know what would happen if she made a single move. He turned his gaze onto her, his voice completely undisturbed by the bloody stain on the wall.


    "You should train your men better, that way you''ll end up with less mouthbreathers like him. I just told you that I had interrogated a group from the Earth Rendering Empire, what makes you think that I''ll fear your Shadow Emperor Sect? Now, I believe it''s about time for you to quietly listen to my questions and then answer them."


    The leading woman nodded her head, the other people around her swallowing their saliva while remaining silent. Since their leader had failed to react to Li Yang''s speed they all knew that they would be no match for him either, he could probably kill them all without a problem if he wished to.


    Li Yang asked the group the same questions they had asked he chubby man and the others, receiving answers that were 99% similar. After acquiring all the answers he was looking for, he dismissed the people from the Shadow Emperor sect with a wave of his hand, forcing them to return down the path they had come from. Most of them were unwilling, but seeing as death was the only other option they knew that they didn''t have much choice. The leading woman cast a swift glance at Li Yang before they all left, the faint light of expectation flashing through her eyes.


    Li Yang hadn''t noticed her gaze, barely paying attention to the group after dismissing them. He only hung around until he was sure that they had left before he returned to the ruined house and met up with Fang Ying and Zhao Feng again. The three locked eyes again, Li Yang giving a short nod of his head to indicate that the chubby man had spoken the truth.


    The three asked the chubby man a few more questions before they decided that they had learned enough, Li Yang casting a sideways glance at Fang Ying. She nodded her head and tapped the air with her finger, a soft green cloud enveloping the entire group of people, entering their bodies through their seven orifices. The eyes of the people quickly turned blurry and empty, their mouths hanging open with saliva dripping out of them.


    Zhao Feng and the others stood up after Fang Ying finished administering her poison, leaving the ruined building and heading for the other exit of the city, where they had learned that there was a road leading to the nearest city, Wasteland''s Wall. The poison she administered was a rather weak one that she had tweaked a bit so that it would affect the target''s memories, turning the last several hours muddy and indistinct. She had to increase her strength a bit to make the poison fully alter the target''s memories, but it was good enough for now.

 156 Wastelands Wall 2

    Li Yang''s group of three people and one wolf quickly made their way through the ruined city by following the chubby man''s directions. They also used the symbols that the various groups that entered the ruins left behind, they kept track of where there had already been groups as well as where there were signs of active Deathcloud Warriors.


    The group stopped for a few seconds when they reached the spot where Li Yang encountered the people from the Shadow Emperor sect, their gazes moving between Li Yang and the bloody smudge on the wall that was still dripping as they looked at it. Faced with their questioning gazes, Li Yang could only shrug his shoulders in defense.


    "Forgot how squishy they were."


    Zhao Feng tried, and then quickly failed, to hold back a small laughter when he heard Li Yang''s shoddy defense. Fang Ying simply gave a nod of her head and removed her eyes from the bloodstain, the group quickly continuing their journey.


    They moved slowly during the first day, but after not seeing even the smallest sign of any Deathcloud Warriors they decided to pick up their pace a bit. Their speed was quite a bit faster than that of the groups that usually entered these ruins so rather than spend the usual two weeks, they managed to leave the ruins only four days after they encountered the chubby man''s group.


    The area beyond the ruins looked much the same as it did on the side where they first appeared, a barren wasteland covered with cracks due to how brittle the earth was. A road went from the ruins and cut a straight path through the barren wasteland, leading to a distant city surrounded by a massive stone wall.


    It was as if a deity had drawn a line in the earth a few steps away from the city, the barren wasteland simply ended and gave way to fresh grass and tall trees. There were even some trees that stood on both sides of the invisible border, one half long withered while the other half was still growing strong.


    The faded yellow wall surrounding the city had four surprisingly small gates carved into its front, each gate was only about two meters tall and one meter wide. The wall was about 200 meters high, so the gates looked like no more than ants, especially since Li Yang and the others were still rather far away from the city.


    The group quickly followed the road and headed for the city, curiously inspecting the wasteland around them, a few faint tremors running through the ground. Over the last four days, they had started to feel what the chubby man was talking about, it felt like the wasteland itself was slowly sapping away their strength. It seemed like he hadn''t been exaggerating when he said that any life would wither away within at most three months in the wasteland.


    They quickly approached the city, Li Yang honestly feeling somewhat disappointed that they hadn''t gotten to see a single Deathcloud Warrior. They managed to spot several thousand guards stationed on top of the wall as they got closer, the guards seemed to be divided into three different groups, with two of those groups wearing the robes of the Shadow Emperor sect and the Earth Rendering Empire.


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    The last group wore robes that were a strange half white and half black, with a small touch of golden, the different colors on the robe forming the image of a cloud and sun torn in two. Since the two other groups were identified, Li Yang and the others guessed that this group belonged to the third great faction in this universe, the Heaven Devastator sect.


    The group reached the gates to the city after walking for a few hours, a guard opening the door from the inside after receiving the clear from the guards atop the wall. One didn''t have to go through a lengthy process to enter the city, you just had to be alive and then the gates would be opened for you. They walked through the small gates one by one and entered the city, the armor-clad guard that opened the gate closing it behind them again. He, strangely enough, didn''t use an array to lock the door, he used a normal lock as well as a wooden beam to bar the gate.


    The city that stretched out in front of them after they walked through the gate looked almost like a puzzle that had been taken apart. All the buildings were completely square in shape, and although the buildings closer to the center of the city were larger than most, all the buildings looked like they could be stacked together to form a single massive fortress.


    The buildings had windows on all sides that you could use to scout for enemies, and all the buildings were made using a mixture of stone and metal so that they would be very sturdy. None of the people that walked the streets looked normal either, they all radiated a certain amount of energy, even the weakest person they saw had reached the early stage of the Ascending Heaven realm in soul cultivation. It was a rather strange sight to see a city that seemed to be so specifically built for war so Fang Ying turned her head to look at the armored guard and tilted her head slightly.


    "Excuse me for my ignorance, but we''re travelers that have only recently arrived on this planet, is it normal for the cities here to be built like this? Even the citizens seem more prepared for battle than usual."


    Cities would usually have countless normal citizens, non-cultivators or retired and crippled cultivators who handled the farms and other important functions of the city. But here, they didn''t see anyone that wasn''t a cultivator, there was even a farm a few kilometers to the right of the entrance that was being run by cultivators.


    The armored guard moved his head slightly upon receiving the question but didn''t seem terribly shocked, the ruins left behind by the Bloodwind Emperor were a very popular place for people from outside the planet to visit. Due to this, the number of people he had seen arrive in high spirits but never return had already passed several thousand.


    "No, not all the cities on our planet are built like this, this particular city is just a bit special. We are the Wastelands Wall, not only do we protect the outside world from the wasteland, but we also protect the wasteland from the outside world. The aura of life mixed with the aura of death inside the wastelands attracts a lot of Demonic beasts, sometimes entire swarms of them, so we have to stop them before they flood into the ruins and end up feeding the Deathcloud Warriors. There are also times where a Deathcloud Warrior grows so strong that it becomes able to command legions of weaker warriors and tries to leave the ruins with all of them. There are also special occasions where their hunger grows so large that they might swarm to leave the ruins, but that usually only happens if they catch the scent of a being filled with so much lifeforce that it truly stirs their hunger and desire. In those times, we are the first line of defense, and thus we have to be battle-ready at all times."


    The guard spoke with a heavy and solemn tone that contained the unmistakable tinge of pride. They were the first line of defense, the bastion relied upon by the rest of the planet, how could he not feel pride in that? Li Yang''s eyebrows actually furrowed somewhat when he heard the guard''s words, his eyes sweeping around the area as he questioned further.


    "We encountered a group that said they were from the Shadow Emperor sect about four days ago, they wouldn''t happen to have come here, right?"


    Fang Ying and Zhao Feng weren''t immediately certain why Li Yang would ask about that, but seeing his furrowed brows they could be certain that it wasn''t for anything good. The guard was also a little caught off guard, but he still gave a nod of his head after a short moment of thought.


    "There was indeed a group that returned about a day ago, but they returned to their sect less than an hour after arriving here. A friend of my husband said that they seemed to be in a hurry, one of them even warned that friend that the ruins might get a bit noisy within the next few days. But so far it''s all been quiet, so it''s more likely that they just wanted to scare him a bit, wouldn''t really be the first time."


    Li Yang''s eyebrows furrowed even further when he heard the guard''s response, it seemed like his worry was correct. He thought it would be fine since they had left the wasteland, but now it seemed like that wouldn''t be the case. He pulled Fang Ying and Zhao Feng a few steps away from the guard, lowering his voice somewhat and stating it plainly.


    "We need to be battle-ready at all times from now on. The Deathcloud Warriors are attracted to lifeforce, but they didn''t make a move on us even once over these four days. Given that they supposedly have some intelligence, there is a possibility that they didn''t attack us because they realized the difference in strength and have thus decided to gather more forces. Now that we''ve left the wasteland, they might actually be getting panicky and have decided to stop gathering forces to immediately launch an attack."


    Fang Ying and Zhao Feng still weren''t quite certain what Li Yang was talking about, but their expressions changed after only a few seconds. The Deathcloud Warriors were attracted to lifeforce, and their group just so happened to contain one body cultivator who was also a humanoid Divine Beast, a wolf-type Divine Beast, and a cultivator whose veins flowed with the blood of a dragon, they were a feast ripe with tremendous amounts of lifeforce.


    If the Deathcloud Warriors really had a history of swarming out of the ruins upon sensing such a feast, then it might really end up like Li Yang stated. Fang Ying and Zhao Feng nodded their heads with somewhat solemn expressions, agreeing with Li Yang''s idea. Most people would definitely choose to flee right away upon guessing something like this, but the three of them were far from normal, they were confident enough in their abilities that they felt that they would be able to flee even if things turned south. There was also the fact that all three of them were rather curious about these Deathcloud Warriors, if a swarm really came then it would be a good chance to get a good look at them.

 157 Cloud of death.

    Li Yang and the others made their way through the city at a leisure pace, taking their time and inspecting the various structures and shops around them. There were shops of all kinds scattered throughout the city, but there was one type of shop that clearly dominated the market, relics. Relics were the name the people of this universe gave to ancient items they found in old ruins or hidden realms, most of them were broken but could still be used to gain an understanding of the past.


    There were even some items that had yet to decay despite the passage of years. retaining their might and special attributes. Even the broken ones might retain their special attributes, or the attributes of their previous owner, serving as an inspiration for other people''s cultivation. Li Yang''s own sword could be considered one such relic, though it was called an artifact in his own universe, it had retained its terror-inducing lightning despite the passage of almost countless years.


    What''s more, it had even gained the poison attribute thanks to the uniqueness of the place where it was kept. Anyone who found it and gained its recognition would have the chance to instantly soar into the skies by focusing on these two attributes. Sadly for others, the blade had returned to the hands of the man who created it, becoming the wings of the dragon.


    But these relics were different from any that Li Yang had ever encountered, different from even those he encountered in the most dangerous hidden realms or ruins he had ever entered. The relics in those places might be broken and decayed, the passage of time removing nearly all trace of their attributes and turning them into little more than normal items, but even those relics were better off than these.


    All these relics were tainted, not broken or decayed but tainted. All of them carried an aura of death that had seeped deep into them and wiped out any trace of their previous attributes, forcibly turning it into the death attribute. Li Yang and the others asked around a bit and found out that all the relics that came out from the ruins were like this, even the most powerful relic to come out of the ruins, the emerald-jeweled crown used by the previous ruler of the city, had ended up like this.


    The previous ruler of the city was the Minor Universe ruler Dong Ren, a man who could control an entire Minor Universe and use it as his weapon. Just what sort of state would the law of death have to be to taint and ruin an item this powerful? Li Yang couldn''t help but find himself getting more and more curious about this Bloodwind Emperor, exactly what realm had he reached? Of course, not once did Li Yang''s confidence waver, it hadn''t wavered when he saw Xiang Hong and the man known as Gluttonera, and it wouldn''t waver now. One day he would reach that stage, it was just that he was temporarily beneath them.


    Time passed quickly as they made their way through the city, which was mostly devoid of spectacular sights due to its nature of being a defensive line. The most interesting sight they saw was an item enshrined within the centermost building in the city, the corrupted crown of Dong Ren, which they reached after almost a full day of walking. What was once a crown made from gold and platinum and decorated with walnut-sized jewels had now become a strange mixture of black and white, a faint mist carrying both of these colors seeping out of the crown and coiling around it for a bit before sinking back into it.


    The crown hadn''t just been tainted by the law of death but also by the law of life. Strangely enough, it seemed like the Bloodwind Emperor actually used both his laws in battle, rather than just the offensively-geared law of death. As the group was looking at the crown, which was surrounded on all sides by a thick layer of transparent crystal covered in nearly invisible runes, they noticed that the mist seeping out of it started to pulsate slightly. A shrill and piercing screech echoed across the entire city before anyone had the chance to ask any questions, a loud voice reaching every corner of the city.


    "Swarm spotted approaching the city at high velocity, archers and spearmen report to the top of the wall while the fighters head to the gates!"


    Loud sounds immediately burst forth from all around the city, some people rushing to the walls while others rushed to get away from them, preparing their own defenses. Li Yang and the others locked eyes, a faint smile playing at the corners of Li Yang''s lips.


    "Well, seems like they''ve arrived. More impatient than I expected, I thought they''d at least give us two or three days to settle in."


    Li Yang had underestimated just how much the Deathcloud Warriors hungered for the tremendous lifeforce he and his group carried within them. Had it been just a slight bit greater, they would have been swarmed the moment they got within 1000 kilometers of the ruins, the Deathcloud Warriors wouldn''t have given a single thought about the difference in strength.


    The three people and one wolf left the building where the corrupted crown was enshrined and entered the sea of people making their way through the streets. They spotted several squadrons of armored guards rapidly marching towards the walls, some carrying bows while others carried short spears that could easily be thrown.


    They cut a path straight through the sea of people by moving in the opposite direction, quickly arriving at a spot not far from large walls. A few squadrons of guards armed with various melee weapons rapidly passed by them and left through the small doors that served as the entrances to the city, probably taking up their positions outside. The city itself was a fortress, but that didn''t mean that they could just let the enemy enter the city, they had to set up a line of defense in front of the gates.


    There was no need for words when they reached their position, Fang Ying simply quietly pat Langshen on the head and had him teleport all of them to the top of the wall. Zhao Feng took action the moment they reached the top of the wall, using his law of the soul to confuse the souls of all the soldiers around them, implanting the notion that Li Yang and the others weren''t there.


    Li Yang sat down on the wall, his legs dangling over the edge as he surveyed the surroundings. There were armored soldiers, as well as people clad in the robes of the three large organizations, scattered all across the top of the wall as well as outside it. A quick count of just those he could see revealed that there were already about 15 thousand people gathered up and ready to battle. It had only been a bit over half a minute since the alarm was sounded so it was clear that everyone here was exceedingly skilled in their duty. But as Li Yang''s gaze moved across the plain outside the city, he couldn''t help but let out a soft whistle.


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    "He~h, so those are the Deathcloud Warriors, huh? Yeah, I can see how they got their name. They really are just energy given form and consciousness, they should make for excellent cultivation material if you can just erase that consciousness."


    Swarming across the barren plain were several tens of thousands of humanoid figures that seemed to be made entirely out of black mist. The ones at the front were just barely humanoid while those who were further back in the swarm slowly became more humanoid, but there wasn''t a single one among them that was fully humanoid or had a solid form. As they flooded forward they seemed more like a massive black cloud rolling towards the city, the stench of death following wherever the cloud went.


    The first arrows were fired less than three seconds after Li Yang whistled, explosions of varying intensity and elements exploding among the Deathcloud Warriors. Short spears quickly followed the arrows, tearing into the dark cloud and decimating the Deathcloud Warriors at the front. But where one fell, another rose to take its place, the cloud not once stopping or slowing down.


    The warriors gathered up in front of the wall steeled themselves and charged forward once the cloud got within 50 kilometers of the city. They launched their attacks the moment they crashed into the cloud, dust and energy of various elements shooting into the sky. The archers and spearmen never once relented in their attacks, efficiently and quickly launching new ones that whizzed past the soldiers on the ground.


    But as Li Yang observed the situation, he saw that there would occasionally be an archer or a spearman from one of the three organizations who would launch an attack that was intentionally aimed at one of the soldiers that came from one of the two opposing forces. Fang Ying couldn''t help but scowl at the scene, shooting a sideways glare at the ones that launched those attacks.


    "Really, people can be so disappointing at times. They''re all at risk of dying yet they still choose to make things harder for themselves like this, it''s sad."


    If the Deathcloud Warriors managed to enter the city then it didn''t matter how quickly these archers could move, they would be unable to enter the reinforced buildings of the city before they were slaughtered by this cloud of death. Li Yang was much more casual about their actions, shrugging his shoulders.


    "That''s just how people are, selfish bastards every one of them, even we are like that. If you ask not just me, but probably even them, then you are the strange one. But hey, it''s always been strange people who''ve made a difference, so it probably isn''t a bad thing to be considered strange."


    Li Yang gave Fang Ying a quick wink as he ended his sentence, causing her and Zhao Feng to roll their eyes. Li Yang ignored their rolling eyes, his gaze once again drifting over the cloud that was slowly rolling closer to the city. The corners of his mouth raised up slightly as his hands pushed off of the city wall, pushing his body out into empty air.


    "All right, time to check out how special these Deathcloud Warriors are."

 158 Lambs to the slaughter.

    Li Yang plummeted down to the ground after pushing himself off of the top of the wall, crashing into the ground with a loud rumbling sound as the earth cracked beneath him. His arrival could be considered rather noisy, but he still remained practically unnoticed thanks to the thunderous noises of the chaotic battle unfolding in front of him.


    Li Yang dusted off his robe and casually headed for the battlefield, his pupils flickering around as he took in the scenes of the battle, observing the Deathcloud Warriors and how they fought. They were humanoid in shape but they actually fought like savage beasts, lashing out with their wispy hands and even trying to bite anyone that got close to them. They completely ignored all the attacks that were launched at them, not even making any attempts at dodging as they were torn apart.


    They had indeed acquired a consciousness of their own, but for these Deatcloud Warriors, it was definitely no more than the faintest consciousness possible, just barely enough to follow their instincts. These were probably the scouts and stragglers they had been told about by the chubby man, the solider and general-level ones would definitely be smarter than this.


    Li Yang ducked down for a quick second when he was only a few tens of meters away from the battlefield, a spear surrounded by a cloud of sharp dust flying over him and crashing into the ground a short distance away. He turned his head and sent a slight glare to one of the soldiers standing atop the wall, his sharp gaze causing the armored woman to tremble slightly.


    But he didn''t take any further action against her, only placing his finger in front of his lips and giving a slight shake of his head before turning around and continuing to head towards the battle. His robes didn''t belong to any of the three factions and his gait was far too casual for the situation, it was inevitable that he would attract some attention now that he didn''t have Fang Ying and Zhao Feng to obscure him like earlier.


    He finished walking the last few tens of and properly entered the battlefield, which was practically like entering a completely different world. The thunderous sounds got louder, the smell of blood and death hung heavy in the air, and attacks were flashing by all over the place. From the looks of it, the people taking part in this battle had actually set up a formation at the very edge of the battlefield as they charged forward, it was probably done to avoid any stray attacks flying towards the wall while they were battling.


    Li Yang bent backward just as he entered the battlefield, a halberd with a circle at the tip instead of an axe-head just barely missing his throat. Li Yang flicked his finger, a bolt of lightning flashing out and temporarily paralyzing the woman from the Earth Rendering Empire that had just attacked him.


    Li Yang stepped past the paralyzed woman and headed for the Deathcloud Warriors up ahead, a guess forming in his mind. Since he had already been attacked twice in such quick succession, he was starting to guess that it wasn''t just because of the fact that he looked so casual or the fact that he didn''t wear the robes of one of the three great sects, there was a chance that strong Deathcloud Warriors were incredibly close to human''s in appearance. It was just a guess of his, but Li Yang had always held his sharp intuition in high regard so he was confident that his guess was close to the truth.


    Li Yang stepped past several groups of soldiers and dodged a few more attacks, not bothering much with those that attacked him right now. At worst he only paralyzed them or blew them away with a quick punch, clearing a path directly to the incoming cloud of death. In this situation, it didn''t take long for a Deathcloud Warrior to break free from the chaotic battle and rush directly at him.


    Li Yang glanced at the Deathcloud Warrior, leaning back and dodging a swipe of its barely formed claws as he studied it from a closer perspective. It had a head but no features, the wispy smoke that made up its body simply splitting open when it wanted to bite at the being in front of it. The arms and legs were constantly changing in size and number, it was almost as if the Deathcloud Warrior wasn''t quite sure which shape it wanted to take on yet.


    The Deathcloud Warrior continued to unleash a frenzied barrage of attacks at him, Li Yang dodging them one by one as he tilted his head. The Deathcloud Warrior in front of him radiated an utterly terrifying aura that was a mixture of the laws of life and death, but the actual strength it managed to produce was only at around the middle stage of the Ascending Heaven realm.


    But the confusion he felt at it quickly cleared up, the aura it was radiating was likely a result of the sheer height that the laws of life and death that created this being had reached. This spoke more about how terrifying the man who unleashed these two laws was rather than how terrifying these Deathcloud Warriors were. Of course, should there be a Deathcloud Warrior that could perfectly use these two laws that formed it then it would be a completely different story, that would be an entity that Li Yang would avoid like the plague. After he cleared up the confusion, Li Yang''s right hand stretched out as fast as lightning.


    "Alright, I''m done with you now."


    Li Yang''s hand landed on what should be the throat of the Deathcloud Warrior and unleashed a brilliant splendor, golden flames bursting forth and swallowing up the black smoke. The Deathcloud Warrior released a shrill and ear-piercing screech as the flames of the Golden Crow engulfed it and completely ate it up. The screech quickly died down once the black smoke was gone, only a droplet-sized orb of white light remaining.


    The black smoke was the law of death that formed the Deathcloud Warriors and this white light was the law of life that gave them consciousness, it was basically their heart. Normally it would be very hard to destroy the black smoke and reveal this white heart, but not only did Li Yang have the flames of the Golden Crow, famed to be among the most destructive, but he also had his strange ice that was specialized in freezing immaterial things.


    It wasn''t too hard for him to freeze this heart and then use his flames to destroy the black smoke. Fang Ying and Zhao Feng, however, would find it quite a bit more difficult to accomplish this, which was part of the reason why they didn''t follow him down as he jumped down from the wall.


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    Li Yang lowered his outstretched hand and tapped the white orb with his finger, the orb turning into a white light that sank into his body as a result. Li Yang could feel a tremendously pure lifeforce move through his body the moment the white light entered him, a supremely pleasant feeling emerging in his body. It was almost as if he had lowered his body down into a hot spring after wandering through a blizzard, every inch of his body relaxing.


    He could also detect that the lifeforce strengthened his body ever so slightly, it was to the point that he wouldn''t have noticed it if he wasn''t actually looking for it. But this was just what the lifeforce managed when it wasn''t controlled, if he took it over and directed it he guessed that the effects would be better, especially if he focused it on one spot. This proved his earlier guess correct, the Deathcloud Warriors were perfect cultivation resources if one knew how to take advantage of them.


    But just as he was starting to think about the various ways he could use this lifeforce, a small sliver of it split off and sank into his dantian. The pure lifeforce sank into the unconscious bodies of Jinwu and Shenlong, who had laid dormant ever since they had donated their Essence Blood to Li Yang. Their bodies trembled slightly once the lifeforce entered them, the signs of life coming from them actually growing slightly stronger.


    Li Yang''s breath nearly caught in his throat, this lifeforce was so pure that it could replace the Essence Blood of a Divine Beast? The more Li Yang discovered about these laws of life and death, the more shocked and curious he became about the person who left them behind, the man known as the Bloodwind Emperor. But he quickly pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind, his eyes lighting up with flames as his lips curled into a grin.


    "Hehe, alright then, let''s make it a feast. Come one, come all, be nice and become food for me."


    The lifeforce within Li Yang''s body rushed forth as he chuckled to himself, the Dark Star Essence that was a result of his body cultivation exploding forth. His body instantly became a burning beacon to the Deathcloud Warriors, his practically burning vitality so strong that the Deathcloud Warriors almost started salivating as they rushed at him. To most this army of Deathcloud Warriors was a great horror, but to him it looked like no more than a flock of lambs rushing to the slaughter.

 159 The moon descends.

    Li Yang''s gaze only casually swept across the army of Deathcloud Warriors that was swarming at him, each and everyone one of them driven nearly insane by their tremendous desire when they sensed his burning lifeforce. Li Yang turned his head after sweeping his gaze across the army, ignoring the confused shouts coming from the people around him. They couldn''t understand why the Deathcloud Warriors suddenly became so fierce, they could only sense Li Yang''s strong aura, not his tremendous lifeforce.


    Li Yang''s gaze drifted to his rear and up the walls that surrounded the city behind him, landing on Fang Ying. He acted as if he couldn''t see the incoming army or feel the earth trembling as they charged at him, silently mouthing a few words to Fang Ying. She nodded her head in understanding, patting the resting Langshen on the head while quickly talking to him.


    The wolf raised his head slightly and turned his gaze onto Li Yang, a slight fluctuation running through space around him. A ripple arrived in front of Li Yang, the small violet dragon Huanglong falling out from the ripple and landing in Li Yang''s hand. Li Yang swiftly stored Huanglong into his dantian along with Jinwu and Shenlong, he couldn''t leave her out from an opportunity like this.


    He then turned his head and finally locked his gaze onto the incoming army, which had already pushed back the frontlines of the city defenders army so much that they were only 200 meters away from him. He opened his right hand, a light flashing in his palm and turning into his golden-violet sword, fire and icy mist dancing around it.


    Now he wasn''t fighting to investigate the Deathcloud Warriors, now he was fighting to massacre them all so that he could steal their hearts, as such there was no longer a point in holding back. He stood still for a few more seconds, waiting for the army of Deathcloud Warriors to have gotten a bit closer.


    His crimson eyes flashed with golden light the moment the army arrived within 100 meters of him, his right arm blurring as he slashed out with his sword. A golden line suddenly appeared on the bodies of every Deathcloud Warrior within a three-kilometer area in front of Li Yang, neatly splitting them all in half.


    But before anyone could even wrap their minds around what just happened, blazing flames rose from the golden lines. The flames roared as they swallowed the Deathcloud Warriors and rose towards the sky, forming the image of a large golden crow with its wings stretched out. The flames all quickly rose into the golden crow and then dissipated, a part of the black cloud vanishing and only leaving behind several thousand white orbs that bobbed around as they hung in the air and were surrounded by an icy mist.


    It seemed like these people actually knew how useful the hearts of the Deathcloud Warriors were, a man on the frontline clad in the three-colored Heaven Devastator sect''s robes dashed forward while the others were still a bit dazed. His left hand reached for the nearest heart to snatch it away, but a golden line appeared on his wrist just as he was about to touch the orb.


    His hand fell to the ground, golden flames evaporating it before it even touched the earth. The flames rapidly started to move up his arm to swallow the rest of his body but he quickly and resolutely drew forth a dagger and cut off his own left arm at the elbow, preventing the flames from spreading further. He had bent his body slightly to stretch out his left arm so he decided to kick off the ground and jump forward, opening his mouth and directly swallowing the white heart.


    But Li Yang arrived at his side with the roar of thunder before the man could even form a pleased smile, his expression chilly as his right arm flashed. He slammed his elbow into the spine of the man and smashed him into the ground, blood spurting from his mouth. He ignored the once-again incoming army and flipped the man onto his back with the tip of his foot, his gaze not carrying a shred of mercy.


    "No one gets to eat anything that is mine, spit it out."


    Li Yang raised his leg and stomped down on the man''s stomach, resulting in him spewing out a small torrent of blood. The white heart of the Deathcloud Warrior was also spat out, not having even stayed within the man''s throat long enough to disperse into energy. Crimson flames surrounded the heart and burned away the man''s blood and saliva, a new layer of icy mist surrounding it shortly after. The man spat out what seemed like a flood of blood, struggling to squeeze out words all the while.


    "You... Do... Do you kn...Know who I am?"


    The man moved his remaining right arm, bringing it up to his chest to point at the emblem of his sect. The image was a bit different than the other robes he had seen so far, the cloud and sun weren''t torn in two but rather in three. It seemed to signify some status, but Li Yang was the last person to ever care about something like that, sneering at the man.


    "If I knew about every ant that wanted to pretend that they were a big shot then my head would have long exploded, of course I don''t know who someone as weak as you are."


    Li Yang''s foot moved after he finished talking, kicking the man''s waist and launching him back to the army that was now a short distance away from them. A few of the people there were greedily eyeing the white hearts, but none dared to move as long as Li Yang was there, they had personally seen his strength just now.


    Li Yang slashed out with his sword once more, a deep cut appearing in the earth in front of the army, drawing a long line smoldering with flames. Li Yang swept a cold glance over everyone in front of him, his sword still burning with crimson flames as he clearly enunciated each and every one of his words.


    "Anyone who steps past this line dies. Anyone who tries to nab a heart dies."


    Simple and direct, stay back and don''t interfere, otherwise, you will die. Li Yang turned around after giving them their final warning, the icy mist around the white hearts starting to move and drag the hearts over to Li Yang, who quickly sent them into his dantian. His gaze locked onto the incoming army, his left hand stretching out and opening, his palm cupping as it faced the sky.


    The temperature of the entire area suddenly dropped as even the Qi within the area started to freeze and fall to the ground like frozen rain. An icy moon appeared in the sky above the battlefield, a faint glimmer of gold hidden away within the center of the moon and causing it to resemble a dying star on the verge of fading. But the sheer coldness that the moon radiated was enough to allow everyone to realize that this was a star that was far from fading.


    "Descend."


    Li Yang flipped his outstretched hand around and gently lowered his hand, the moon sinking down to the earth as his hand moved. The moon landed directly on the incoming army of Deathcloud Warriors, an incandescent golden light bursting forth the moment the moon descended.


    Golden flames blazed forth from the center of the moon and formed a nearly six-kilometer tall and four-kilometers thick chrysanthemum flower that swallowed everything around it. But a layer of ice actually started to surround this burning flower, creating a blue chrysanthemum with a golden center that sealed the fates of thousands of Deathcloud Warriors, sealing them in a burning tomb.


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    One of the white hearts he had picked up earlier was directly absorbed into Li Yang''s body, the potent laws of life replenishing the energy he had lost due to his two wide-scale attacks. His gaze then drifted to the back of the black cloud, which was starting to bustle with activity as the cloud seemed to condense into multiple humanoid shapes that were incredibly solid and clear, a soft mutter escaping Li Yang''s lips as his mouth curled up.


    "There you are. Come, come, you should contain a bit more lifeforce, no?"

 160 Lord of fire and ice.

    Li Yang''s gaze swept over the 15 solid humanoid shapes that were rushing past the remaining 21 000 Deathcloud Warriors, grass and flowers actually blooming in their steps. Li Yang''s left hand, which was still outstretched with his cupped hand facing downward, slowly opened as the Deathcloud Warriors arrived within a kilometer of him.


    The frozen chrysanthemum with the burning center trembled fiercely as his hand opened, exploding out into several hundred smaller orbs that rained down on the earth. The weaker Deathcloud Warriors caught within the range of the orbs were decimated and crushed, their hearts quickly sucked into the orbs. Right now Li Yang showed exactly why he was feared in the past despite mainly only using his law of lightning, he didn''t need his law of destruction to be a terrifying force and a horrible enemy.


    The orbs that crashed into the earth swiftly bloomed into man-sized versions of the massive chrysanthemum that had just split up, each one with a burning golden center. The area was almost instantly transformed into a small forest of frozen flowers that not just shimmered with light but also radiated a chilly mist, a sight that was breathtaking both figuratively and literally. Li Yang stretched out both his arms wide once the flowers all bloomed, the edges of his mouth still curved upwards.


    "The stage''s been set and it''s all ready, let''s see how long you''re able to last."


    Li Yang''s entire body burst into flames once he finished his words, disintegrating and vanishing as the flames dispersed. The flames within one of the flowers flickered just as Li Yang''s body disintegrated, Li Yang appearing from the flames and stepping through the ice surrounding them, now clad in a crimson robe formed from his flames.


    This wasn''t the first time that Li Yang had used this way of movement, turning his body into fire and moving between the surrounding fire. But this was the first time he could do it this smoothly and without having to worry about the energy consumption it brought with it. After all, there were thousands of little blobs of highly concentrated lifeforce all around him, he had so much energy at his disposal that he almost didn''t know what to do with it.


    The flower he stepped out from was right behind one of the 15 solid humanoid shapes, his sword appearing in his grasp and slashing at the Deathcloud Warrior''s neck. The being quickly reacted to the attack by turning around and facing Li Yang, throwing up its right arm so that it could block the edge of the blade with its forearm.


    Li Yang''s blade crashed into the arm of the Deathcloud Warrior, the collision actually creating a few sparks and a clanking sound, it seemed like the arm of this Deathcloud Warrior was harder than most steel. The Deathcloud Warrior pushed out its arm and tilted it slightly, causing Li Yang''s blade to slide along its arm so that it would harmlessly sweep through the air in front of it.


    But the golden-violet blade unleashed a violent splendor just as the tip of the blade passed by the throat of the Deathcloud Warrior. An ear-shattering roar of thunder rocked the area as a golden bolt of lightning shot out from the tip of the blade, piercing through the air and drawing a dark line in space as it tore through it like paper.


    The entire right side of the Deathcloud Warrior''s throat vanished as the lightning pierced through it, but Li Yang''s eyes still frowned as he saw the scene. The lightning should have completely taken off the head of the Deathcloud Warrior, but something strange occurred within his lightning at the very last second.


    It suddenly moved on its own and changed direction, even revolting slightly as it tried to free itself from Li Yang''s control. For a few short instances, the bolt of lightning seemed as if it had gained a life of its own. From the looks of the situation, it seemed like the chubby man they interrogated earlier hadn''t been lying when he said that the Bloodwind Emperor was rumored to be able to grant life to all things in the multiverse. Just the remnant energy remaining in these Deathcloud Warriors was enough to affect his lightning.


    Li Yang didn''t get a chance to launch a second attack, a Deathcloud Warrior appearing behind him and turning its arm into a large hammer that it smashed into his back. Li Yang''s body cracked and shattered into fragments of ice, his actual body quickly appearing at the side of another Deathcloud Warrior that was a few tens of meters away.


    He didn''t slash out with his sword this time but rather stomped the ground and sent out a swift punch with his right fist. The Deathcloud Warrior placed both its hands in front of its chest and blocked Li Yang''s punch with its two palms, throwing out an upwards kick with its left leg at the same time. The front of the Deathcloud Warrior''s leg released a sharp light as it swung upward, it had clearly turned its leg as sharp as any blade, one of the advantages that came with being a lifeform with a smoke-like body.


    But Li Yang gave a light twist of his fist just as the Deathcloud Warrior swung its leg upwards, the two hands of the being getting blasted apart as its chest sank inwards. Li Yang had the body of a humanoid divine beast, the sheer physical might he could unleash was far above any body cultivator at his realm. His punch also unleashed golden flames that started to eat away at the arm of the Deathcloud Warrior, a frozen spear as thick as a grown man''s arm suddenly piercing through its chest from where Li Yang''s punch had landed, practically right at the center.


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    But despite being wounded like this, the Deathcloud Warrior had yet to die. Its feature-less face suddenly split open at the middle, turning its entire head into a single mouth that it opened wide and used to unleash an unearthly screech that caused a few drops of blood to drip out from Li Yang''s ears. The screech seemed to serve as a signal, the other solid Deathcloud Warriors actually starting to devour the weaker Deathcloud Warriors closer to them.


    The Deathcloud Warrior that had half its throat ruined by Li Yang just a short moment ago also acted upon hearing the screech. It stopped focusing on healing its wound and charged towards the closest weaker Deathcloud Warrior. The Deathcloud Warrior that had defended it by attacking Li Yang had also left upon hearing the screech, meaning that this wounded one was all alone.


    Li Yang''s lips curved up a bit further when he saw this, the frozen flowers around the wounded Deathcloud Warrior suddenly twisting and changing. The petals of the flowers shot forth like icy snakes and stabbed into the Deathcloud Warrior, who had been caught unaware by the sudden change. Once they pierced into it, the frozen petals exploded outwards like jagged spears, turning the Deathcloud Warrior into a pincushion filled with frozen spears that were still burning in the middle.


    A bit of the fire within the spears leaked out and burned away the tough exterior of the Deathcloud Warrior, the rest of the frozen spears making sure that the brilliant white heart remained intact. The remaining 14 solid Deathcloud Warriors seemed to be somewhat affected by the sudden death, at least emotionally. Their feature-less faces split into large maws that opened wide and let out the same horrible screeching sound as the one in front of Li Yang, the sound only getting worse since there were now so many.


    Li Yang ignored the screeching and his bleeding ears, moving the fist that was still connected with the chest of the Deathcloud Warrior sideways. The icy spear pierced through its chest moved sideways along with Li Yang''s fist, tearing through the body of the Deathcloud Warrior and nearly ripping it in half.


    The icy spear dissipated once it left the body of the Deathcloud Warrior, both of Li Yang''s hands shooting forward and grasping onto the torn open chest of the Deathcloud Warrior. One hand grasped onto the lower part of the tear on the right side of the chest and the other hand grasped onto the upper part, a hint of savagery flashing in Li Yang''s pupils as he exerted his might.


    The screeching of the Deathcloud Warrior got even worse as the tear in its body was forcefully widened and swiftly separated its body into two pieces. He threw the upper part of the body to the ground and gave it a heavy stomp, an intense burst of golden flames erupting from the sole of his foot and evaporating the piece. The lower part was also evaporated by a burst of golden flames that came from Li Yang''s hand, revealing the white heart that released a nearly blinding light.


    Li Yang snatched up the heart and wasted no time in changing his position by turning his body into ice and appearing from one of the spikes that had pierced through and killed the previously wounded Deathcloud Warrior. He snatched up the heart of this Deathcloud Warrior as well, pleasantly surprised to notice that both the hearts contained the same amount of lifeforce as about 1000 normal Deathcloud Warriors.


    The 15 solid Deathcloud Warriors had been reduced to 13 in only a few short moments and seemed to have lost what little trace of sanity they had, charging at Li Yang in a frenzied manner while tearing apart any weaker Deathcloud Warrior that got in their way. But Li Yang simply ignored them, stretching out his right arm and opening his palm.


    "Come."


    The golden flames within the frozen flowers suddenly flickered and burst out from within the flowers, flying over to Li Yang and sinking into his palm. And what they brought with them were all the white hearts that belonged to the Deathcloud Warriors that had been killed when Li Yang created both the massive flower and then the smaller versions. All the energy flooded directly into Li Yang''s dantian, golden flames starting to seep out of his pores and covering his body as a soft mutter escaped his lips.


    "You''ve slept for long enough, the sky is ripe for burning and there''s still a feast to be had."


    The golden flames seeping out from his body suddenly exploded outwards just as the Deathcloud Warriors were about to reach him. A thick pillar of brilliant flames rose to the sky and then spread out, dyeing everything a gorgeous golden as horrible flames covered the sky above the battlefield. The flames disconnected from Li Yang''s body and stopped seeping out from his pores, their true ruler had appeared now so they practically roared in joy.


    A part of the golden flames separated from the curtain covering the sky, descending down to Li Yang and gathering together into the shape of a golden bird that was almost four meters long. The bird arrived behind Li Yang and spread out its large wings while letting out a clarion cry, the earth within a five-kilometer wide area completely freezing. The lord of fire and ice had awakened and was once again ready to serve the one who helped give birth to him.

 161 Signal flare of terror.

    The bird made from golden flames, Jinwu, rested his head on Li Yang''s right shoulder, an act that caused golden flames to spill onto Li Yang and run down his body. But these flames, which were infamous even in a major universe for how destructive they were, simply ran down Li Yang''s body without even singeing his robes. They didn''t harm him in the slightest, but the earth started melting the moment the flames finished running down Li Yang''s body, allowing those watching to realize that these flames were far from harmless. Li Yang rested the side of his head against the side of Jinwu''s head and raised his right arm, ruffling the flames on top of Jinwu''s head.


    "Good morning sleepyhead, you''ve been out for far too long. I''d love for a proper talk right now, but your brother and sister are still sleeping so I''d like for you to help me wake them. I made on earlier, but how about you show these people what a true sun and moon is?"


    Jinwu, as well as the fusion of Huanglong and Shenlong, had given Li Yang a large portion of their Essence Blood so that he could turn his body into one made of both fire and ice, something that should be nearly impossible. Had it not been for his law of destruction automatically getting rid of any poison that entered his body, he guessed that he might have acquired Huanglong''s poison at the same time.


    It was an act that Li Yang had never forgotten and that had always hung heavily on him, waking them up again had been one of his main goals ever since. Having managed to wake up one of them and seeing the chance to wake up the two others as well, he felt like a heavy weight had been removed from his chest.


    Jinwu raised his head and let out a piercing cry that was clearly audible even to the people hiding in the city, he then flapped his wings and shot into the sky. The flames that seemed to form his body were shed as he soared into the sky, turning into a trail behind him as his actual body was revealed. Having been fed so much lifeforce it was clear that Jinwu had grown stronger than previously, his increase in size was a sign of this, but his appearance had also changed slightly to reflect it.


    His eyes were still golden and his feathers were still black, but the blue tint on his wings had spread to cover the entire outline of the wings, encircling them and causing the black feathers to be even more pronounced. That also wasn''t the only change, he now had golden and icy-blue veins running across his entire body, it almost looked like he actually had fire and ice flowing in his veins.


    Jinwu stretched his wings out and stopped soaring higher when he reached an altitude of almost 10 kilometers, he was so high up that only the stronger cultivators present were able to spot him. But everyone was still able to hear him when he let out another piercing cry, the earth suddenly trembling as the frozen portions broke off and soared into the sky.


    All the ice on the ground was drawn into the sky at such speeds that the fragments tore through any Deathcloud Warriors that were so unfortunate as to get in the way. Even three of the more solid Deathcloud Warriors ended up getting torn apart since they were so unlucky that their feet had been caught when Jinwu first froze the earth.


    The ice was drawn into the sky and the curtain of fire already covering the sky started retracting, both elements gathering up next to Jinwu. The fire gathered on his right and the ice on his left, gathering together and compressing into two large orbs. When Li Yang created a moon from his ice, it only managed to reach a diameter of about one kilometer, but the orbs created by Jinwu covered an entire six kilometers, they truly resembled the moon and the sun as they hung in the sky.


    While he was born with an affinity for fire and ice in this life, it would always be lightning and destruction that were Li Yang''s true elements. He would need to spend a few hundred thousand years of studying if he wanted to raise his understanding of those two elements to the same standard as his lightning and destruction, and that was under the assumption that he didn''t spend any time studying his lightning or destruction laws.


    But Jinwu was a Divine Beast born with fire and ice, his mind was filled with the understanding that his ancestors had acquired through their lives. He stood amongst the ranks of the beings blessed by the multiverse, all he had to focus on was acquiring enough energy and lifeforce to grow up. By the time he reached his adult age, only some of the older monsters and more freakish existences would be able to rival his control over fire and ice.


    Rain started to fall once the sun and the moon were fully formed, each drop filled with energy and a bit of warmth. The rain was actually the surrounding Qi that got frozen by Jinwu''s ice element and then thawed by his flames, raining down and returning to the surroundings after it seeped into the earth. Jinwu let out a third clarion cry, the sun and moon descending to the earth and creating a scene reminiscent of the apocalypse.


    The two orbs hit the earth at the same time and exploded into fire and ice that moved like waves, washing over the Deathcloud Warriors and the surrounding area. The fire melted the ice and the ice froze the fire, the two conflicting elements continuing to move like water and swallowing nearly half the army of Deathcloud Warriors, the earth beneath their feet turning into lava.


    Li Yang didn''t even have to move, the continuously freezing and melting fire and ice completely covered his surroundings and swallowed any Deathcloud warrior that got close to him. Jinwu was clearly no longer the same youngling that he was in the past, he was starting to show the real splendor of a Divine Beast, before long he would be like a true sun in the sky.


    Looking at the ocean of fire and ice that covered nearly 15 kilometers, the guards and cultivators in front of the city could only look on with slacked jaws, almost unable to process the information. Li Yang''s actions alone were enough to leave them dumbfounded, but the appearance of Jinwu almost short-circuited their brains, none of them were able to figure out just what sort of being this crow was.


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    But what none of them were expecting was that this wasn''t even the end, Li Yang stretching out his right arm and making a grasping motion. Thousands of white hearts flew out of the ocean of fire and ice, rushing over to him and sinking into his body, vanishing into his dantian.


    "The earth is already burning, won''t you two come and tear apart the sky?"


    Li Yang''s robe started to rustle as if it was being blown around by the breeze once he finished his word, golden lightning tinted with a hint of purple crackling around his body. The sky above the area started to turn dark once the lightning started arcing around Li Yang, black clouds rapidly gathering and forming a thick layer that blotted out the sun.


    The small arcs of lightning crackling around Li Yang shot into the sky and disappeared into the clouds, an earth-shattering rumbling sound coming from the clouds shortly afterward. The rumbling was so intense and thunderous that those standing on solid ground could feel it reverberate through the earth. And then came the roar, a heaven-shaking roar that shook even the large wall that surrounded the city. Coupled with the dark clouds and the ocean of fire and ice, it truly seemed like the end of the world had arrived.


    A bolt of golden-purple lightning as thick as a grown tree descended from the black clouds and crashed into the earth, from the distance resembling a line that split the sky apart. This bolt was only the first, many more quickly following it, the black clouds lighting up with golden and purple flashes that replaced the sun that had been blotted out. Li Yang''s head was tilted back somewhat, a soft and faint smile present on his face as he looked at the looming clouds.


    "Really, all of you have grown so much since then."


    As if responding to his words, the clouds released a thunderous roar, a section of a serpentine body covered in scales poking out through the clouds. The section of the body was as thick as an elephant and covered in golden-purple scales, more and more sections becoming visible as the creature in the clouds was moving around. First, he brought the fire and ice, then the lightning and poison. With all of them awakening, it served as the signal flare that Li Yang had brought true terror to this minor universe.


    --


    While Li Yang was in the process of awakening Jinwu, Shenlong, and Huanglong, there was someone in the Earth Rendering Empire that was starting to get annoyed. The Earth Rendering Empire was actually a collection of underground cities, the deeper you went the grander your status was. And currently sitting in a training room made from a strange type of solid metal, located within the second deepest city, was a tall woman with a slim body packed with muscles, deep crimson hair that hung down to just above her ears, and deep black eyes that flickered around the room.


    "Knew I shouldn''t have trusted that old fart when he started spouting so much shit about destiny and karma. ''Most likely place'' my ass, it''s already been an entire fucking year."


    The grumbling woman was sitting on the ground while leaning against the wall of the sparsely decorated training room, a long and simple spear resting against her shoulder. Her left knee was pulled close to her chest, her foot tapping the cold floor while she continued to grumble. She turned her gaze onto one of the few decorations in the room, an amber crystal carved to look like a closed eye. Seeing that the eye was still closed, the woman clicked her tongue in annoyance and continued to grumble.


    "Tch, I''ll beat the shit out of that old fart when I see him again. Three more months, I''ll just leave if there''s no news by then."


    The woman, the reincarnated Spear Empress Bai Yawen, was already getting tired of waiting without getting any results. Soon it would be time to move on to the next place where there was supposed to be a chance for her to meet up with the others.

 162 Li Yangs mark.

    Fire and ice covered the earth while lightning lit up the sky, it was a nearly perfect rendition of the apocalypse. But even with all this, Li Yang wasn''t satisfied, it wasn''t enough just yet. Jinwu, Shenlong, and Huanglong had all awakened once more, they had announced their arrival and might, showcased their fire, ice, and lightning. And now it was Li Yang''s turn, his turn to make the declaration of the end, an end to the calmness and laws that ruled this universe.


    That was the type of beings that he and his friends were, chaos followed in their wake, they were existences that upheaved the natural order and calm no matter where they went. But then again, such was the nature of all strong beings, they were waves that rushed forth without pause, their mere existence causing chaos. Li Yang raised his right hand towards the dark clouds and the thick-scaly body coiling around within them, his soft voice resonating with the roar of the thunder and fire.


    "Jinwu, Shenlong, Huanglong, with the sky as your canvas, can you paint me a picture?"


    A cut opened up on the palm of Li Yang''s right hand as he spoke, blood gushing forth as it was carried into the sky by Li Yang''s Qi. The massive figure in the sky started twisting as it moved and roared, a thick bolt of lightning flashing down and colliding with the blood coming from Li Yang''s hand. Jinwu also let out a loud caw and flapped his wings, some fire and ice shooting forth from his wings and colliding with the blood alongside the lightning.


    The blood, ice, fire, and lightning merged together and formed a thick crimson paste, Jinwu and Shenlong sending over more and more of their elements to increase the amount of paste. Li Yang drained nearly half of all the blood in his body, enough to fill a 20-meter wide pool thanks to his body cultivation, before he lowered his arm again and closed up the cut in his hand. Hanging in the air above him now was a nearly 40-meter wide crimson orb that occasionally flashed with fire, ice, or lightning, as well as the rare violet flash of poison.


    With the orb fully formed, the large figure within the clouds started twisting and turning again, quickly revealing its full body for the first time. Dragon, the third-largest type of beast in existence and the largest of all air-borne beasts, growing exponentially larger the stronger they got, the fusion of Shenlong and Huanglong was finally starting to bring justice to that name.


    A nearly 150-meter long serpentine body as thick as an elephant and four barrel-thick limbs that ended in five razor-sharp claws. Glimmering golden scales tinged with a touch of purple that formed five long lines that ran down the entire body, deep violet spines running down the entire back of the beast and a ferocious dragon head with two sets of backward bent horns on each side of the head, the horns on the left were golden while the horns on the right were violet. The tail of the dragon was covered in long strands of silky hair that gave it a refined air and even made it seem graceful and dignified, a true ruler of airborne-beasts.


    The fusion of the two was incomparable to how it was before, but then again, so was Jinwu. They were Divine Beasts, beings blessed and beloved by the multiverse itself, and now that they had gotten stronger that blessing was starting to show itself. Shenlong raised his head and let out a rumbling roar that even blew apart the black clouds around him, revealing a portion of the sky as he stretched his body and dipped his tail into the crimson orb.


    His tail was quickly dyed red and he drew it back, the crimson paste splashing all around as he moved his tail and used it to spread out the crimson paste. At first, the crimson paste was just used to draw a few lines, but more and more lines were quickly painted in the sky and gathered together to form the outline of an array. Fang Ying, who was still seated on the edge of the wall surrounding the city, was very familiar with this array, it was the same one Li Yang had used inside the hidden realm so that they could escape from the Devil''s Grasp Vine.


    She didn''t know as much about arrays as Li Yang, but she still knew enough about them to let her trace the core locations of the array. Unlike the array he drew back then, this one only had three core points, Li Yang himself, Jinwu, and Shenlong, meaning that the power of these three beings would be gathered within one of the core points. She could already imagine that when all that power was unleashed, it would be sure to create a stunning scene.


    The array was finished before long, the ocean of fire and ice that Jinwu had unleashed on the earth holding the remaining Deathcloud Warriors at bay so that none of them could get close to disturb them. Three thin bolts of multicolored energy shot out from the array once it was finished, one latching onto Li Yang, one onto Jinwu, and one onto Shenlong, connecting the three through the array.


    With the connection set up, the two Divine Beasts descended to the ground, Jinwu landing on the right of Li Yang and folding his wings. Shenlong had it a bit harder due to his massive size, the best he could do was curl up as much as he could on Li Yang''s left, the two beasts resembling guardian statues overlooking their emperor.


    Li Yang stretched out his right arm, gathering all the power of him and his two beasts in the palm of his hand. An orb of energy rapidly started to form, at first ballooning into a shining drop that was almost 5-meters in diameter. But he quickly started to condense the energy, causing it to pulsate and shrink, its color turning darker and darker as he condensed it more and more while also adding more energy.


    It didn''t take long for a pitch-black grape-sized orb to appear in his palm, not a speck of power radiating from it. Li Yang raised his head slightly to look at the remnants of the Deathcloud Warriors, a mere 9000 after the carnage that Jinwu and Shenlong had caused when they awakened.


    "It''s not a toy, that''s true, it''s a splendid weapon."


    Li Yang raised his outstretched arm slightly as he spoke, pushing the orb and causing it to fly into the air. The orb started to unleash a horrifying suction force the moment it left his palm, sucking in the surroundings at a terrifying pace. The earth, the air, the fire, the ice, the Deathcloud Warriors, everything was sucked into the orb as it rose into the sky and grew in size. It stopped rising after reaching one kilometer in height, by this point it had already reached 5-meters in diameter and was even sucking in the remaining clouds that covered the sky.


    Everything that was sucked in by the black hole was twisted and crushed into nothingness. Jinwu had his fire and his ice, Shenlong had his lightning, and Huanglong had her poison, and while Li Yang had all these elements except for the poison, his core would always be destruction. He was no longer the Thunder Monarch of the past, he would no longer bother hiding his law of destruction. It was just as that Gluttonera had said, it wasn''t a toy, it was one of the greatest weapons of the multiverse. It was a weapon, so he would use it as a weapon. He would use it to tear down those that tried to kill him, to crush his enemies, and even to tear down whoever it was that had tried to interfere with the reincarnations of Zhao Feng and the others.


    The black hole continued to draw in everything around it until there was nothing left to destroy, it didn''t stop the land in a 20-kilometer area had been completely erased. All that remained was a nearly 10-kilometer deep basin that had completely smooth edges, stopping only a few meters in front of the terrified onlookers. Within that basin, the only thing that still remained as before was the patch of land that Li Yang and the two others were standing on, the rest was unable to escape its fate.


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    This empty basin and the black hole hovering above it was the mark of Li Yang. Not the mark of the exalted Thunder Monarch but the mark of Li Yang. The black hole started wavering and shimmering, dissipating and vanishing under Li Yang''s control. He then reached out with his hands, placing one on Jinwu and one on Shenlong, whispering softly.


    "Disperse."


    The body of the two beasts suddenly exploded, one into fire and the other into lightning and poisonous mist. A small portion of these elements entered Li Yang''s body, but the majority of it flew into the sky and dispersed with the wind, making it seem as if the two beasts had been nothing more than Li Yang giving form to his elements.


    He was arrogant but not utterly retarded, making such a public display of dispersing them made sure that others believed he was just highly skilled at shaping his elements, they wouldn''t think that he actually had Divine Beasts with him. The black hole vanished, as did the two Divine Beasts, a strange silence descending over the area. One man had just single-handedly torn apart a disaster that might have threatened the entire city, people weren''t quite sure how to react. But there were some among them that quickly managed to gather their thoughts, a few of them cupping their hands and bowing deeply to Li Yang.


    "I am Soryuu Zheng of the Shadow Emperor sect, please follow me back to the sect, I am sure that we can offer you highly favorable terms!"


    "I am Zhangyu Shin of the Heaven Devastator sect, I can assure you that we can fulfill almost any wish of yours if you are willing to join us!"


    "I am Gang Lingqi of the Earth Rendering Empire, if you return with us then I can assure you that our lord himself will grace you with a visit!"

 163 Slipping away.

    Li Yang turned around and looked at the people bowing to him with cupped hands, hoping that he would join their organizations. But Li Yang only gave these people a quick glance before raising his head and locking eyes with Fang Ying and Zhao Feng, silently mouthing a few words to them. Zhao Feng rolled his eyes in exasperation in response but still stood up, Fang Ying giving the wolf at her side, Langshen, a few pats on the head while whispering to him.


    Langshen lazily stood up from his resting position and gave his body a few shakes before letting out a subdued howl. The howl caused space around Fang Ying and Zhao Feng to ripple, both of them vanishing from the top of the wall and appearing at Li Yang''s side. Li Yang somewhat lazily stretched his waist when the two arrived, nonchalantly speaking and eliciting a swift retort from Zhao Feng.


    "I''ll leave the rest to you, I''m really not suited to that kind of work."


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    "Yeah yeah, you don''t have to tell us, we''re used to having to fish us out of the deep shit you keep tossing us into. Just hand over the core before I smack you."


    Li Yang grinned and shrugged his shoulders while taking a step back, simultaneously integrating both Zhao Feng and Fang Ying into the array that he had drawn up using Jinwu and Shenlong. The two took over the spots of the Divine Beasts that had retreated, enabling them to draw upon the energy of the others connected to the array. They pooled their energies together and drew upon the remainders of Li Yang''s energy, working together to create a large cloud of pink mist that rapidly spread out to cover the entire area.


    Every living being in the area ended up breathing in the pink mist, their eyes quickly glazing over as their bodies turned somewhat limp. An invisible ripple extended out from Zhao Feng''s body after the surrounding people turned limp and listless, piercing through everyone in the area and stabbing directly into their souls.


    The cloud of poison worked together with Zhao Feng''s law of the soul, replicating what the two had done back when Li Yang and the others finished interrogating the first group they encountered in the ruins. The memories of everyone present became blurry, the features of Li Yang and the others, as well as the appearances of Jinwu and Shenlong, becoming indistinct and unrecognizable. In the end, the only thing that remained in their minds was the black hole that Li Yang had called forth, it was as if it had seared itself into their very being and erased everything else.


    Li Yang was arrogant and had been acting unrestrainedly while fighting, but that didn''t mean that he had abandoned all concern and thought for the future. These people right here were nothing, but the other members of their sects, especially the sect leaders and elders, were a completely different story. Li Yang had no interest in those people coming for his Jinwu or Shenlong, so the best option was to turn the memories of these people blurry and focus them on something that was a lot harder to pin down and realize the nature of.


    In the end, everyone present ended up being somewhat listless and dumb after having suffered the poison and soul attack, but Li Yang still decided that it would be better to add another layer of defense just in case. He walked up to the woman from the Earth Rendering Empire that had cupped her hands and bowed, Gang Lingqi.


    "Alright, I, Song Lingzhi, will join your Earth Rendering Empire, send the message and let''s leave immediately."


    Li Yang was arrogant and could even be called reckless, but there were a few things that he would not risk in the slightest, and the lives of his friends and wife were at the very top of this list. As such, he didn''t place all his hopes on the poison and soul attack, adding another layer on top of it by fooling everyone present.


    The woman seemingly snapped out of her daze, hurriedly nodding her head and pulling back her sleeve to reveal a vine-shaped jade construct coiling around her wrist. It lit up with a brown light when she put in some Qi and spoke a quick report of the situation into it, her words confident and sure but her memories so indistinct that she was unable to add most of the situation into the report.


    She then quickly brought a few of her closest aides and took Li Yang and his group to the spatial array within the city. She felt like she understood why Li Yang was in such a rush, there was a chance that they might get attacked by the two other organizations. Neither of the three organizations wished to see the other two grow much stronger so they would do their best to undermine their strength, killing promising juniors was exactly one such way of doing so.


    The group quickly left the rest of the dazed people, Li Yang swallowing a few energy restoring pills and erasing the array as the surrounding people were starting to shake off their daze. They entered the city and quickly arrived at the spatial array that the Earth Rendering Empire used, Gang Lingqi activating it by touching the center of the array with the vine-shaped construct around her wrist. But as the array was whirring to life and space around them started to twist, Langshen let out another subdued howl, causing the flow of space around them to turn turbulent.


    The group ended up getting tossed through space, moving in the general direction that the array would take them but ending thrown out of the spatial tunnel quite a bit before they reached their goal. They landed in a rather dense pine forest, the ground beneath them strewn with the somewhat damp needle-like leaves. Gang Lingqi and her three close aides quickly turned to look at Li Yang the moment they arrived in the forest, but he had already slapped out by the time they turned their heads.


    He delivered four lightning-quick slaps to them, the immense strength of his body causing the sides of their face to sink in and sent almost half of their teeth flying in a spurt of blood. He kicked off the ground and caught up with the people as they were tumbling to the side from the attack, delivering several more quick punches and kicks to their faces and abdomens. He didn''t use any of his laws, relying solely on his immense physical strength as he trashed the four people, quickly leaving them nearly unconscious on the ground.


    Only Gang Lingqi was barely able to retain her consciousness, the main reason being that Li Yang needed her to be conscious for the next part. He turned his head, but Zhao Feng had already arrived at his side with a leisure gait, shaking his head in an exasperated manner as he crouched down.


    "And again, you leave all the shit jobs to me. I swear, if we ever get a third life, I''m forcing you to learn the law of the soul just so that you can handle your own ass."


    Zhao Feng placed his hand on Gang Lingqi''s head and invaded her soul using his law of the soul, swiftly crushing any resistance that might remain within her. Once her last line of defense was crushed and her soul was laid bare, he gave her a very simple command.


    "Report to your sect that your group has been ambushed and defeated, the targets you brought along were kidnapped by masked assailants who seemed to specialize in body cultivation."


    Gang Lingqi mindlessly complied with Zhao Feng''s words, once again speaking into the vine-shaped construct on her wrist to deliver the report. Li Yang kicked her in the face once she finished the report, sending her sliding backward and crashing into a tree before she fell unconscious. He dusted off his hands once the task was done, glancing at Gang Lingqi and the other unconscious people.


    "I really do wonder what runs through the minds of these people whenever they try to recruit people into their sect, you''d think they''d be smart enough to know when to keep a distance from people stronger than them. I mean, I cut off the hand of someone that tried to touch one of those white hearts, normally they should get the message with just that. If not, they''ll just en..."


    There was nothing wrong with trying to recruit others into your sect, but it was important to keep the other party in mind while doing so. Li Yang had clearly shown that he didn''t have the slightest care or respect for the great sects, it should be fairly obvious that he wouldn''t join any of them just because these people asked nicely and made some sweet promises. They had to join one of the three sects at one point, but it would certainly not be in such a public fashion. Fang Ying walked up to Li Yang as he was talking and used her hand to give the back of his head a quick chop, cutting him off before he could keep on ranting.


    "Yes yes, you''re very strong and cool, they can''t hold a candle to you. Now let''s hurry up and dip before anyone comes to check on the area. We''ve also got a lot of places to explore, it would be a waste to come here and not check out any of the famous places. We also have to figure out which sect to join at a later date, after all, only they have access to the locations that are well-suite for easy traveling to other universes."


    Li Yang clicked his tongue slightly and puffed out his cheeks after he was cut off by Fang Ying, pretending to be pouting as she grabbed onto the collar of his robes and started dragging him away. Zhao Feng felt like gagging when he saw how they acted, sharing a quick exasperated glance with Langshen before they started trekking after Li Yang and Fang Ying.

 164 Black Moon Saint.

    Li Yang and his group arrived at another city only three days after they had slipped away from the group belonging to the Earth Rendering Empire. The city they reached was located at the edge of the pine forest that they had ended up in after forcefully interrupting the spatial array that the group from the Earth Rendering Empire was using to move around.


    The city itself was a bit more normal compared to what Li Yang and the others were accustomed to, especially when they thought back to what Wasteland''s Wall looked like. It was filled with a large variety of wooden or stone houses and the entire city was only surrounded by a half-meter tall fence that only served to show where the border of the city, and thus its laws, lay. There were a few groups of guards clad in full-body armor bearing the mark of the Shadow Emperor sect that patrolled along the fence, but they were walking lazily while chatting, not really bothering to keep an eye on their surroundings, clearly fully accustomed to peace and calm.


    Li Yang and his group were able to enter the city with no more than a cursory glance from the guards, their gazes only lingering a short second longer on Langshen before they continued moving. The roads of the city were rather spacious and had been neatly flattened before being paved with a layer of some brown fabric that felt like hardened rubber. The houses at the outer edges of the city were placed without thought, as if people had just arrived and decided to settle down, but the deeper into the city you walked the more orderly the placement of the houses would become. The sheer number of people that the group saw on the streets could only be called staggering, there were especially many people walking around with excited looks as they curiously inspected their surroundings.


    There were signs plastered all over the city for directions to various popular locations, a few colorful and extravagant shops and restaurants placed along the sides of what appeared to be the main road in the city. Young men and women stood next to the entrances of these venues, occasionally calling out to passerby''s and trying to entice them to come in for a visit. Li Yang''s group was called out to especially often, causing Zhao Feng to come to a quick realization as they walked through the city without aim.


    "A tourist trap, huh? That at least means that there is something here capable of attracting travelers, the travelers also ought to make it easy to get our hands on information from the rest of the place."


    Once the group came to the realization, it became much easier to understand why they would place so many signs and directions all around the place. Considering how dangerous the cultivation world was, most places that could attract travelers would also involve either a dangerous zone or a bloody battle for whatever resources could be found there. But it was evidently rather peaceful here, so Li Yang guessed that it was unlikely that whatever was used to attract people could be used for cultivation.


    While they were aimlessly walking through the city, Li Yang would occasionally give the base of his stomach a tap or two, looking as if he was calculating something. But what he was actually doing was reminding Jinwu and Shenlong to stay put, it had been far too long since the two of them got to come out and play so they were getting antsy now that they had woken up.


    But as there was not yet any way of telling if their forms had been seen during Li Yang''s earlier rampage, he was not yet comfortable with letting them out so they would have to stay cooped up for a bit longer. As the group was walking they also caught wind of the newest rumor that was sweeping through all the information channels that could get a hold of it, the Black Moon Saint. Listening to some of the rumors as they stopped for a bite to eat after a day and a half, Li Yang had no idea how he was supposed to react.


    "He swept in just as the army of death was about to reach the city walls, facing the brunt of their attacks with his frail body to protect the city behind him. He commanded the great sky whale and the eagle born of the sun and the moon to rain their fury down on the attackers, utterly decimating them! And then the Saint himself took action to defend the city, his night-like hair dancing in the flames as his obsidian eyes shone with furious vengeance! A single wave of his hand reversed the sky and the earth, a black moon appearing in broad daylight and swallowing everything around it, returning all creation it could reach to naught. The Saint then left with the envoys of the Earth Rendering Empire, but his majestic moon had already seared itself into the retinas of all who saw it, branding it inside their minds!"


    Li Yang wasn''t sure if he should laugh or bury his head in his hands, it had only been a few days but not only had the news of his actions spread, but they had also been twisted so heavily. If he could take any solace from being talked about like that, then it would be the fact that it showed that their actions before leaving had been effective. They hadn''t been able to erase Jinwu and Shenlong''s existence as living beings, but they at least managed to twist and distort their appearances by a fair bit, the same also held true for Li Yang''s appearance. Zhao Feng drank some spicy tea that they bought from the shop whose terrace they were resting on, smirking a little as he listened in on the rumors.


    "Hey, you gotta look on the bright side in all this, you finally got the Saint title. And all you had to do to get it was twist the memories of everyone involved, I''d call that a bargain!"


    Zhao Feng would not miss this opportunity to tease Li Yang with one of the few things he had never received, even if they included his past life, the title of saint. But that was only to be expected, Li Yang''s personality wasn''t exactly suited for a title like Saint, even his previous Monarch title had been something of a stretch. Li Yang scoffed and turned his head away, leaving the dirty work to someone else.


    "Go nibble at his ears for a bit."


    A faint light flashed out from Li Yang''s abdomen the moment he finished his words, Jinwu and Shenlong finally getting to leave his dantian. Since their appearances had been distorted so heavily in the minds of others, he decided that it would be fine to let them out, he just had to make sure that both of them stayed small so that others wouldn''t be able to take too good of a look at them. Jinwu and Shenlong flocked around Zhao Feng and started to snap at his ears and hair, forcing him to wave his arms around to keep them away while berating Li Yang


    "Oy, that''s...Ow, fuck! That''s cheating! face me like a man!"


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    Li Yang ignored Zhao Feng''s yowling and stood up from his seat, leaving the terrace and heading across the street to the three people who were loudly telling everyone in earshot about the various stories they had. The three men weren''t picked out at random just now, Li Yang and the others had already heard about them quite a few times ever since they last entered the city.


    They were minor famous figures who seemed to have some connections to the three great organizations and were thus able to quickly get their hands on any news that were noteworthy. There wasn''t a donation box in front of them, the three men didn''t spread the news for money, they simply enjoyed traveling around and spreading the tales they heard as far as they could. Li Yang stopped in front of the three men, the one currently talking finishing his tale before flashing Li Yang a pearly grin.


    "Good evening, fellow wanderer! Got a specific tale you want to hear, or are you more interested in hearing about the places where the tales take place, which I guess could be considered a tale in and of itself."


    The three men were famous for their tales so they didn''t delude themselves into thinking that someone would approach them for any other reason, and since they went straight to the point, so too did Li Yang.


    "I''m looking to find out if any great talents or strong people have appeared suddenly out of nowhere, especially people using the law of fire or ice. If you''ve got nothing like that, then I''d like to hear about the closest danger zones that are within this area."


    Li Yang hadn''t forgotten about the Fang twins, Fang Xiulan and Fang Yazhu, who had likely also been thrown all the way here along with them. There was also Tian Zheng to keep in mind, he should also have been tossed here but hadn''t appeared in the same place as Li Yang and the others. The three men placed their heads together, physically touching their scalps together for almost ten seconds before separating, a different one of the three men answering his question.


    "Can''t say we''ve got anything about any fire or ice users. The little Underworld Lord of the Earth Rendering Empire has been rising to fame lately, but he uses heat, that''s about the best we''ve got. But we''ve got plenty about other people with different laws, like the Dark Sun of the Shadow Emperor sect or the Calamity Heart of the Heaven Devastator sect. We''ve even got a bit of juicy information about that piercingly sharp little girly that appeared in the Earth Rendering Empire about a year ago. What do you say?"


    The man who responded grinned carelessly, not bothered in the slightest that he was talking about letting others know about some of the supreme talents belonging to the three great organizations. But sadly for him, Li Yang didn''t have the slightest interest in any of these supreme talents and simply rejected the man.


    "No thanks, can''t say I care too much about those people. The danger zones, however, what can you tell me about them?"


    Since there didn''t seem to be any news of the Fang twins or Tian Zheng, Li Yang and the others could move on to the other thing they were looking to do, explore the planet. This was a universe they hadn''t been to before, there was no telling what sort of strange beasts or resources they could find here, leaving before exploring it in the slightest would be a tremendous waste, and a bore. The man wasn''t too bothered by Li Yang''s reaction, the three of them placing their heads together again for a few seconds before the third and final man spoke up.


    "Heh, a man who knows what he wants, are you? Well alright then. The closest ''danger zone'' is the Pinecloud Pool located within that big ol'' forest right over there, it''s what made this city what it is. Bathing in the pool will clear your mind and dramatically heighten your senses and comprehension for about five days, but after that, it will never work for you again. The thing also has a sliver of sentience so it won''t allow itself to be used by people it deems evil, trying to move the water also causes it to lose all abilities. Place is like a little oasis, not even the beasts dare fight around it in fear that the pool will remember them and deny their children the right to bathe in it."


    "But if you''re looking for more dangerous areas, we''ve got the Risen Star Abyss and the Heaven Dancing Trench. If you want to enter any other places like what you''re looking for, you''ll have to join one of the three great organizations so those two places are your best bet. The Risen Star Abyss is located about a two-month journey to the east and the Heaven Dancing Trench is located about a five-month journey to the south. But let me warn you, there is a reason that neither of these places have been conquered by the three great organizations. The outskirts of them may be forgiving, but it just gets more and more dangerous as you head in deeper, don''t let yourself be blinded by greed."


    The man spoke several grave words of warning, but when they fell into Li Yang''s ears the only thing they did was cause his lips to turn up ever so slightly, the flame of excitement starting to flicker within his chest.

 165 Bottom of the lake.

    Li Yang tossed the three men a few Spirit Stones as payment for the information, turning around and returning to the terrace where Zhao Feng and Fang Ying were sitting. Shenlong and Jinwu were still bothering Zhao Feng, preventing him from drinking and eating the things he had ordered. Li Yang leaned on the small wooden fence that lined the terrace, giving the two others a quick recap of what he had just learned. Jinwu and Shenlong stopped picking on Zhao Feng, returning to Li Yang''s shoulders so that the three could spend a quick minute discussing their future plans, coming to a quick conclusion.


    "Well, the Pinecloud Pool is literally right by us so it would be a damn shame to leave without experiencing it. After that, we can just head to the Risen Star Abyss and then to the Heaven Dancing Trench, not like we''ve got a reason to not check out both areas before we decide on which organization is best to join."


    Fang Ying was the one who threw out the casual statement before picking up a piece of food that looked like a small clam, sharing a bit of it with Huanglong before placing a leg of lamb in front of Langshen. Li Yang and Zhao Feng had nothing to say against Fang Ying''s idea, nodding their heads in agreement.


    Li Yang didn''t return to his seat, continuing to lean against the fence around the terrace. The fence was just high enough that he could place his hands on it and then rest his head on his hands, his position allowing Shenlong and Jinwu to hop onto the fence on each side of his head so that they could easily lean against him. With both of them set up, Li Yang sent out a small bit of ice and had it form a slide connecting him and the table where their food was.


    The ice branched out and coiled around the food, dragging it up the slide and bringing it to the three of them. With the ice serving as both a tray and somewhat awkward hands, the three of them could just rest on the fence and have the food brought directly to their mouths in an excellent display of laziness. Fang Ying giggled slightly and continued to share her food with Huanglong and Langshen, Zhao Feng overlooking the two for a bit before patting his own shoulders.


    "Don''t worry, me, I''ll pick up Chen Huo sooner or later, then we''ll trounce the lovebirds for showing off like this."


    Zhao Feng hadn''t forgotten about his Demonic beast companion that remained within the hidden realm that they set up long ago, there would be a day when he returned to pick him up again. But until that day came, he would be stuck here looking at these two insufferable bastards prancing around with their own companions.


    The group finished their meal after spending almost another hour on it, leaving the restaurant and continuing to saunter through the city. They were in no rush to head to the Pinecloud Pool so they spent a further three days in the city, Li Yang asking around a bit more to see if anyone had heard about the Fang twins or Tian Zheng. But there was still no news after asking around for three days, it seemed as if the Fang twins and Tian Zheng had simply vanished.


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    After the three days passed and the group had seen just about everything of note in the city, they left and entered the forest again. The Pinecloud Pool was the most famous sight and location in the area so it wasn''t hard to find, there were in fact signs spread around to point people in the right direction, it was just that the path that Li Yang and his group had taken earlier to arrive at the city went around all these signs.


    They followed the signs through the forest for close to an entire day before the dense forest gave way to a large clearing that was shaped like an uneven circle. Serving as the centerpiece of the clearing was a nearly 15-kilometer wide lake that was filled with blue water that contained spots of milky water that made it look as if someone had sliced out a piece of the cloudy sky and placed it onto the earth.


    There was a mixture of people and Demonic beasts, as well as people who seemed to be hybrids of both, resting within the water. All the people within the water had their eyes closed and kept a respectable distance from each other, no one daring to disturb the peace that lingered in the area. Zhao Feng looked at the lake, a low whistle escaping his lips.


    "Well, I''ll be damned. A sliver of sentience you said? Thing''s got about a soul strong enough to rival someone at the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm. If the people here consider that no more than a sliver then I don''t wanna see what they consider strong sentience. But yeah, just the scent of the water alone seems to clear the mind, I can see why they hold this place so dear."


    Zhao Feng didn''t bother lowering his words as he spoke, but none of the people present in the lake even bothered opening their eyes to glance at them, fully entranced by their cultivation. The others sniffed the air a bit after hearing Zhao Feng''s words, taking in the fresh scent of the water. The expressions of Fang Ying and the four beasts instantly became a bit more relaxed, their bodies releasing some tension that they didn''t even know they had.


    Li Yang was the sole exception to this, one of his eyebrows rising slightly as he looked at the relaxed expressions Fang Ying and the others wore. He took in a few more breaths just to check, but sure enough, he didn''t feel the slightest bit calmer, nor did he become more clear-headed. He raised his arms slightly, one hand patting Jinwu and the other rubbing Shenlong''s head.


    "The two of you should take a bath with Ying''er and Feng, I''m feeling discriminated against so I''m gonna go take a closer look."


    The two beasts let out sounds of acknowledgments and then flew over to Fang Ying, resulting in her being crowded by all four beasts at once. His words made it abundantly clear that Li Yang had yet to feel the effects of the lake, resulting in both Zhao Feng and Fang Ying furrowing their brows slightly. The ones in this group weren''t that different from each other so why was it that seemed like Li Yang was the only one getting discriminated against?


    The group proceeded towards the lake, at first just dipping their feet in it for a short moment. But the feeling of clarity that assaulted Zhao Feng and the others could only be considered overwhelming, it was as if someone had suddenly presented them a book on the truth about their laws. They had lived for quite a long time in their past lives, but even they felt themselves getting enlightened, showing just how great the effects of the water was.


    But once again, Li Yang received no such benefit. The water felt incredibly cold to him, it was as if he dipped his feet in liquid ice. He could even feel a sliver of hostility coming from the coldness, it seemed like the lake had quite a bit against him. But such things only caused the corners of his lips to curl up slightly, showing hostility to him would probably be the most foolish thing this damn lake would ever do.


    "You guys just focus on your cultivation, I''ll go have a real nice chat with the lake. Oh, but don''t forget to remain vigilant, don''t want this little thing to pull some shit."


    Fang Ying and Zhao Feng responded with small nods, walking a few steps deeper into the lake before sitting down and allowing the water to reach all the way up to their chests. Langshen and the others also bathed in the water, the three smaller ones floating on the surface around Fang Ying.


    The rest of the group stopped but Li Yang continued walking, moving deeper and deeper into the lake. His feet lost contact with the bottom after only ten steps, his head dipping beneath the surface as he started diving down. If this lake had really spawned a soul and sentience then it meant that it would have a core somewhere, a nucleus for its power and soul.


    The water felt like it got colder and colder as he started to dive deeper into it, the feeling of hostility also grew as he dove deeper into the water. As he reached the spot that would be about halfway to the center of the lake, he felt a somewhat weak energy seep into his body from the surrounding milky water, invading his veins as it tried to course through his body.


    But the weak energy was swiftly eradicated by Li Yang''s law of destruction, allowing him to realize exactly what this milky water was, poison. His law of devouring automatically removed any poison that entered his body, rendering him practically immune to all forms of toxins, it was the entire reason he was first able to get close to Fang Ying.


    But realizing that this milky water was poison caused his brows to furrow slightly. It was one thing for him to not notice that it was poison, it was something else entirely for Fang Ying, someone who specialized in poison, to not realize that the milky water was in fact poison. But Fang Ying hadn''t noticed anything, she would certainly have spoken up if she noticed something. As such, Li Yang could only come to a single conclusion, this was a type of poison that they had never encountered or even heard of before, it might not even follow the law of poison at all.


    He kept the thought in his mind as he dove deeper, using part of his concentration to keep an eye on the streams of milky water that seemed to float lightly through the rest of the water around him. The poison kept trying to invade him, growing stronger and stronger as he got closer to the center of the lake. But all attempts were halted by his law of destruction, a law standing at the very peak of all existence, allowing him to easily reach the bottom of the center of the lake.


    And it was at the bottom of the lake that he found the source of all the milky water, an item he hadn''t expected at all. Lying atop the sand and tiny crystals was a rice-sized piece of someone''s fingernail, streams of milky water continuously seeping out of it.

 -2 Cultivation realms.

    Human Rune Realm. Divided into Mortal Rune, Houtian Rune, and Xiantian Rune realms. One must use their Qi and their understanding of the laws to carve runes inside their dantian, slowly growing it larger to create space for more runes. Each of the sub-realms requires one to create 3 Law Runes and are thus separated into the minor realms of early-mid-late. An example would be a person having carved 5 runes being at the middle-stage of the Houtian Rune realm. The same is true for any realm that requires carving runes to ascend to a higher realm of cultivation.


    Ascending Heaven Realm. Divided into the Ascending Foundation, Ascending Road, and Ascending Gate realms. After carving at least nine runes of one law into their dantian, the cultivator must connect all their runes using a thread of Qi, allowing the runes to create a large platform at the center of them all. This platform was the Ascending Foundation, and from this point on, the cultivator had to pour their Qi and understanding into the platform, slowly creating a mountain on top of it, their Ascending Road. Once the mountain could grow no longer, it would connect to the heavens, allowing the cultivator to enter the Ascending Gate realm.


    Immortal Rebirth Realm. Divided into Body Rebirth, Energy Rebirth, and Spiritual Rebirth realms. Once a person''s Ascending Road has connected with the heavens, they must survive three different tribulations, shedding their mortal coil and joining the ranks of immortals. The first tribulation tests and tempers the body, the second tests and tempers a person''s Qi, and the final one will test and temper one''s soul. After surviving all three tribulations, one must prepare to enter the Primordial Rune realm.


    Primordial Rune Realm. Divided into Early, Middle, and Late stage. After one has joined the ranks of the immortals, one must shatter the Ascending Road they have created, fusing it into the various runes they have already carved and used as the Ascending Foundation. This allows the runes to carry a piece of the heavens, letting them unleash even greater might. After doing this, one must fuse the strengthened runes, fusing 9 runes into one, a Primordial Rune. These Primordial Runes will serve as a blueprint to carve future Primordial Runes. Every three sets of Primordial Runes constitutes one of the three stages in the cultivation, 3 equals early stage, 6 equals middle stage, and 9 equals late stage.


    Celestial Immortal Realm. Divided into Earthly Immortal. Heavenly Immortal. Transcended Immortal.


    One has finished carving 9 Primordial Runes, now it is time for a cultivator to unshackle themselves from the heavens, becoming their equal. A cultivator must use the fragments of their Ascending Road that have fused into their Primordial Runes, letting the energy of them spread throughout the dantian, creating a pseudo-heaven. The more like the true heavens that this pseudo-heaven is, the higher their cultivation is.


    True Deity Realm. Divided into Earthly Deity, Heavenly Deity, Transcended Deity. At this cultivation stage, a cultivator starts turning their pseudo-heaven into a true heaven. They use every single law they have gained insight into, merging it into their pseudo-heaven and using vast amounts of energy to slowly fuse the laws with the pseudo-heavens. This slowly changes the pseudo-heaven, turning it from an all-inclusive pseudo-heaven into a true heaven that focuses solely on the laws that a cultivator has gained insight onto.


    Empyrean Realm. Divided into Early, Middle, and late stage. Thought to be the peak of cultivation, often titled Godkings. The true heaven within the cultivators dantian has not only become complete, but it has also become an entire universe, capable of birthing living beings and sentient species. The cultivator can draw power from these living beings, their faith and life-force becoming the might of the cultivator.


    --


    Soul Cultivation.


    Soul Materialization realm. One has strengthened their soul and mind so much that one''s soul has gathered together and turned corporeal, appearing within the cultivator''s mind. The more corporeal the soul becomes, the closer you are to entering the next stage.


    Heaven Reaching Soul realm. One''s soul has turned so corporeal and strong that it is now able to leave their body and begin reaching for the heavens. The more you strengthen your soul, the closer it can get to the heavens, and the closer your soul could get to the heavens, the higher you are in this cultivation realm. Upon leaving your body for the first time, your soul will start drawing in the surrounding Qi and laws, using them to form a unique energy called Vital Essence, the soul equivalent of Qi. As it is ethereal and almost unreal, it is perfectly suited for attacking souls and other ethereal things.


    Heaven Touching Soul realm. Your soul has reached all the way up to the heavens and managed to make contact with them, allowing you to control your soul and let it greedily absorb the might of the heavens, using the potent energy to change itself, evolving to the next realm. The more complete the evolution of your soul is, the closer you are to reaching the next cultivation stage.


    Primordial Soul realm. Your soul has fully evolved to the next realm, the might of the heavens having integrated themselves into your soul and having made it so strong that you can survive as just a soul, taking over the bodies of other living beings should your own body be destroyed. To cultivate through this realm, you must use the might of the heavens that have integrated into your soul to hollow out your own soul, pushing all the energy that would be in the inside of your soul to the outside, further compressing and strengthening the now hollow shell of your soul.


    Heaven Imitating Soul realm. A cultivator would enter this realm once they had fully hollowed out their soul, and the way to cultivate through this stage was just as the name suggested. Using the might of the heavens that your soul had absorbed, you would form a pseudo-heaven within your hollowed out soul, creating an imitation of the heavens that governed your universe. The larger this pseudo-heaven grew, the higher in this cultivation realm you were.


    Heaven''s Soul realm. In this cultivation realm, you had to disintegrate your soul and fuse both your disintegrated soul and all your laws into the pseudo-heaven you had created, slowly merging them together and evolving your pseudo-heaven into something that could be called a true heaven, a heaven completely unique to you. The larger and more real your heaven became, the closer you came to reaching the final soul cultivation stage.


    Soul Empyrean realm. The peak of soul cultivation, the heaven that was your soul would become an entire universe, spawning living and sentient beings. The strength, faith, and life-force of every living being within this universe could be freely used by the soul cultivator, giving them boundless might that equaled an entire universe.


    --


    Body cultivation.


    Core Forging realm. A person must use Qi as well as their laws to engrave runes onto their bones, strengthening them using the laws contained within the runes. Like this, the bones will be able to handle the immense strain they will be put under in the future. Once a person has covered their entire skeleton, they can enter the next cultivation realm.


    Heart Rune realm. Much like the previous realm, the cultivator must use their laws and some source of Qi to engrave runes onto their organs, covering them with tightly connected runes that signify your laws. These runes will connect with the ones carved onto your skeleton, causing them to resonate with the distant heavens above and drawing down some of their might. This resonance will also spawn a type of energy unique to body cultivators, Dark Star Essence. This Dark Star Essence is not as versatile as Qi, but it contains far more might and weight, perfect for physical attacks and body strengthening. This Dark Star Essence also contains a terrifying vitality, allowing a cultivator''s body to rapidly regenerate itself.


    Star Blood realm. After engraving all their organs with their runes, a cultivator will move on to their veins and blood, using their laws and Dark Star Essence to carve the runes directly into their own veins and their blood, allowing the runes to move throughout the entire body. These runes will connect with the previously carved ones to further strengthen the resonance with the heavens, drawing down even more might.


    Primordial Body realm. This step required a person to carve their runes into the remaining parts of their body, their flesh, skin, hair, and nails. Once every inch of their being has been covered in their own unique runes, the resonance they create will become so strong that a tremendous amount of heavens might will be drawn down and swallowed by the body. The body will then use this energy to strengthen and evolve itself, allowing a cultivator to enter the next cultivation realm.


    Heaven Imitating Body realm. Just like the soul cultivation realm of the same name, the cultivator now has to hollow out their body and use the gathered might of the heavens to form a pseudo-heaven inside their body. Once every inch of their now hollowed out insides had been filled up with the pseudo-heaven, they could enter the next cultivation realm.


    Heaven''s Body realm. In this realm, the body cultivator disintegrates their own body and merges both their disintegrated body and their laws into their pseudo-heaven turning it into a true heaven that is unique to them. Once the pseudo-heaven finished evolving into a true heaven, you would enter the peak stage of body cultivation.


    Star Empyrean realm. The peak of body cultivation, the heaven that one''s body had become would grow into an entire universe that could birth living and sentient beings, allowing the cultivator to draw upon their collective might to unleash might that can only be considered calamitous

 -1 Law tiers.

    A slight disclaimer, however, is that everything that I list here is done so without taking into account the person using the law. With the right mindset and enough power, a wielder of a Common Law can defeat someone of the same level wielding a Heavenly Law.


    Ascended Laws.


    The grand peak of all laws, the greatest height that can be reached in the Sphere of Existence, they exist outside of any form of logic and physics. The laws at this level are nigh impossible to even get in contact with and they are almost completely unattainable. To resist an apex cultivator of an Ascended Law, one needs either another Ascended Law or an incredibly mighty Unique Law. This tier contains only three laws.


    Void. The Ascended Law of everything destructive, merging every single destructive law in existence holds a small chance of creating this law. It does as it says, all things turn to null, even the Sphere of Existence itself.


    Existence. The Ascended Law of creation. Whereas Void has a chance of being achieved if one merges every destructive law, Existence can only be achieved by merging the Zenith Law of Creation with every other physical law and a handful of the non-physical laws. Existence is the apex of all things, a wielder of Existence can spawn forth everything in creation and even form a new Sphere of Existence should they have the energy.


    Balance. Void gathers all things destructive and Existence gathers all things related to creation, but Balance gathers all things without care for their origins. To achieve Balance, one must merge every law below the Ascended and Unique tier, thus making it the hardest law to acquire. But a holder of Balance can negate even the attacks of Void and Existence, it serves as the stopgap that prevents the two other Ascended Laws from going rampant.


    Unique Laws.


    Unique Laws are technically below the Ascended Laws, but whereas the Ascended Laws can be considered static as they have already reached the peak, Unique Laws are ever-evolving and endless in number. With enough time, power, and insight, there is nothing stopping a Unique Law from reaching the level of an Ascended Law. At the same time, some Unique Laws are so weak that they are even below the Common Tier.


    The list of Unique Laws is endless and grows without pause, the tier contains every law that is a result of a fusion between two or more laws. Even if two people fused the exact same two or more laws, the end result would be a different Unique Law based on the respective insights and habits of the creator. A few examples of Unique laws would be as follows.


    Law of Evolution, a fusion between the laws of absorption, adaption, expelling, and control.


    Law of the Bright Night, a fusion of the laws of light, darkness, Yang, and karma.


    Law of the Underworld God, a fusion of the laws of life, death, pain, and reincarnation.


    Law of Heaven Severing, a fusion of the laws of Yin, space, slicing, piercing, sword, blood and crushing.


    Law of the Falling Star, a fusion of the laws of gravity, speed, pressure, heat, and impact.


    Zenith Laws.


    Laws that are the closest to reaching the peak of all creation, they are ephemeral laws that are much like the Ascended Laws in that they are concepts rather than something physical. These laws are the goal of almost all cultivators, and the tier only contains six laws.


    Destruction. The end of a life, the end of a building, the end of a world, the end of a universe or a multiverse, all of it falls under the law of destruction. Even energy itself can be twisted apart or disintegrated under destruction, but where it differs from Void is that the resulting destruction creates a special type of energy that cycles back into the Sphere of Existence, resulting in a final loss of energy that is negligible.


    Creation. Similar to Destruction, this law has close ties to the Ascended Law of Existence, the main difference between them being the scale at which they can create something, as well as what they can create. The law of Creation can create nearly everything, it can even create a universe and certain forms of energy at the highest levels. But while Creation can conjure up perfectly healthy bodies, it cannot spawn souls, nor can it ever hope to create a Sphere of Existence, even crafting a multiverse will be hard for the user.


    Yin. The law of Yin is hell, it is hatred, corruption, cold, pain, and evil, it is an agglomeration of all things cruel and vile within existence. It is the law that embodies the concept of all things negative, the collection of all the world''s evil.


    Yang. Whereas Yin is hell and evil, Yang is heaven and kindness. It gathers love, warmth, kindness, empathy, and sympathy and merges it into a law of salvation, the concept of all things positive. But just like Yin can be used for good, Yang can be used for evil, it only depends on the person who wields it.


    Yin and Yang, while conceptual laws that sound like they fail to offer much in the way of strength to their wielder, still retain their places as Zenith Laws due to their strength and the domineering and violent energy they grant their wielder. One must take care not to underestimate a wielder of these laws, otherwise, one might end up feeling the freezing touch of hell or the scorching embrace of heaven.


    Time. With the passage of time, even universes and multiverses will meet their end, withering away until even their names are forgotten. In time, nearly all of creation will vanish and turn to dust. Cold and merciless, it brings about the end of almost everything while flowing forward unending, urging you to spend every second happy.


    Space. Nearly everything takes up space. The pebble on the side of the road, the man walking through the city, the planet where the city is built, the universe that houses the planet, everything requires space. Space can be so large that it seals off an area as large as a multiverse, or so tiny and thin that it can slice through the openings between molecules.


    Space and time, while slightly weaker than destruction and creation, deserve their rankings within the Zenith Laws. With time, even destruction will fade away and become creation again, and with a slight movement of space, all of creation can vanish, thrown into the empty void between multiverses or thrown into a separate dimension of space existing on top of the normal one.


    Heavenly Laws.


    Heavenly Laws were once known as Elemental Laws, but the sheer number of laws contained within each Heavenly Law has resulted in the name being changed over time. The Heavenly Laws contain all the purest forms of the elements, so just having the law of fire doesn''t mean that one has actually acquired the Heavenly Law of fire, it means that you have the General Law of fire. Just fusing the branch laws into the General Law of fire wouldn''t create the Heavenly Law of fire, it would create a Unique Law of fire for you, the only way to actually acquire the Heavenly Law of fire would be to study the complete form of the Heavenly Law from the very start.


    Fire. Hot and fierce, it scorches all creation as the sun yet heats up a small cozy house as a bonfire. The Heavenly Law of fire not only contains fire itself, but it also contains heat, light, expansion, devouring, warmth, explosion, and a myriad of other laws.


    Light. Fast and formless it moves unimpeded, it can let you see the beauty of life or it can rob you of your vision. The Heavenly Law of light contains, speed, power, illusions, lightning, vibrations, and a myriad of other laws.


    Water. It provides mortals with nourishment yet can also crush them and everything they have created. The Heavenly Law of water contains pressure, crushing, weight, reflection, heat, life, and a myriad of other laws.


    Earth. It is the world you stand on and the matter you will be buried in, it gives beings a place to live and a place to die. The Heavenly Law of earth contains pressure, crushing, weight, crystal, stone, darkness, and a myriad of other laws.


    Existing within the tier of Heavenly Laws are also the laws of devouring and life, degraded versions of the laws of destruction and creation, as well as the laws of death, soul, body, defence, and attack. Each of these is a law that exists below Zenith Laws but above General Laws, resulting in them becoming Heavenly Laws.


    General Laws.


    General Laws are the branch laws and the degraded versions of the Heavenly Laws, they contain every law used to make up the purest form of the Heavenly Laws. The more common examples for General Laws are as follows.


    Speed, the law that determines how fast something moves, as the name suggests, it is the fastest law in existence. Reaching a high enough level in the law would allow one to even control how fast molecules move.


    Heat, the law that determines the temperature of things. It works both ways, it can add or subtract heat, meaning that it actually serves as an upgraded version of the laws of warmth and cold. This property also means that the law of heat is present within several of the Heavenly Laws and some higher tier laws.


    Size, the law that does just as it says, it determines the size of things. It is the same as heat, an upgraded version of two laws, in this case, the law of growth and shrinking. It differs slightly from the laws of expansion and compression as it alters the normal state of the item rather than forcing it to become smaller or larger.


    Sand, a degraded version of the Heavenly Law of earth that consists of an unfortunate merging of the law of crystal and the law of shrinking, resulting in a law controlling tiny crystals. But with enough tiny crystals gathered together, even a mountain can be swallowed and turned into a desert.


    Common Laws.


    Described as the lowest tier of laws it contains just what it suggests, the most common laws, laws so common that people more often than not don''t even realize it. But being common does not necessarily mean being weak, it simply means being common. Due to this unique point of the laws, the tier also contains the embryonic forms of some Heavenly Laws, mainly the Heavenly Laws of devouring, attack, defence, soul, body, life, and death, laws that are so common to living beings that they simply fail to notice them most of the time. Some more examples of common laws are as follows.


    Motion, the law determining how something moves, an example would be forcing something to twist to the left when it would normally continue to move ahead.


    Shadow, the degraded version of the Heavenly Law of darkness, it controls the darkness that is a result of something blocking light from reaching a surface.


    String, the law that conjures and produces small strings of various types that the creator can then control with varying degrees of fluidity.


    Sleep, the law that controls the sleep of living being, mainly used to either wake someone up or put them to sleep.


    The laws of the various emotions also fall within the tier of Common Laws, as emotions are something all living beings feel every day.

 1 Li Yang.

    The Third Lecture Hall of the Deepsea King sect was packed with people as the disciples of varying ages awaited the arrival of their teacher, Ting Miu. Some of the students were acting rather restlessly, tapping the long wooden table that followed along with the half circle-shaped seating areas, their gazes constantly moving between the door at the left of the room and the blackboard and desk where Ting Miu would stand while giving the lesson.


    Their restlessness was quickly alleviated when the door at the left of the room was opened, a graceful woman stepping into the lecture hall. Ting Miu had a tall and curvaceous figure, her enticing bottom and waist swaying with each step. Dark orange hair cascaded down her head, a few curly strands hanging down the left side of her face and slightly obscuring one of her alluring brown eyes. The tight-fitting green robe she wore gave the male students just what they had been waiting for, some of them involuntarily swallowing their saliva.


    Ting Miu wasn''t just an enticing beauty, she was also one of the sect''s only 10 Core Disciples, meaning that she had enough strength to easily wipe out the over 1000 Inner Disciples that had packed themselves into the lecture hall. Ting Miu stopped in front of the blackboard and placed a few books on the desk next to it, not even bothering to open any of them before she started to wave her finger, faintly glowing words starting to appear on the blackboard as she spoke to the disciples.


    "Today I''ll be talking about some of the more common uses of the law of fire and some of the mutated or enhanced versions of the element itself, pay close attention and you might just know enough to survive a due..."


    Ting Miu suddenly stopped talking as her gaze swept over the disciples within the lecture hall, her slightly narrowed eyes roaming across every seat within the room. She remained silent for a few seconds before opening her mouth again, asking a question to the entire room.


    "Where''s Li Yang?"


    Her question caused the expressions of some of the people in the room to turn helpless, others turning bitter at the fact that she had noticed the absence of a man so quickly. Some people weren''t quite sure if they should tell the truth, but the number of people willing to throw Li Yang to the hounds for entertainment was far greater, someone quickly calling out to Ting Miu.


    "Miss, I saw Brother Yang resting under the cherry tree by Great Carp Cliff just minutes before the lesson. I called out to him to remind him that you were coming, but he only waved his hand and sent me on my way, not even bothering to open his eyes."


    Ting Miu''s thin eyebrows ticked up when the young male disciple gave her the answer she had honestly expected, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. She let out a soft curse under her breath but then quickly collected herself and started ascending the central staircase that split the half circle-shaped seating area, beckoning for the disciples to follow her as she headed for the door at the end of the room.


    "That haunted little brat... Alright, come with me you lot, we''re changing the lesson into seeing just how much damage a human body can take before it shuts down, wouldn''t want you guys to not know your limits."


    The students could only follow Ting Miu out of the lecture hall, some of them snickering amongst each other that Li Yang was about to get more than just the normal earful.


    As the person in question, the 14-year-old Li Yang was completely unaware of what was coming for him, he was still sitting casually on the ground while leaning against the sturdy tree behind him. The tree was located right at the edge of Great Carp Cliff, the southeastern edge of the island where his sect was located. This meant that he could gaze upon the vast ocean that surrounded them while leaning against the tree, a few other islands just barely visible in the distance.


    With the sun hanging high in the sky and reflecting off of the water, it made for a rather spectacular sight. But Li Yang wasn''t actually looking at the sight, he had his eyes closed while lightly chewing a thin branch from the cherry tree, his icy-blue hair neatly combed and slicked back, only a few errant strands hanging down over his face.


    When he closed his eyes, it wasn''t actually darkness that he saw but rather a pair of pitch-black eyes. The eyes were filled with a terrifying sense of death and destruction, but they looked so soft and gentle, a tinge of sorrow and care floating within them. Drifting voices also reached Li Yang''s ears but they were so indistinct and blurry that he could only make out a few words here or there. Only by focusing all his attention on the words could he manage to make out longer sentences, but doing so placed a great strain on his mind and quickly left him exhausted.


    Disembodied voices and eyes, these two things had followed Li Yang ever since he was born, they would reach him every time he closed his eyes. It was like he was haunted by something, and a great number of the sect-members did indeed believe that Li Yang was haunted by something, either that or he was hallucinating and had been delusional since birth.


    Li Yang''s closed eyes suddenly shot open, his crimson pupils flashing with a faint light as he threw himself forward and rolled away from the tree. Just as he moved, the bark of the tree trembled and grew, forming a small hammer that struck the empty air where his head should have been. Li Yang hopped up after rolling away, spinning around and grinning at Ting Miu and the disciples behind her.


    "Senior Sister Miu, did you miss me so much that you came running just to see me? But that feels a touch too violent to be a greeting, I would have much preferred it if you sprung into my embrace, maybe shed a few tears to tug at my heartstrings."


    Li Yang hastily jumped to the side after he spoke, just barely dodging a few strands of grass that had suddenly grown and were trying to coil around his legs. He continued to jump and dodge around as the grass all around him reached for him, his grin shifting into an expression that was partly embarrassed and partly aggrieved, his hands covering his chest as if he was a shy young girl.


    "Come on now, Senior Sister, you''re making me feel unloved here. Didn''t we just recently share a lovely date through the market, you even did all those things to me after we finally reached a private place. Am I just a toy that you can play with and then discard, is that what''s going on here?"


    Ting Miu nearly burst into a violent coughing fit when she heard Li Yang''s shameless statement, a statement that was intentionally misguiding and twisting actual events. But before she could curse at him, one of the male disciples, the one that had pointed out where Li Yang was, exploded forth while pointing at Li Yang, his face dyed crimson as his youthful hormones drowned out all his sense of reason.


    "Hold your tongue, Li Yang! How dare you spout such lies about Teacher Miu, how dare you try to stain her name like that!"


    The expressions of Ting Miu and some of the onlookers twisted slightly as the male youth burst forth with rage. This was exactly what Li Yang had been waiting for, a fact that those who knew him a bit better were well aware of. And just like they expected, Li Yang didn''t miss a beat as he changed his target from Ting Miu to the male youth.


    "Oh, are you jealous, Hong Kiu? Well, Senior Sister is extremely gorgeous so I can see why you would get jealous like that. Are you perhaps hoping that defending her like this will make her praise and thank you? Maybe she''ll even give you a nice kiss on the forehead so that you can go and rub one out while the memory is still fresh? Do you want to rub the place she kissed while you do it? Oh, I know! You plan on rubbing the place she kissed and then use that hand to touch yourself, really masturbate yourself into a stupor! It''s a bit depraved, but hey, whatever get''s you going."


    The outstretched finger of Hong Kiu trembled fiercely as Li Yang kept talking, each word digging into him and dyeing his face redded and redder. And when Li Yang so grandly spoke about Hong Kiu''s ''plans'', even wearing an understanding expression, he finally blew up.


    "Sh... Shut up!"


    Hong Kiu charged forward like an enraged bull with his arms outstretched to grab onto Li Yang. But Li Yang simply grinned at him and continued to hop around to dodge Ting Miu''s attempts at grabbing him by controlling the grass. Only when Hong Kiu got close did Li Yang change his movements, one of his fingers flicking once.


    Hong Kiu suddenly lowered his entire body when Li Yang flicked his finger, it was as if he was suddenly carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders. Li Yang took this chance and kicked off one of the enlarged strands of grass, which slowed down so much when his foot approached it that it couldn''t coil around him.


    He jumped onto Hong Kiu''s head, spinning his own body around so that he was riding on Hong Kiu''s shoulders, pressing his own thighs strongly against the side of Hong Kiu''s face. He then grabbed onto Hong Kiu''s black hair and tugged it strongly to the left, his large body involuntarily turning to the left while Li Yang cheered him on.


    "Go forth, Steed Kiu, to victory!"


    He tugged on Hong Kiu''s hair until he had turned around and was facing the cherry tree, one of his hands letting go of Hong Kiu''s hair and heavily slapping his lower back to push him forward thanks to the pain. Once Hong Kiu took several steps forward, Li Yang completely let go of his hair and placed both hands on top of Hong Kiu''s head.


    He pushed off of his head and pulled back his legs, placing them against the back of Hong Kiu''s shoulders and kicking him at the cherry tree while launching himself into a backflip. He spun twice in the air before landing gracefully on his feet, casting his gaze into Hong Kiu''s direction.


    But sadly, he didn''t collide head-first with the tree like Li Yang hoped. The grass around Hong Kiu instantly grew taller than his body and formed a cage that stopped him from crashing into the tree. And while he was stopped, the now slightly colder voice of Ting Miu rang out.


    "Enough! Li Yang, stop twisting events to goad people, I just asked you to help me pick out a present for my little brother and then gave you a few pointers for your training. Now stop playing around just to get a rise out of people, otherwise, you cannot blame me if I report things to your father. And Hong Kiu, don''t fall for your opponents taunts so easily, losing yourself in rage is the quickest way to lose the battle."


    Li Yang''s grin faltered slightly when Ting Miu threatened him with his father, the corners of his mouth twitching softly. He raised both arms in defeat and started walking over, helplessly shaking his head as he walked past Hong Kiu and took up position behind Ting Miu.


    "Ah, what a cruel mistress you are, not only are you playing with my innocence but you are also turning to threats after just a bit of teasing, you''re breaking my heart, darling."


    Ting Miu''s eyebrows trembled slightly and she cut into Li Yang with a sharp glare, making sure that he remained silent while she released Hong Kiu, who joined up with the other disciples with his head lowered in shame. Li Yang didn''t even look at Hong Kiu, leaning closer to one of the female disciples that was closer to him and was casting glances at him, giving her a quick wink and a charming grin.


    "Don''t worry, Fairy Sister Luoluo, Demoness Miu may have played with me like a cheap toy that can just be thrown away, but she made sure to leave my chastity and purity mostly intact. So don''t worry, I still have plenty of chastity that I can share with you in private."


    The young girl blushed deeply when Li Yang winked at her and teased her. He was handsome, charming, funny, had a strong backing, and was filled with boundless confidence, all of which was able to easily make up for the fact that he didn''t seem to have much cultivation at all. Li Yang was just about to keep teasing the girl when his throat suddenly rolled and he crouched down, a sharp slap missing the back of his head and sliding along his scalp. Li Yang quickly turned to look at Ting Miu, showing her a bitter expression.


    "Please don''t be like that, Senior Sister Miu. You just threw me away yet get jealous when I move on? Are you not satisfied with how much you''ve already played with me? Or could it be that my sweet taste has actually captivated you? Are you just acting like you are right now because you don''t know how to show it properly? What was it they called it, tsundere?"


    The expression of several of the men around Li Yang suddenly twisted and twitched, some looking like they were going to give in to their hormones as Hong Kiu had. But when they noticed Li Yang glance at them out of the corner of his eyes and saw the gleeful light in his eyes they all chose to hold themselves back.


    That gleeful light hid a strong pride and arrogance, a confidence that he could play with all the men here even if they did end up giving in to their hormones and came at him. But while Li Yang was glancing at the men, Ting Miu''s other hand came down upon his head, this time much faster than any of her previous moves.


    She had clearly given up on going easy on him and actually moved to hit him, her fist knocking down on his head and nearly causing him to bite down on his tongue. Li Yang crouched down even further and started to rub the top of his head, muttering incomprehensible curses as he did his best to rub away the pain.


    Ting Miu stood over him and glared at him, Li Yang waving an arm as if he was waving the white flag of surrender, his other hand moving across his mouth as if he was sealing it shut. Seeing that Li Yang was finally going to be quiet for once, Ting Miu waved her arm and led the disciples back to the lecture hall so that they could finally get the actual lesson underway.

 2 Wave King.

    Ting Miu closed the book she was holding and placed it down on the desk next to her, the nearly 40-metre long blackboard behind her filled with words and small drawings that featured either people or strange symbols. A slight wave of her finger spawned forth thin vines that tied up the books she had brought, her gaze drifting over the disciples within the lecture hall as she gave her closing statement.


    "That covers the most common ways to counter users of the law of fire, but keep in mind that everything depends on what insights they have gained and what other laws they might have fused together. Be prudent, be cautious, and never take things for gr..."


    Her voice halted abruptly as her brown pupils landed on a seat located at the very back of the room. Li Yang was slouching in the seat, leaning against the wooden table in front of him with crossed arms and looking as if he was sleeping. Ting Miu''s gaze narrowed slightly, her right hand stretching out as she aimed at Li Yang and flicked her finger, a wooden orb shooting straight at his forehead as she barked at him.


    "Li Yang! What is the best way to counter a cultivator using the law of fire? Answer wrong and I''ll report your actions to your father!"


    Li Yang rolled his head lazily to the side just as the orb was about to hit him, resulting in it only grazing past his face and rustling his icy-blue hair. The scene didn''t shock the disciples, Li Yang''s ability to dodge around and evade danger was the only battle-related skill he had since he didn''t seem to bother with cultivating and increasing his strength. Of course, had Hong Kiu not lost himself to his hormones yesterday and charged like a raging bull, he would have noticed something wrong with that belief.


    Li Yang raised his head slightly and then stretched out his body as if he was a cat, the joints in his arms and neck producing soft popping sounds. He sat up and covered his mouth while yawning and giving a lazy yet unrefutable response to the question.


    "How to counter them? Easy, kill them before they get to do anything."


    Ting Miu''s eyebrows ticked up slightly at Li Yang''s glaringly self-evident reply, preparing her hand for another flick while pushing Li Yang to respond in a more informed manner.


    "You know what I meant, answer the question."


    Li Yang rolled his eyes at Ting Miu''s narrowed gaze, leaning his cheek against his fist while shooting Ting Miu a cheeky smirk and responding.


    "Senior Sister Miu is really mean, I gave the perfect answer to your question yet you still threaten me like that, you truly hurt my fragile heart. But alright, so that Senior Sister Miu won''t have to stain her hands and turn into Demoness Miu, let me answer it in a more long-winded manner."


    Li Yang ignored Ting Miu''s twitching expression and the somewhat sullen glares of the other boys in the room, stretching out his free arm spreading out his fingers, lowering them one by one as he spoke.


    "Best scenario would be to rob them of air, that way they can only rely on their Qi to produce flame and it would drastically reduce their power. Second would be to use the law of water or ice to extinguish their flames, praying that their law doesn''t burn hotter than your cold. Third would be to block their flames using a sturdy law that doesn''t involve anything flammable, stone and earth are decent examples. Fourth is to overwhelm them in speed, hoping that they haven''t gained insight into explosions. And if they have, you pray that you can move faster and in a more flexible manner than them. And fifth, kill em before they can do anything. Was that good enough, Senior Sister Miu? Has Little Ol'' me earned a reward now? If so, I''d like another date, the taste of the last one is still fresh on my lips."


    Li Yang licked his lips in an exaggerated manner as he finished his sentence, his crimson pupils sweeping over the other men in the room, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly when he saw that they looked like they were just about ready to burst. His head suddenly jolt to the side, a wooden orb whizzing past him and leaving a small cut on his cheek before it embedded itself into the wall behind him. Li Yang turned his pupils back onto the now slightly redder Ting Miu, showing a smile that was equally parts charming and bashful.


    "Oh, I''m glad you remember that you made me like a bit of pain, but are you sure you want to do it in such a public place? I mean, I''m all for it, but do you really want to make all the other men in here feel inferior by showing them what I''m hiding below?"


    The faint shade of red on Ting Miu''s face grew a bit deeper, some of the girls among the disciples unable to hold themselves back and bursting into laughter. The men weren''t feeling much better, Li Yang was brazenly flirting with a goddess desired by many of them, even outright insulting all of them in the process.


    Li Yang suddenly hopped up from his seat, leaping into the air just as the youthful man sitting directly in front of him but one row down sprung up and spun around to punch at him. His fist passed underneath Li Yang''s feet, which quickly landed on top of the youth''s dumbfounded head. Li Yang immediately balanced himself and gave a graceful bow, another wooden orb shooting directly over him as he bowed.


    "Now then, since the class has ended I believe that I should take my leave. Senior Sister Miu, I look forward to hearing about when you plan on taking me on a date again. And you other Fairy Sisters, you know where to find me so do please come to look for me, just cultivating can get so terribly tedious, I''m sure we can find some nice things we can do together to relax."


    Li Yang kicked off of the youth''s head and quickly jumped away, fleeing out of the exit just as nearly 100 more wooden orbs came shooting at him and embedded themselves into the wall and the door he slammed shut. He let out a short breath after the door stopped trembling from the wooden orbs, placing his hands behind his head and whistling a carefree tune as he walked away from the lecture hall.


    The lecture hall was shaped like a large dome that had four hallways stretching out from it and connecting it to other buildings, which then extended into more hallways that led to more buildings of various shapes. This connected web of buildings was what made up the Wave King Hall of the Deepsea King sect, the third of the six main halls of the sect.


    After leaving the lecture hall, Li Yang headed in the opposite direction of Great Carp Cliff, moving along the buildings and hallways that made up Wave King Hall as he headed for his home. He stopped by the closest cherry tree and broke off a thin piece of wood, placing it between his lips and softly chewing it while walking, changing his whistling to a quiet humming.


    A large number of smaller buildings that people could live in were spread out between the larger hallways and buildings that made up the Wave King Hall. The larger buildings also contained places where people could live, but there were some that preferred an extra touch of peace and the cosiness that a standalone house provided so the sect made sure to have plenty such houses available. Li Yang was one such person, but his house was located a fair bit of distance away from the third lecture hall so he had to take two small spatial arrays to reach his home.


    Arrays were special things that could be drawn up using the blood of either cultivators or Demonic beasts, monsters that could absorb Qi to grow just like a cultivator would. The blood was mixed with other ingredients and Qi and then used to draw images consisting of countless lines and runes that would gather together to allow the array to produce an effect once it was provided with energy. And spatial arrays were among the highest form of arrays, they could bend and fold space, teleporting people across vast distances if provided with enough energy.


    The spatial arrays were maintained by the sect and were free for the disciples to use so Li Yang didn''t have to pay anything and quickly reached his house. But as he arrived by the rectangular one-story building, he saw a slightly scarred and weathered man with crimson eyes and needle-like light-brown hair sitting on the terrace extending around the door. The two men noticed each other straight away, the scarred man standing up with a straight expression while Li Yang politely cupped his hands.


    "It has been a while, Elder Brother Voyun. I see that you''ve gotten more scars, is it perhaps about time for you to tell your wife that you need to calm things down a little in the bedroom? If she is going to scar you like that, how are you ever going to be able to look at your children without having them piss their pants in fear?"


    Li Yang''s tongue and manner remained the same as always, even when facing one of his elder brothers. Li Voyun didn''t show much response to Li Yang''s taunts, his expression only sank by a nearly imperceptible degree. He stopped in front of Li Yang and towered above him, reaching a little over two metres while Li Yang was only standing at around 1.70.


    "I heard that you made a mockery of Sister Miu''s class and even taunted the male disciples just to get a rise out of them? Father says it''s high time for you to stop playing these childish games of yours and take things a bit more seriously, you''ll never amount to anything if you follow down this path of yours."


    There was no greeting or exchange of pleasantries, Li Voyun simply went straight for the somewhat soft yet stoic scolding his father told him to deliver, his expression never once showing much emotion. Li Yang responded to Li Voyun''s stoic expression by maintaining a slightly bland yet carefree smile and shrugging his shoulders.


    "Take things more serious, and end up like you guys? No thanks, there''s already too many serious people like you in the world, it''s about time that it gets someone a bit more carefree in it."


    Li Voyun maintained his silence for a short while as he looked down at Li Yang, who matched his gaze and didn''t falter, a carefree yet proud light swimming around in his pupils. Li Voyun broke the silence by swiping a leather bracelet he wore, a watermelon-sized wooden plaque appearing in his grasp. The bracelet was a type of interspatial treasure, an item that had been created by both a forging master to contain a small spatial pocket where you could freely put in or take out items after using your Qi to form a connection with it. He handed the wooden plaque, which was engraved with the words Third King, to Li Yang and spoke calmly.


    "Father wishes to see you. Whether or not you can truly retain your carefree ways, I hope you''ll show me the answer to that."


    Li Yang''s expression grew a bit heavier as he accepted the plaque, which radiated a faint warmth. Li Voyun nodded his head to Li Yang and then started to walk away, having finished the task that he came for. Li Yang looked at the plaque for a bit and spat out a heavy breath, tracing the words engraved on the plaque.


    The item lit up when Li Yang finished tracing the words, a constricting feeling coiling around his entire body as he was teleported away, the scenery around him twisting and warping. When the warping subsided and he regained control of his body, Li Yang found himself standing within a rather large room where the walls were completely lined with full bookshelves. The floor beneath him was covered in a light blue and soft furry carpet, a dark-brown wooden desk standing a few metres in front of him, various documents scattered across it.


    And sitting behind the desk and peering over the documents was a tall and burly man with crimson eyes and flowing black hair that hung down past his nearly square chin, an oppressive sense of power radiating from his every pore. This man was Li Yang''s father, the Wave King and the Third Elder of the Deepsea King sect, Li Tian. His father didn''t even raise his head from the document he was reading, only giving Li Yang a quick glance before returning to his reading, his bass and deep voice nearly hitting Li Yang like a hammer.


    "Li Yang, how long until your 15th birthday?"


    Li Yang''s lips twisted slightly at the expected scene, his father had lived for so long that he currently had seven wives and over 300 concubines. He had so many children that it wasn''t strange for him to forget when all of them were born, even if that child came from one of his seven wives.


    Li Yang was a bit resentful at how distant Li Tian was, but he did actually respect Li Tian a great deal, he served as one of the pillars of the Deepsea King sect and protected the lives of countless people. He had fearlessly wadded into battle on more than one occasion to protect not just the sect itself, but also just branch offshoots or smaller sects that had shown their loyalty. Li Yang cupped his hands respectfully and dipped into a fractal bow while giving an equally short response.


    "Twelve days."


    Li Tian''s pupils stopped moving for a split-second upon receiving the answer, seemingly making a few calculations or going through a few thoughts in his mind. He gave a short nod of his head after he organized his thoughts, placing down the document he was reading and fully placing his eyes on Li Yang, his gaze practically piercing into him.


    "Good, I''ll have the World-rending Behemoth sect bring over their younger disciples for the usual sparring matches at the same time. Once the sparring matches are over I will announce your betrothal to the 33rd daughter of their Second Elder, she will be your principal wife. We want to use this as an opportunity to bring the two sects closer to make it easier to resist the growing Heaven''s Gate sect. We will deal with the betrothal and the announcement, but I''ll leave the actual date of the wedding and how to deal with those who resist or are displeased with you acquiring her up to you. I''ll also leave it up to you whether or not you want to take part in the sparring matches, I know you won''t disappoint me."

 3 Mei Kongxu.

    Li Tian motioned for Li Yang to leave after he finished saying his piece, his gaze drifting back to the documents he was reading. Li Yang''s brows were slightly furrowed after being suddenly told that he was going to be betrothed to a stranger, but he didn''t allow the thought to linger within his mind for too long. Being betrothed and married to someone didn''t mean much, it wasn''t like it stopped him from doing what he wanted to do, he didn''t even have to be very close with his future wife.


    He just had to maybe produce a child or two to show that they were close, that would be good enough for the two sects. Of course, if he could avoid marrying someone he detested then that would be for the best, but he had never met this girl before so he had yet to form an opinion of her. He cupped his hands and respectfully bid his father farewell while leaving behind the plaque, turning around and left the room through the door that was nestled in an opening between two bookshelves.


    The door led him into a long hallway that actually looked like it had been carved into the toppled trunk of a massive tree, the walls were covered in brown bark and had small sprouts growing from them. A few windows were carved into the hallway to brighten it up while also giving people a view of the surroundings, a large and exotic forest growing around a hook-shaped mountain to the left and a sprawling city to the right.


    The mountain and the forest around it was one of the places where the Deepsea King sect would send younger disciples to train, it was filled with Demonic beasts that the sect kept there for the express purpose of training the children. Quite a few people would die in there every year, but as this was a world where the strong reigned supreme, the sect considered the losses as a necessary expense to weed out the weak.


    Li Yang rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck after he stepped away from the door, meeting his father always made him feel like there was a massive mountain weighing down on him. His eyes were suddenly drawn to the right side of the hallway while he was massaging his neck, his gaze landing on an approaching black-eyed and blue-haired boy who looked to be about 12 years old. Li Yang stopped massaging his neck, his standard cheeky smile creeping up on his face as he greeted the boy.


    "Yo, Lil Yongi! I see father also called you over to talk about the upcoming sparring matches, but why are you walking here instead of using the plaque?"


    Li Yang asked the question despite knowing the answer to it, the plaque would only be handed out when their father felt that the matter of the meeting had at least a bit of weight behind it. Since his younger brother was forced to walk, Li Yang would not let go of the chance to get a rise out of him. And just as he expected, the boy''s eyes narrowed in displeasure when he saw Li Yang and heard his greeting, scoffing somewhat coldly in response.


    "It''s Brother Jueyong, how often must I tell you this."


    Li Yang wasn''t dissuaded by the cold scoff of Li Jueyong, pressing on in a casual tone as the two got closer and closer.


    "You can tell me as many times as you want, it doesn''t mean that I have to call you like that. When you''re older than me, maybe then I''ll change how I refer to you. But you didn''t answer my question, why would you bother walking all the way here? I imagine that it takes you a bit of time with those short legs, you must be exhausted already."


    Li Jueyong''s expression sank even further as Li Yang continued his teasing. The two finally passed by each other, Li Jueyong turning his head slightly to give Li Yang a vicious glare that contained a mixture of anger and delight in what would certainly be his upcoming predicament.


    "You can continue with your carefree and lazy ways now, but with the sparring matches coming this or next month, at least after your 15th birthday, you can no longer escape and hide as you always do. I will make sure that someone invokes the rite of passage to challenge you, we''ll see if you can remain laughing so cockily after getting beaten down in front of everyone. Maybe then you''ll finally learn to be more serious."


    Li Yang also turned his head slightly to look at Li Jueyong, but his smile didn''t drop when faced with Li Jueyong''s glare, it only grew larger and cockier. He even gave a short chuckle while shrugging his shoulders, turning his head back and walking away.


    "Go ahead, do what you want. But there''s no way you can make me become more serious, the world has enough boring shorties like you so I''m fine with how I am."


    Li Jueyong continued to look at Li Yang''s departing back for a bit before letting out another cold snort and walking up to the door leading to Li Tian''s study. Li Yang ignored him as he made his way to the end of the hallway, arriving in a circular building that had a little over ten smaller hallways leading away from it. The centre of the room was filled with several small spatial arrays that could be used to move around within the sect, Li Yang picking the appropriate one that would get him closest to his own home.


    He teleported away and then took one more spatial array after arriving at his next destination, ending up only a handful of kilometres from his house. He made his way through the mess of buildings, stopping to tease some of the disciples he encountered, eventually reaching the rectangular building that was his house. He pushed open the door and entered the living room, which contained a few bookshelves, a square crystal table surrounded by two couches, and a few potted plants and flowers.


    There was a door on the left of the room leading to his bedroom and the kitchen, a door to the right leading to the bathroom, and a door straight ahead that led to the main section of the building, an indoor training area. Li Yang raised his arms to stretch them while using his hands to grab their opposite shoulder, pushing open the door to the training area with his foot.


    The training area was just a large stone room that was completely empty, thin lines running over the entire room and forming a large array. The array was a bit special as it was divided into several smaller parts that could be activated individually, one would strengthen the building while others would increase gravity or create stone puppets, one would even spawn small stone shards that continuously flew through the air so that you could train your reflexes.


    Li Yang walked to the centre of the training room and lowered his arms again, crouching down and stretching out his legs one after the other to stretch them. He slowly stretched his entire body and then stood up with his arms hanging at his side, his eyes closing as he focused his mind on the blurry words ringing in his ears. With his mind focusing on the words, he became able to make out the occasionall sentence.


    "The energy has to go into your wrist through the third vein and then make a full circulation, then bring it back to your heart..."


    "The power has to be unleashed not through the toes but through the part of the foot just below the toes, otherwise it will scatter..."


    "Breathe in deeply and draw the energy beyond your dantian, keep it a bit below it before exhaling and letting the energy ascend through your dantian..."


    This was Li Yang''s greatest secret and the reason he looked lazy to others, the reason he didn''t pick up too many cultivation manuals from the sect''s archives. By focusing on the blurry words ringing in his ears whenever he closed his eyes he could pick out these sentences, which would be beneficial for training about 70% of the time. The rest of the time it seemed like they were just casual chatter so he dismissed them.


    Li Yang started to follow the instructions within the sentences, his arms and legs moving in seemingly random ways as he followed the breathing technique, which was one of the most repeated sentences. He sucked in a deep breath and felt faint traces of energy enter his body, the Qi within the surrounding area flowing into his body. He pulled the Qi down and had it pass through his body, following the various paths he had heard about up until now before finally moving the Qi through his dantian and settling it a bit beneath it.


    He kept the Qi there by holding his breath for a few seconds, eventually exhaling and allowing the Qi to rise again. Most of the Qi settled within his dantian, a vast and empty white expanse that only contained eight runes, four transparent ones shaped like blurry lines and four transparent yet slightly brown ones that were shaped like downward spirals.


    These runes were Li Yang''s Law Runes, he could increase his cultivation by absorbing more Qi and inscribing the Qi with the laws he cultivated. Laws were the name given to the special abilities people cultivated, cultivators of the law of fire could create fire or scorching heat while cultivators of the law of earth could create earth and crushing pressure.


    Li Yang had two sets of four runes but only by carving nine runes of one law and connecting them could he go from the Human Rune realm and enter the Ascending Heaven realm. Until he managed that, he would still be in the Human Rune realm, the middle-stage of it to be exact, as each of the three sub-realms was divided by three runes.


    Right now, Li Yang''s control over Qi wasn''t perfect so not all of the Qi settled in his dantian, about 30% of it left his body and spread through the air again. He wasn''t bothered by the lost Qi, drawing in another deep breath as his body continued to move, sweat already turning his robes damp. It not only took a lot of mental energy to focus on the words, but actually performing the movements that they spoke of drained a lot of his physical energy and would quickly leave him exhausted.


    But his exhaustion was a small price to pay since he could feel himself improve slightly each time he finished training, he always grew a slight bit stronger. And strength was something he needed if he wanted to achieve his goal, to travel the world and see just how high the peak of existence actually got. He didn''t want to remain here in the Deepsea King sect all his life, he wanted to travel and see what the world had to offer, he wanted to increase his strength endlessly to prove that he could achieve great things even if he didn''t act as serious as everyone else.


    And so, he continued to train until his exhaustion nearly caused him to collapse. He would then take a break to eat some food before training again, the evening and night quickly giving way to dawn. He slept a bit as the sun rose and then left his house to prowl around the sect a little, taking part in a lesson here or there while teasing people all the while.


    News about the upcoming sparring matches was quickly spread, the entire sect starting to buzz with excitement as the younger generation looked forward to the chance to show off a little. And amidst this buzzing excitement, the day of Li Yang''s 15th birthday finally arrived, countless disciples flooding to the centre area of the island.


    Li Yang didn''t get the chance to sleep much before someone threw him out of bed, literally, flipping the bed so that he fell onto the ground. Li Yang quickly sprung up from the ground, his eyes drooping slightly as his gaze landed on a mature woman with brown eyes and blue hair.


    "Bloody hell, can''t you wake me in a more gentle way, Sister Qin Gu? Surely, someone as innocent and adorable as me doesn''t deserve treatment as rough as this. Well, I''d be more accepting of rough treatment if you were to administer it body-to-body, but I think the odds of that are pretty low."


    The girl, Li Qin Gu, rolled her eyes heavily at Li Yang''s antics and straightened up the bed again. She swiped her necklace, another interspatial treasure, and threw Li Yang a wooden plaque and a set of purple clothing embroidered with golden lines that formed sharks, leviathans, and hydras.


    "Don''t tempt me, cheeky brat, I might get a bit rougher than you''ll like. Here, Father said that while you might not act properly, you have to at least look proper now that you''re meeting your future wife. Put it on and then use the plaque to head to the venue of the sparring matches, Father and the others are already waiting there."


    Li Yang accepted the clothes and quickly put them on, the tight-fitting pants and slightly loose shirt adding an additional flair of heroism to him. Li Qin Gu nodded her head after Li Yang put on the clothes, pulling out a plaque of her own and leaving behind a few words before she activated the plaque.


    "See, you can do it if you just try. Well, this might just be a case of ''the clothes make the man''. Try not to look too tired and lazy when you meet her, although that might be a bit much to ask you right here in the morning."


    Li Yang rolled his eyes at the empty space that Li Qin Gu left behind as she was teleported away, swiping his own plaque to activate it. He was teleported away from his house and arrived within an arched tunnel, the sounds of people speaking in hushed yet excited tones reaching him from one end of the hallway. He followed the sounds of people and quickly reached the end of the hallway, arriving in a row of seats located a short distance away from a large square stone stage.


    Several more rows of seats continued on above and below him, forming a massive circular arena where the stone stage served as the centre. A large, nearly 500-metre wide crystal hung a few hundred metres above the stone stage, runes covering the entire crystal, several similar yet smaller crystals were also spread out around the stage. The crystals, or rather the array covering them, could be activated so that the largest crystal reflected what was going on below it, allowing everyone to see what was going on on top of the stage even if they were sitting far away.


    Li Yang turned his head after he left the hallway, raising his head to look at the highest seating area where he could feel that his father was sitting. He felt a similar but unfamiliar pressure bearing down on him from the same height so he guessed that the Second Elder of the World-rending Behemoth sect was sitting up there as well.


    He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders upon feeling the pressure, which increased in intensity for a short second after he arrived. He guessed that his father and the Second Elder had turned to look at him, resulting in the increase in pressure. They luckily looked away again shortly after, Li Yang turning his gaze onto the two seats to his left, a pair of seats that were padded with soft silk stuffed with feathers.


    These seats were among the few that were somewhat separated from the rest of the seating area, meaning that those sitting here would be afforded a bit of privacy. There was even an array beneath the seats that would allow those sitting there to raise up a wall of energy that would prevent others from seeing them.


    There was already someone present on one of the seats, a young girl who had stood up when Li Yang left the hallway. The girl had pitch-black and somewhat forlorn eyes, her silk-like and practically snow-white hair cascading freely down beyond her shapely bosom and down to her curvaceous hips and buttocks.


    Her long and slender legs were covered by the flowing silver dress she wore but the somewhat loose dress couldn''t hide her shapely body and beauty. The girl looked at Li Yang with some interest, reaching out with her hand while introducing herself, asking a somewhat strange question while looking intently at Li Yang''s eyes.


    "You must be Li Yang, the son of the Wave King. I am Mei Kongxu, the 33rd daughter of the Iron Tiger Lord. Tell me, what do you know of the Thunder''s Roar and the howl of the Tyrant?"


    Li Yang stretched out his own arm and returned the handshake, tilting his head somewhat confusedly at her words. He hadn''t heard about either of those things before, letting go of her hand and shrugging his shoulders casually.


    "Can''t say I know anything about them, but I''m more than willing to listen if fairy Sister Kongxu wants to teach me, especially in private."


    He had just met her but didn''t abandon the opportunity to tease her slightly. But Mei Kongxu didn''t respond too strongly to his teasing, the forlorn light in her eyes growing slightly as she sat down again, a soft and slightly despairing whisper involuntarily escaping his lips.


    "So it isn''t you either..."

 4 Betting matches.

    Mei Kongxu''s whisper was so low that it didn''t reach his ears, but the forlorn light in her eyes as she sat down again caused one of Li Yang''s eyebrows to rise ever so slightly. He lazily slumped down into the seat next to her and placed his hands behind his head, crossing his legs as two people entered the stone stage to start the sparring matches.


    He only looked at the ongoing match with one eye, casting a few glances at the girl sitting next to him. He had to admit that the fiancee that his father had found for him was quite a bit prettier than he originally expected, her pitch-black eyes were so dark and deep that they seemed to pull on your soul, her white and silky hair making it look as if she was constantly surrounded by falling snow.


    If he had a complaint then it would be the forlorn light in her eyes and the fact that she seemed too serious. Even now, despite looking directly at the ongoing fight, she wasn''t actually looking at it. Her gaze seemed to peer directly through the surroundings and into the distance, her shoulders somewhat lowered as if she was carrying a heavy burden. If he had to give a description of his future wife based on just this initial greeting then it would have to be beautiful but boring. But since she was to be his future wife he couldn''t exactly judge her based on just the initial greeting, his chin gesturing towards the sparring stage as he retained his cheeky smile.


    "How about you and I engage in a small game? We''ll bet on who wins the various sparring matches, the winner gets to ask a question of the loser. We''re supposed to be husband and wife in the future so we might as well try to learn a bit more about each other, even if we may not end up interacting much in the future."


    Marriage was not something involving just one person, it needed two people to be accomplished. And looking at this Mei Kongxu it was abundantly clear that they might not have much to do with each other even after they got married. And if her personality was just like the first impression Li Yang got of her then that would suit him just fine, he couldn''t be bothered to waste time on someone boring. Mei Kongxu''s gaze moved slightly, focusing on Li Yang for a split second as she refused.


    "I don''t really see a need for that, it''s not like I have any other questions I want to ask you."


    Mei Kongxu moved her gaze away from Li Yang again in a disinterested manner, but Li Yang simply maintained his cheeky grin, nodding backwards to motion towards the source of the faint pressure both of them were feeling.


    "Oh, is Fairy Sister Kongxu scared that she''ll lose and have to tell me all her embarrassing secrets? Don''t worry, I''m a certified gentleman, I won''t ask you any questions that might cause a tingling down below. Besides, with the bigshots watching us, we have to at least pretend a little, no?"


    Mei Kongxu''s eyebrows twitched slightly under Li Yang''s teasing and rather shameless words, her pupils flickering slightly as she cast a stealthy glance at the seating area high above them. She moved her pupils back onto the two young men fighting on the stage, pointing at a grey-haired youth from the Deepsea King sect, Li Yang not missing a beat as he pointed at the black-haired youth from the World-rending Behemoth sect.


    "That boy from your sect will win, he''s commanding the flow of the battle and hogs all the initiative for himself. He should win within another two minutes."


    "Hah, Song Yongju winning? Dream on, that bastard lets everything get to his head, give him an inch and he''ll take a mile and then some, especially in a setting like this, you can even see traces of it already. He''ll get cocky soon enough, that kiddo from your sect will then crush him, probably using his legs since he seems to be trying to hide the fact that his legs are his strongest point."


    Mei Kongxu''s eyebrows twitched once again when Li Yang so casually pointed out the fact that the youth from her sect had been trying to hide by using only his upper body during the entire fight. And sure enough, after the battle dragged on for another minute, the grey-haired Song Yongju started taunting his opponent while showing off to the audience, an action that swiftly earned him a fierce kick to the side of the head while he was flaunting.


    The force of the kick went straight into his ear and ravaged his centre of balance, resulting in Song Yongju collapsing to the ground and leaving him defenceless against his opponents continued rush of attacks. The corners of Li Yang''s lips remained raised throughout the entire fight, his head tilting fractally as he glanced at Mei Kongxu.


    "It''s fine to be carefree and lazy, or probably distant and cold in your case, but if you let your eyes go so bad that you can''t even properly see what''s in front of you then you''re just asking to get beat. A win for my brilliant eyes and a loss for Fairy Sister Kongxu''s nearsighted eyes. So, what exactly is it that you''re looking for with those distant eyes of yours?"


    Mei Kongxu moved her gaze away from the fight, and for the first time since the initial greeting, she looked directly at Li Yang and locked eyes with him. She studied his crimson eyes as if she was trying to understand his true nature, turning her gaze away again as two new fighters stepped into the stage.


    "A tyrant, I''m looking for a tyrant. I''m looking for the greatest tyrant so that I can force him to uphold the promise he already broke once. In this fight, Bai Piugan from my sect will win."


    Her answer couldn''t be called very thorough or proper, but she had answered the question so Li Yang couldn''t say anything about it. He also noticed that her eyes glimmered slightly when she spoke about the tyrant, a stark contrast to the forlorn and distant light she had shown so far. He turned his gaze onto the two people entering the stage, his eyes roaming over the two people for a bit before he helplessly shrugged his shoulders, even calling out to the fighters.


    "Yup, Lagu Sanye doesn''t stand a chance in this fight, poor bastard just went on to embarrass himself. Oy, Slowpoke Sansan, don''t lose so badly that you throw away our face! Do it gracefully, gracefully I tell you!"


    Lagu Sanye winced visibly after Li Yang called out, turning his head and casting a vicious glare at Li Yang, who felt a slight increase on the pressure on him as his father''s gaze undoubtedly landed on him. But Li Yang didn''t care one bit about either of those things, leaning back in his seat and motioning towards Mei Kongxu.


    "A win for your fast tongue and a loss for my bad luck, your turn to ask."


    Mei Kongxu glanced at Li Yang, who didn''t seem bothered in the slightest by having to admit his loss, but didn''t speak up right away. She waited for the fight to actually end in her expected victory, Li Yang muttering a quiet ''oh, so diligent.'' Only when her victory was assured did she state her question, her glancing gaze lingering on Li Yang''s face.


    "I''ll throw your question back at you. Why are you sharpening your eyes despite acting lazy and carefree, what are you looking for?"


    Everyone who sharpened their gaze to the point of learning some people''s strong points after just a bit of inspection was obviously aiming for something, they didn''t do something like that without purpose. But faced with Mei Kongxu''s passing interest in his goal, Li Yang simply chuckled.


    "What I''m looking for? Easy, some fun. Don''t you think this world is just too serious and boring? Everyone here and there keeps going on and on about how you have to be serious to amount to anything, they toss away everything fun to focus, terrified that they''ll never amount to anything. Doesn''t that just sound like absolute horseshit? So I''ll have fun, I''ll be carefree and cheeky, cocky to the extreme as I ascend to the peak. And once I stand there and look down at all you boring and serious people, I will laugh at you and your condemnation, laugh at your foolish and narrow-minded beliefs."


    Disdainful and boundless arrogance, that was the only thing Mei Kongxu could see within the depths of Li Yang''s crimson pupils. Arrogance to overshadow the whole world and then laugh at it, arrogance that wouldn''t falter even if it were to be faced with the full might of the heavens themselves. Facing that arrogance, even Mei Kongxu''s eyes flickered slightly. Li Yang turned his gaze onto the stage and pointed at the two people that entered it, cheekily declaring who would win the next match, as if the previous glimmer of arrogance had been nothing more than an illusion.


    "Lil Yongi will be the one to win the next match. Oy, Lil Yongi, I''ve bet on you just now, so don''t you dare lose, otherwise, I''ll be forced to spank you a few times!"


    The one who entered the stage now was exactly the person Li Yang had met after the previous meeting with his father, it was Li Jueyong. The black-eyed and blue-haired Li Jueyong looked incomparably serious, his expression only faltering for a short second when Li Yang called out. Mei Kongxu also looked at the two fighters, placing her bet on Li Jueyong''s opponent, Ping Shisui.


    The fight quietly started with only a single word from the judge, Li Jueyong and the girl from the World-rending Behemoth sect dashing at each other and engaging in a fierce melee. Li Jueyong specialized in using his legs to attack, mixing in the law of wind to drastically increase the power of his kicks.


    Li Jueyong was a diligent cultivator who had barely rested a single day ever since he started cultivating, allowing him to carve his sixth Law Rune at the age of 12. It might be considered somewhat slow compared to the geniuses of the 98 sects on this planet that were ranked higher than the Deepsea King sect, but it was an achievement he got without using any resources, it was all his effort and his diligence.


    But in the face of superior strength, that diligence and effort were both rendered worthless. A minute and a half after the battle started, Li Jueyong was crushed beneath the feet of his opponent, his head trampled into the stone stage and knocking him out cold, the opponent''s simple judgment ringing in his ears before he lost consciousness.


    "Not good enough, you should work a bit harder before you find me for a rematch."


    Li Jueyong was carried out of the stage on a stretcher, one of Li Yang''s eyebrows raising in surprise at the unexpected loss. But in the end, he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders and motion towards Mei Kongxu.


    "Heh, a win for your side and a loss for my overconfidence in the shorty, your turn to ask a question."


    Mei Kongxu''s eyebrow rose slightly at Li Yang''s calmness, she had expected at least a bit of his carefreeness to vanish after his own younger brother got beaten so summarily. But her interest in Li Yang was only fleeting so she didn''t take it to heart, casually picking another question and receiving a swift response.


    "What would you do if a situation arose where you had to abandon one of your own desires? Would you abandon that desire to resolve the situation or would you struggle and lose just so that you could say you lost with pride?"


    "Hah, what a pointless question, I''d do neither. I don''t abandon what is mine, so if anyone wants me to give up something of mine then they will have to leave behind their lives. I''ll struggle and win, maybe not in the first fight, maybe not in the second, but I''ll fight as many times as it takes to come out on top with everything intact. Next battle, the kid from your sect is going to win, Hong Qing is a bit rash and doesn''t bother thinking ahead."


    Once again, Li Yang''s eyes flashed with boundless and casual arrogance, as if it was engraved into his very bones. Mei Kongxu remained silent for a moment with one eyebrow raised, eventually pointing at the youth from the Deepsea King sect that stepped onto the stage.


    "Liu Fangye doesn''t have any stamina or strong attacks, he will lose to the girl from your sect."


    The bets were placed and the battle started without any fanfare, both contestants unleashing all their skills for the audience. But Mei Kongxu was swiftly proven correct, the youth from her sect quickly starting to gasp for breath, not one of his attacks able to pierce Hong Qing''s defence. He was quickly forced to concede, Li Yang clicking his tongue in an exaggerated manner.


    "Man, Fairy Sister Kongxu is really doing her best to prevent me from asking you any tingling questions, you won''t even give me a single win. But alright, a loss is a loss, one more question for you."


    Li Yang had already lost three bets in a row yet his cheeky smile remained the same, as if nothing could even get close to budging it. Mei Kongxu once again turned her head to inspect his eyes, peering deeply into them while asking her question, and once again receiving a swift and carefree reply.


    "What would you do if the mere presence of a close friend led to your slow and agonizing death? What would you do if you found out that one of your close friends was considered a walking disaster that brought ruin wherever they went? What would you do to them, aid them or aid those who want to protect the world?


    "That''s three questions, but since I''m a certified gentleman I''ll respond to them. I wouldn''t do anything to them. I''ll die by staying close to them? I just gotta get stronger or find something to prevent myself from dying. They''re a disaster and bring ruin? So what, just gotta find something to help them keep that ruin in check. People have learned stranger things so why not something like this? And I said it earlier, didn''t I? I don''t abandon what''s mine, and that includes my friends. If anyone wants to lay a hand on them, no matter the reason, then I will leave nothing but corpses."


    Casual and carefree arrogance that didn''t care for anything, even Li Yang''s posture was dripping with it as he spoke. If he decided to protect someone, then it didn''t matter even if the world''s strongest cultivator was against him, he would remain cocky and carefree while protecting them. Because it would be a choice he made, a choice he would stand behind. Mei Kongxu''s eyes narrowed faintly as she looked deeply into Li Yang''s eyes, her gaze eventually returning to its usual distant and forlorn state as she turned it back onto the stage.


    New fighters entered the stage, Li Yang and Mei Kongxu continuing their betting matches and trading questions back and forth. Before long, a further 16 matches passed, the score of the betting ending up as nine wins for Li Yang and 11 wins for Mei Kongxu. The sparring matches were far from over so the betting should still go on for a while, but Li Yang stood up from his seat and stretched his entire body, raising his arms and using his hands to grab the opposite shoulder while stretching.


    "Alright, I''m getting rather stiff, and the betting is getting too boring now that it''s gone on for a while. How about we change things up a bit? We take turns going up on stage and challenging people, the one who wins the most matches gets to make a request of the winner. If I win, Fairy Sister Kongxu has to accompany me for a date through the city so that I can brag about my beautiful fiancee. What do you say? Scared you''ll lose and end up falling for me when you see my excellent escorting skills?"


    Mei Kongxu''s eyebrows twitched again as Li Yang spoke, he simply didn''t care for her lack of reaction and had kept teasing her throughout the entirety of the betting matches. She looked at him with a somewhat disinterested gaze, her eyes practically piercing through him before she gave a nonchalant nod of her head.


    Li Yang grinned at her approval and then headed down to the stage, stepping onto it under the shocked gazes of the spectators. Li Yang had never taken part in these annual sparring matches before, using his young age as an excuse to not take part. Some had expected that he would get challenged now that he was above 15 and others could invoke the rite of passage, but none had expected that he would actually step onto the stage before getting challenged. Li Yang relished in the shocked gazes, his own gaze landing on Ping Shisui, the girl who beat Li Jueyong.


    "The name was Fairy Sister Shisui, wasn''t it? Sorry little beauty, but I''ll have to ask you to come down here for a spanking, I''m the only one who''s allowed to bully Lil Yongi."

 5 Three slaps.

    Li Jueyong had woken up again after his loss and was mixed in with the spectators, his expression twisting slightly when Li Yang stepped onto the stage. He originally intended to arrange for a person or two to challenge Li Yang during this year''s sparring matches, but he was only planning on having them give Li Yang a beating so that he would become a bit more serious, he wasn''t going to have them beat him down like this Ping Shisui was going to.


    He might disdain Li Yang''s carefree and lazy nature but they were still half-brothers and members of the same sect, he didn''t want to see Li Yang brutally beaten and wounded by someone much stronger than him. His twisted expression twitched slightly when Li Yang opened his mouth and spoke, calling him Lil Yongi in public for a second time. Did he not care about the worry some of the people present had for him?


    Ping Shisui was equally shocked by Li Yang''s sudden challenge, standing up from her seat while narrowing her brown eyes. The sect informed them of the various people in the Deepsea King sect they had to watch out for before each of the annual sparring matches, but Li Yang''s name had never come up. He was the son of the exalted Third Elder but had a lazy and carefree attitude, he didn''t even seem to care about cultivating or increasing his own strength.


    There were more than just a few that considered him foolish, was he trying to prove exactly that by challenging her now? She made her way down to the stage and stopped a few steps away from Li Yang, brushing away a few strands of her shoulder-length black hair while questioning him suspiciously.


    "What exactly are you planning? Are you really just trying to prove other people right about your foolishness, or are you praying for some miracle to protect your younger brother''s pride?"


    Ping Shisui brought out her weapon as she spoke, assembling the three parts of her spear that she carried on her back. A lion had to use all its power even when hunting a rabbit, she wouldn''t underestimate Li Yang to the point of not even using her weapon. Faced with her questions, Li Yang simply raised an eyebrow and looked at her as if she was an idiot.


    "No? Are you hard of hearing, got a bit of dust in the ears? I said I was gonna spank you since I''m the only one who gets to bully Lil Yongi. Well, that and this serves as a good chance to show off to my future wifey. When you''re gonna marry a woman as beautiful as her you have to work your ass off for every single date. You probably already know her, look, she''s watching us right now."


    Li Yang used his chin to gesture towards the section of the seating area where Mei Kongxu was sitting, Ping Shisui and those close enough to hear his words also turning to look at her. Mei Kongxu looked somewhat sullen now that she was suddenly the centre of attention, but the gazes swiftly left her and landed back on Li Yang, now in the form of vicious glares.


    Li Yang had expected things to go like this, there was no way Mei Kongxu wasn''t extremely popular in her sect with how beautiful she was. She probably had countless pursuers hoping to be joined with her, yet now they all learned that she was already promised to someone else, someone who hadn''t shown anything that made him worthy of her. Li Yang simply smiled cockily in the face of all the glares, relishing in their annoyance as Qi slowly started to seep out of his body. Ping Shisui immediately noticed the Qi, instantly discerning what cultivation realm Li Yang was at.


    "So you''ve carved your fourth rune and reached the middle-stage of the Human Rune realm, that''s your trump card? You can''t be so dumb that you''ve already forgotten that I beat someone who had six runes earlier, right, you can''t be that disappointing?"


    If this was Li Yang''s trump card and what he planned on using to win this battle, then Ping Shisui could only consider him a true disappointment. If that was the only thing he had to back up his cockiness, then he truly wasn''t worthy of marrying their sect''s goddess. Li Yang wasn''t bothered by her and simply stretched out his right arm while gesturing for her to come at him, he didn''t even bother to pull out a weapon.


    "Won''t you figure all that out when you attack? Well, if you''re too scared to move then I can also understand that, it must be hard for a fairy like you to attack a beautiful adonis like me."


    Li Yang wore an insufferably smug expression as he praised himself, his actions and his newfound status as Mei Kongxu''s fiance resulting in the people from the World-rending Behemoth sect booing him as loudly as they could. Ping Shisui''s expression also twisted slightly, her feet kicking off the stage as she dashed forward while stabbing out with her spear.


    The two were extremely close to each other, only a few steps, so Ping Shisui managed to cross the distance in no more than the blink of an eye. But the moment she approached him, she noticed that Li Yang''s eyes turned as sharp and ferocious as those of a wild beast, a stark contrast to his earlier carefree charm.


    And then, as the tip of the spear was practically right on him, he gave a casual twist of his torso so that the spear only grazed him and slid past him. His right arm shot out, his fist embedding itself in Ping Shisui''s abdomen and knocking all the air out of her lungs while forcing her to hunch over. He had moved far faster than she had expected, not leaving her with any room to dodge or react. And then, just as she managed to suck in a painful breath of air, his teasing voice reached her ears.


    "Fairy Sister has to be careful, agitation in a fight means defeat. And oh, your stomach feels rather soft, have you not been careful with your diet?"


    Ping Shisui felt like spewing blood due to Li Yang''s comments, furiously straightening her hunched over body to face him. But his other fist reached her face the moment she straightened her body, his foot sneaking its way to the back of her own foot before pulling back. Her body suddenly felt strangely light, her legs vanishing out from underneath her as his fist smashed into her face and dyed it red with blood.


    The lack of footing, strangely light body, as well as the fist to the face, resulted in her body spinning, the back of her head smashing into the stage while her feet pointed nearly straight into the air. She then felt a sharp slap hit her buttocks, the by-now insufferable to her voice of Li Yang reaching her ears.


    "Alright, that''s one slap. I think two or so more should be enough to punish this naughty fairy."


    The slap caused her body to spin further, the back of her head sliding along the stage for a bit before she spun so much that her feet touch the stage again. She regained her footing and stumbled backwards, the light feeling in her body having vanished when her feet touched the ground again. Her breathing was somewhat erratic as she kept her gaze locked on Li Yang, who remained standing in his previous spot.


    Her mind was racing to figure out what had just happened, his dodging speed, attacking speed, as well as the light feeling in her body, none of them were normal. But while she was inspecting him to figure out his secrets, Li Yang raised his right arm and held it up to his face, clenching it a few times before smiling at Ping Shisui.


    "Your stomach felt a bit soft, but your buttocks was nice and firm. I thought you skimped on your diet, but it seems you''ve just been focusing your training on something else, please forgive my earlier erroneous statement."


    Ping Shisui nearly blew a fuse when she saw Li Yang admire his hand as if he was still relishing in the sensation he had just felt, she couldn''t help but kick off the ground and charge forward once more. She stabbed out with her spear again, crimson flames sparking around the tip and wreathing the entire weapon in a gleaming flame that lit the air around it on fire.


    Li Yang twist his torso once more just as the spear was about to touch him, waiting for it to get so close that part of his robe actually caught on fire. But Ping Shisui was prepared for it this time, sliding her left hand further down the handle of the spear and giving it a push to force the speartip into a sideways slash.


    But even this lightning-quick response of her''s wasn''t enough, Li Yang ducked down faster than she swept out her weapon. The spear cut through the air above him and his own foot swept out, hooking onto Ping Shisui''s own foot and once again causing her body to feel strangely light. Her footing once again vanished as Li Yang swept her feet out from underneath her, his body almost instantly completing a full circle as he spun around.


    Her body had just ended up horizontal in the air when Li Yang finished his spin hopped up, the leg that had swept her feet out from underneath her shooting up and smashing into her waist. Her body bent slightly around the leg, Li Yang lowering it as quickly as he raised it. His arm shot out once he lowered his leg, another sharp slap sounding out as his hand met Ping Shisui''s buttocks, his voice quickly following it.


    "That''s two. And truly, still as enjoyable as the first time, I might even make a habit out of it."


    The light feeling in Ping Shisui''s body vanished as Li Yang spoke, her body falling to the ground. She quickly stretched out her arm and caught herself, pushing off of the ground to roll away from Li Yang before springing up into a standing position again, her spear left behind as she was forced to drop it to roll away properly. Her breathing had grown even heavier now, her face dyed with blood as her waist and abdomen ached.


    The first time could be considered a fluke born from her own carelessness, but there was no excuse for it now that it had happened again. He had easily dodged her attack and mounted a counter-offensive, moving so fast that she didn''t have the chance to properly react. And the lightweight feeling that assaulted her with his attacks only made it worse, it threw her off and made it harder to properly control her body. Once she was hit she was practically at his mercy unless she could instantly adjust to the lightweight feeling.


    Li Yang once again brought his hand up to his face and gave it a few clenches, his insufferable smile and actions causing the booing from the crowd to reach a new height. Ping Shisui didn''t let Li Yang''s silent taunts get to her this time, studying him with the same vigilance and wariness that she would a highly dangerous beast. Li Yang lowered his hand and gave it a few shakes, his knees bending slightly as he alerted Ping Shisui.


    "Aw, you don''t want to play with me anymore, Fairy Sister? Well, then I hope you won''t mind if I come to play with you, be careful now."


    Li Yang kicked off the stone stage the moment his words finished, rushing forward like a shooting star and causing Ping Shisui''s pupils to narrow sharply. He reached her front nearly instantly and sent a straight kick right at her face with his left leg, his attack occurring so fast that the only response available to her was to cross both arms in front of her face to block.


    But the moment her defence was raised, Li Yang''s body shift subtly so that his foot slid past her crossed arms. He bent his leg so that his foot didn''t slide past her face, hooking his foot behind her crossed arms and lowering it. Her defence was pulled down as he lowered his leg, her body ending up wide open by the time his foot touched the ground again. And it was at this moment that his right leg shot up in a diagonal manner, his foot smashing into her cheek while his left leg slid along the ground and knocked her legs out from underneath her again.


    Both of them spun in the air, one from being attacked and the other due to the strange and unique movements of his attack. But Ping Shisui was once again assaulted by the lightweight feeling, her spinning speed actually slowing down so that it was Li Yang that ended up correcting his position first.


    And since he was the one to finish standing up properly, there was nothing stopping his arm from slapping out once more, a crisp slap landing on Ping Shisui''s buttocks. This slap was quite a bit harder than the first two, actually knocking Ping Shisui back to the ground as his voice sounded out.


    "And that''s three. I kinda want to keep going since I rarely get a chance like this, but you''ve already lost so there''s not really any point to it. Also wouldn''t want the future wifey to get any wrong thoughts, have to be friendly with her, you know?"


    Ping Shisui was lying on the ground as Li Yang spoke, a burning sense of shame and embarrassment sweltering within her chest. She had been beaten and lost fights before, but it had never been like this where she was so summarily crushed without even knowing quite how the enemy did it. As such, she felt more than a little displeased and unsatisfied.


    "Don''t you...Gh!"


    She raised her head and was about to spring up to continue, but an immense pressure suddenly bore down on her as she raised her head, forcing her flat on the ground. She was just barely able to glance up at Li Yang, who was looking down at her with a gaze she could only liken to an emperor looking down at his subjects.


    "A defeated foe should just stay down. Come back when you''ve improved your skills and can elevate yourself above being someone defeated. Of course, if Fairy Sister Shisui wants to taste a few more spankings in the future then I will be more than willing to help you, we can keep it as a nice little secret."


    The intensity of the pressure increased as the intensity of Li Yang''s gaze increased, Ping Shisui feeling as if her lungs were about to explode within her chest. But the pressure luckily vanished before her lungs collapsed, Li Yang''s intense gaze vanishing and being replaced by the teasing one he had worn earlier. She grit her teeth in indignation but wasn''t so foolish and agitated that she couldn''t see the truth. She had been crushed, she didn''t even possess the capital to raise a proper defence, she wasn''t even qualified to figure out exactly what Li Yang had done.


    She stood up and shot one last look at Li Yang, the teasing look in his eyes and the faint curve of his mouth embedding itself in her mind. She picked up her spear and left the stage, Li Yang placing his hands behind his head as he started to saunter towards the edge of the stage. He had fought his battle, so now it was Mei Kongxu''s time to show her skills. But before he managed to leave the stage, Mei Kongxu''s voice sounded out from behind him.


    "Wait, you don''t need to bother leaving."


    Li Yang halted his steps and turned his head to look at Mei Kongxu, who had already entered the stage without him noticing it despite supposedly heading in the direction where she was sitting. She tore at the sleeves and hem of her silver dress, tearing them off so that it would be easier for her to move in the long and flowing dress. Li Yang''s eyes drift down to the long and slender legs that she had just enticingly revealed, his smile remaining the same as he fully turned around.


    "I want to call this playing unfair, but we never really agreed to not challenge each other. It''s shameless but within the rules, I like it, that''s a nice and quick-witted thought."


    The bet between them was only to go on stage to see who could win the most duels, they really hadn''t said that they weren''t allowed to challenge each other. Mei Kongxu didn''t bother commenting on his comment, the eyes she was using to look at Li Yang flashing with interest for the second time since they met.


    "Gravity and speed, those were the laws no? You also excel at hand-to-hand combat, your strong laws and martial skills allowing you to crush even someone with higher cultivation. With that level of strength, why would you bother hiding it? Especially when you seem like the kind of person who enjoys standing out."


    Li Yang was slightly surprised that Mei Kongxu was actually able to accurately pinpoint the two laws he had used just from seeing what effects they produced, he thought he would be able to keep it hidden for at least a little bit longer. But if they were found out then they were found out, there was no point in caring too much about it. The corners of his lips turned up slightly as he responded to her question, opening his arms wide as he gestured towards the sea of spectators around them.


    "Why hide it? For fun, what else? Look at them, over 90% of the people here thought so little of me that they disregarded me while others disdained me for my attitude or my actions, the number of people that actually thought anything of me can probably be counted on one or two hands. But look at them all now, they''re so dumbfounded and shocked that they can''t even keep their mouths close. Just what do you think is going through their heads, how many of them regret not getting closer to me earlier? Isn''t that just hilarious?"


    His words left not just Mei Kingxu but also the audience somewhat dumbfounded. That was the reason he had hidden his strength all along? Just so he could reveal it and leave them all dumbfounded and shocked, just to see who would be filled with regret? Just so he could have fun at their expense? It was a reason so silly and idiotic that even the cold and disinterested Mei Kongxu let out short laughter, the shadow of a smile appearing on her face for the first time as she spoke.


    "Really, I wasn''t wrong in thinking that you were an idiot. But we should get our duel underway, I want to see just why those unique moves of yours felt so familiar."

 6 Twisting decay.

    Li Yang pulled back his arms after Mei Kongxu laughed and shift into a battle-ready stance. His gaze remained locked on her face as he maintained his casual posture, raising an eyebrow and whistling once while nodding his head.


    "Would you look at that, you actually know how to smile. But I gotta tell ya, you really ought to smile more often, it suits you quite a bit better than that boring expression you wore earlier."


    It was only the shadow of a smile that appeared on her face, but that alone was enough to seemingly alter her entire being. It was as if she had suddenly lit up with a light, that exceedingly faint smile unleashing that light to illuminate the surroundings. Coupled with her great beauty even Li Yang had to admit that he found himself slightly charmed.


    And her expression of interest and amusement was thousands of times better than her previously disinterested and distant expression, such a look was far too boring and serious for this world. Right now that interest and amusement might only be barely roused by Li Yang, but he was nothing if not confident, he just needed a bit more time and he was certain he could force her to stay like that even if she didn''t want to.


    Mei Kongxu couldn''t help but admire Li Yang slightly when she faced him, it seemed like there was nothing that could stop him from teasing others, he had even been doing it in the midst of battle earlier. But she wasn''t like him, she simply found herself unable to maintain a carefree and cheery attitude. It felt like there was a hole in her heart and soul ever since she was born, all her good emotions fell out of this hole that she simply couldn''t plug up.


    So the faint smile vanished from her face only a few seconds after it appeared, a more serious and cold expression replacing it as the Qi within her body started to surge. And then, before Li Yang got the chance to voice his complaints about her expression, she kicked off the ground and charged forward, bursting forth with all the Qi contained within her body.


    Her charged caused one of Li Yang''s eyebrows to rise, she was actually only at the same cultivation level as him, middle-stage of the Human Rune realm with 4 Law Runes, but she actually moved faster than the stronger Ping Shisui. Of course, he knew that if he could beat people at a higher cultivation realm then there would definitely be others who could do the same, it wouldn''t be strange for Mei Kongxu to fall within that group of people. The fact caused the corners of his lips to turn up a bit further, his knees bending as he looked at her.


    "Hot damn, you really making it hard to get a simple date with you!"


    This was how it should be, if she was supposed to be his future wife then she should at least have the capability of fighting people with a higher cultivation realm. Li Yang kicked off the stage and shot forward at full speed, the two combatants reaching each other nearly instantly.


    Mei Kongxu''s right fist shot forward, but Li Yang actually dropped to the ground so that her fist passed over him. He placed his palms on the ground and swept out with his right foot, kicking Mei Kongxu''s legs out from underneath her and using his law of gravity to slightly reverse the gravity of her own body to lighten her weight.


    He rose from the ground while sweeping her legs out from underneath her, angling his right foot upward and resulting in Mei Kongxu''s entire body rising slightly while cartwheeling. Her head missed the ground by a few centimetres so that she continued her spin, but as she approached a horizontal position in the air, Li Yang brought his right foot down again, his heel smashing down towards her head.


    But Mei Kongxu actually managed to react to his attack, it was almost as if she had expected that particular move from him. She spun her body slightly the moment she approached a horizontal position, her arm reaching out as her elbow lashed out at Li Yang''s incoming foot. But she didn''t lash out at it from beneath or above but from the side, her elbow making contact with his foot and pushing it forward so that his foot missed her head.


    Her elbow rolled onto his foot at the same time, allowing her to deliver a quick sideways jab to his knee and sending a sharp pain shooting through his leg. Li Yang''s foot smashed into the stage and Mei Kongxu used the force of her jab to push herself away from Li Yang, the gravity of her body returning to normal as she rolled through the air and spun herself into a standing position.


    The two ended up with some distance between each other, Li Yang''s eyes narrowing slightly as he shook his right leg a few times. The sharp pain had been replaced by a numbing pain that thumped within his foot, a weak feeling overcoming his entire leg and sticking to him like maggots to marrow. Mei Kongxu was standing a bit away from him, her breathing a bit rougher as one of her hands covered half her face, her slightly gleaming eye visible through her spread fingers.


    "Those moves of yours, why do they feel so familiar, so instinctual that I even know how to counter them?"


    She sounded as if she was questioning him, but he could tell that she was questioning herself at the same time, as if she was feeling a tremendous sense of deja vu. Li Yang''s gaze returned to normal, his pupils flickering down to the pantleg covering his right leg. The fabric in the spot that Mei Kongxu had hit was falling apart, a bit of mould faintly visible at the edges. He reached down and tore off the entire pantleg, tossing it aside as it continued to rot, his own gaze now the one gleaming with interest and amusement.


    "Hell if I know, maybe we were mortal enemies in one of our past lives? But I gotta say, didn''t expect a beauty like Fairy Sister Kongxu to use something like the law of decay, it''s no wonder that my leg feels so weak after a single punch. And you even managed to perfectly counter-attack that quick crush, it seems like you really don''t want to go on a date with me."


    Li Yang took his eyes off of his leg, focusing his slightly gleaming gaze on Mei Kongxu. She was strong, much stronger than he anticipated, most likely stronger than him. But he was having fun, fighting her was fun. It had just been a single exchange but his heart was thumping and his blood was boiling, he was having so much fun that he couldn''t hold back his own grin. And that slight gleam in her eyes, he wanted to see more of it, he wanted to see how much it took to turn that soft gleam into a burning splendour. Li Yang stomped the stage with his right foot to dispel some of the numbing pain, the thumbing turning into a slight cribbling sensation.


    "You''d best be careful, Fairy Sister Kongxu, I''m coming for that date."


    Li Yang kicked off the stage and shot forward once more, reversing the gravity of his own body to move even faster this time around. He instantly reached Mei Kongxu''s front, his right leg flashing upward at a speed that was nearly faster than the eye could see while his own body twisted subtly.


    This attack was, in theory, a three-part attack, his foot would first kick Mei Kongxu''s head from the back as she tried to pull away, he would then use his heel to kick the left side and then the right side of her head. A powerful kick would result in death as the temples collapsed, but as this was just a sparring match he made sure to reduce the power so that it would only rock her brain.


    But once again, as if she had predicted his attack from the moment he started to move, she dodged in the perfect manner. She allowed the first kick to hit the back of her head and used the force of the attack along with her own movements to push herself forward so that the two other kicks missed her, diving straight into Li Yang''s bosom.


    Both her arms stretched out, the base of her palms touching each other as she placed both hands on Li Yang''s stomach. Her Qi surged as a tremendous force burst into Li Yang''s body, the skin on his stomach twisting in a spiralling pattern around Mei Kongxu''s hands. His feet lost contact with the ground as his body also started to furiously spin, but just as he was about to get launched backwards while spinning, his arms shot out and grabbed onto Mei Kongxu''s elbows.


    "Oh no, you''re coming with me, Fairy Sister!"


    Mei Kongxu''s body was overcome by a lightweight sensation that made her unable to keep her balance, resulting in her following along with Li Yang as he was launched backwards. The two spun around wildly as they flew back, Li Yang''s abdomen aching due to the twisting of his skin. She had luckily held back some of her power, otherwise, it wouldn''t have been just Li Yang''s skin that ended up getting twisted.


    Li Yang increased gravity around them as they flew through the air, forcing both of them down to the ground at full speed. He made sure that he was beneath Mei Kongxu as they reached the ground, his feet colliding with the stage so hard that a few cracks spread out beneath him. He transferred the force of the impact up through his body and into his arms, using it to slam Mei Kongxu downwards and into the stage.


    Mei Kongxu twisted her body just before she smashed into the stage, catching herself with her feet and temporarily forming a bridge while Li Yang held onto her elbows. But Li Yang immediately let go of her elbow and sent his right fist smashing down at her face, forcing her to roll to the left to avoid the hit. She wrested her other elbow free from his grasp by rolling, but the only thing that met her as she rolled was Li Yang''s knee.


    She barely had the time to place her hand in front of her face, blocking most of the impact but still receiving some rebound when the back of her hand smashed into her face. She also took advantage of the close contact, grabbing onto his knee and twisting the skin on it while pouring the law of decay into him.


    She also held on tightly to his knee and used it to pull herself closer to him, rolling up his leg and slamming her elbow into his abdomen. The law of twisting and the law of decay once again invaded Li Yang and sent him flying backwards while spinning, he was only able to stop himself by slamming himself into the stage using gravity.


    He quickly rolled around and sprang up into a standing position, his pants and shirt in tatters thanks to the two laws Mei Kongxu had shown. Li Yang spat out some blood that was slightly brown due to decay, one of his hands covering half his face as he wiped away some blood that had ended up staining him.


    The crimson eye looking at Mei Kongxu through his spread fingers had changed slightly, the pupil becoming more slit-shaped and bestial. Mei Kongxu also stood up, wiping away the blood that was pouring forth from her nose, the gleaming light in her eyes stronger than before. As he was looking at her, he could hear the blurry and indistinct voices that usually bounced around in his head when he closed his eyes. But this time the voices were exceptionally clear, practically screaming at him.


    "The first tail is born of effort and represents newfound power, the start of a road."


    "You wish to fight me at my full power? Sorry, but I''ll limit it to the first tail and the second tail, I doubt you can handle more."


    "You have touched what you shouldn''t have, so burn. First tail, Third tail, Seventh tail, roar."


    The words felt like they were piercing directly into Li Yang''s soul, his energy seething and surging. The energy gathered behind him, the transparent outline of a bushy white tail starting to form in the air to the right of his tailbone. Li Yang felt his body burn with power as the outline started to appear, but he removed his hand from his face before the tail could fully form, clapping his hands and releasing all the tension and power in his body while smiling ruefully at Mei Kongxu.


    "Alright, that''s enough. It''s my loss, I can''t keep fighting with so much decay eating away at me. Fairy Sister Kongxu is truly strong, you''ve really dented my pride here, rejecting my date invitation with such vigour."


    The outline of the tail, and the change to Li Yang''s eye, both vanished when he clapped his hands, Mei Kongxu the only one who was able to catch the slightest trace of the transparent outline. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the spot where the outline had first appeared, that strange outline had felt as familiar as the unique moves he had showcased.


    She hoped to see more in hopes of figuring out just why they felt so familiar, but Li Yang had sadly surrendered. She let out a breath and relaxed her body, swiping the ring on her left hand and causing a silver robe to appear on her body. She walked over to Li Yang without bothering to wipe away the blood that had once again poured out from her nose, pulling out the law of decay she had sent into his body. And then, for the second time since they met, she flashed him another shadow of a smile.


    "You''re right, it''s your loss, which means that I am the one who gets to make a request that you have to obey. I''ve heard that the Deepsea King sect has some of the best seafood on the planet, you''d best show me all of it without disappointing me."

 7 Swift revenge.

    Mei Kongxu''s appearance as a smile flashed across her face could only be called breathtaking, the men close enough to the stage to get a good look sucking in an involuntary breath. Li Yang was standing right in front of her and had to bear the brunt of her radiance, but even so, his expression didn''t change, remaining cocky as the corners of his lips turned up into a slightly teasing arc.


    "Oh? If I remember correctly, the bet was to see who could defeat more people, not who could defeat the other. I''ve won one and you''ve won one, we''re still even. But it''s nice to hear that your wish is a date with me, you should have just been honest from the start if that was your goal. But I understand you, I''ve heard that being tsundere is supposedly quite popular right now, there''s no shame in copying it."


    Mei Kongxu''s faint smile immediately vanished as Li Yang chuckled and teased her, the budding nice atmosphere that their battle created vanishing along with her smile. Li Yang grinned snarkily while looking at Mei Kongxu''s dumbfounded and even somewhat exasperated expression, he placed his hands behind his head and turned around, sauntering over to the seating area again.


    "Would you look at that, Fairy Sister Kongxu can actually put on a cute expression like that too and become Goddess Kongxu. But you agreed to the bet so there''s no going back on it, even if you act cute like that."


    Li Yang continued to chuckle as he returned to his seat and slumped down, leaning back into his seat while crossing his legs. Mei Kongxu remained dumbfounded for a bit longer, gazing dumbly at Li Yang. You could actually act shamelessly like that even after admitting your own loss?


    But she quickly gathered herself and let out a very soft huff of air, her expression returning to its usual disinterested state. She too returned to the seating area and sat down in her seat next to Li Yang, a short silence reigning over the entire arena after the two stepped down from the stage.


    This was not a turn of event that anyone had expected, the number of people who had any expectations towards Li Yang during this year''s sparring matches could be counted on one hand. The rest had all expected that he would just make a fool of himself and have his cockiness rubbed in his face. But he had stepped up without anyone prompting him, and he had shown exactly where that cockiness came from, shown exactly how deeply he had hidden just to make fun of all of them.


    People were a bit apprehensive towards entering the stage after Li Yang''s display, it wasn''t like defeating people two small realms above you was an easy thing to do. But the sparring matches had to continue, so there was eventually someone who went up and started up the challenges again.


    Li Yang and Mei Kongxu sat in their seats and observed the matches as they played out, Li Yang occasionally shouting out something to the participant from the Deepsea King sect to embarrass them. At other times he would tease Mei Kongxu to see if he could get a rise out of her, but she maintained her disinterested expression most of the time, only casting fleeting glances at Li Yang.


    Their seating area was a bit isolated to give them a bit of privacy, and it was thanks to this that she was the only who noticed that his eyes contained a very faint trace of seriousness. His eyes would be either on her or the match, but she felt that his gaze wasn''t focused on them at all, even when it landed on her did it only roam and focus for a short second. At the start, it was her eyes that had been distant but now it was his turn to look distant, a faint pondering light occasionally flashing past his pupils.


    And then, after six other matches had taken place since his loss against Mei Kongxu, his eyes flashed with the light of understanding. He waited for the ongoing sparring match to finish and then stood up, all trace of seriousness vanishing from his eyes as he smirked at Mei Kongxu and gestured towards the stage with his chin.


    She raised an eyebrow in slight surprise and got up from her seat, following Li Yang down to the stage. The two entered the stage once more and took up their positions at a proper distance, Li Yang hopping slightly while shaking his limbs.


    "Alright, Fairy Sister, you gave me quite the vicious beating earlier so I hope you won''t mind if I give you a quick spanking as payback. Take care, it''ll happen really fast."


    Li Yang''s feet touched the ground just as he ended his warning, his body shooting forward at full speed. His speed was the same as previously so Mei Kongxu''s eyes showed a slight bit of interest in exactly what suddenly gave him the confidence that he could win.


    Li Yang instantly reached Mei Kongxu''s front and dove down while sweeping out with his leg to knock her feet out from underneath her. But Mei Kongxu simply raised her foot the moment he dove down and then stomped down just as his leg was beneath her, as if she had predicted his move.


    But just as her right foot made contact with his leg, it actually slid unnaturally to the right. Mei Kongxu''s eyes instantly shot open but it was already too late, her right leg slid to the right and then rose up as if Li Yang had kicked it out from underneath her. Her entire body followed the leg and started suddenly spinning in the air as if she was doing cartwheels while stuck in place.


    Li Yang sprung up from the ground while still carrying his smirk, stretching his arm towards the helplessly spinning Mei Kongxu. But she wasn''t completely defenceless, she used her own law of twisting to resist the spinning of her body, twisting the air around her to neutralize the spinning. But the moment she managed to neutralize her spinning, her body actually started to spin in the opposite direction at an even faster pace.


    Li Yang looked as if he had expected this turn of events, his hand placing itself in the path of Mei Kongxu''s buttocks. She spun right into it, Li Yang bending his wrist to deliver a sharp slap to her rump, the crisp sound practically music to his ears as a satisfied grin appeared on his face.


    "Yup, I really do feel better after getting some revenge. Well, my instincts tell me that things are about to go really south, but I still think I''m gonna call it worth."


    Li Yang felt a sharp pain in his hand just as he finished his words, the skin all over his hand getting pinched as it felt like even his blood and bones were starting to twist. The pain spread up his entire arm and then to the rest of his body, his feet losing contact with the ground as he was flung backwards while spinning uncontrollably.


    He reversed his own gravity to make himself as light as possible, even twisting it in a circular manner to halt his uncontrollable spinning. But Mei Kongxu had unleashed so much force that he couldn''t fully halt himself and he ended up crashing into the small stone wall that separated the stage from the first row of the seating area.


    His body made a few cracks in the wall before he slid down to the ground, jumping up with a slight grimace while shaking his limbs to dispel the remaining ache. His gaze landed on Mei Kongxu, who had finally managed to stop herself from spinning and had returned to the ground, a faint blush that Li Yang had to admit was adorable covering her cheeks. But while the blush occupied a bit of his attention, most of his focus lingered on the thing he could see behind her.


    He swore that he could see the faintest mirage of a small star hanging above her and a bit to the right, blinking in and out of existence as if it was a trick of his eyes. Mei Kongxu sucked in a deep breath, the blinking star vanishing as she turned her gaze onto Li Yang, a faint bit of admiration appearing in her disinterested and slightly embarrassed eyes.


    "You copied me? You created a circular pattern of both reversed and increased gravity to force my body to spin, and the moment I used my own law of twisting to negate this field, you simply reversed its direction. I did not expect that, not at all, that''s clever, really clever. Now I''m even more interested in see..."


    Her eyes flashed with a bit of brightness as she spread her legs in a battle-ready stance, but Li Yang actually cut off her words by raising his hand as if he was telling her to wait.


    "Ah, no need to bother, I surrender. I got my revenge, and it felt quite sweet and firm if I might add, so there''s no need to continue fighting. We''ll call the bet your win, I get the feeling you''ll just challenge me every chance you get and keep beating me down, and I don''t think my extremely fragile pride can handle that. It''s a shame, but I fear that I must comply with your request and take you out on a date. Really, what a shame that I couldn''t make you comply with my request for a date."


    This time it wasn''t just Mei Kongxu, the entire stadium felt like cursing Li Yang by calling him shameless. There wasn''t an ounce of seriousness on his body as he spoke, he clearly didn''t care one whit about getting beaten down and just wanted to irk Mei Kongxu.


    And as he looked at her slightly cramped expression that looked as if she was unsatisfied that she didn''t get to keep going, he knew that he had succeeded. He stopped shaking his limbs and brushed off the dust on his body, giving Mei Kongxu an overly exaggerated bow while stretching out his hand.


    "Now then, Fairy Sister Kongxu, please allow this adonis to escort you around as promised. Of course, if you would like to return the spank I gave you then you are free to come whenever, I just fear that my buttocks won''t feel even half as good as yours."


    The spectators once again felt like cursing Li Yang''s shamelessness, Mei Kongxu sucking in a breath and heavily rolling her eyes. Her expression returned to normal as she did her best to ignore Li Yang''s teasing, calmly walking over to him and using her hand to gesture for him to take the lead.

 8 Heavenly Queens 1st Star.

    Li Yang and Mei Kongxu left the stadium side by side, one wearing a cheeky grin while the other maintained her usual cold and somewhat aloof expression. They headed for the same entrance Li Yang used at the start, but something flew through the air and stopped in front of Li Yang just as they were about to enter the arched hallway. A light blue ring hovered in front of Li Yang, the voice of his father booming within his ears.


    "You must at least look presentable while showing someone else around. Come to me once the people from the World-rending Behemoth sect have left, I will bestow upon you a reward for your display."


    Li Tian''s voice was perfectly calm, as if he had already expected the turn of event. Li Yang wasn''t surprised at his father''s calmness, if someone as strong as him hadn''t been able to tell that Li Yang was just hiding his strength then it would surely be a bit too disappointing. Li Yang snagged the ring and slid it on, inserting a bit of his Qi into it to form a seal so that only he could use it.


    A quick inspection of the ring showed that it only contained a wooden plaque he could use to visit his father as well as a single clean robe. His father didn''t say anything about wanting the ring back so Li Yang didn''t even bother asking and just unceremoniously kept it, swiping the new ring and immediately donning the new robe.


    The robe was deep purple and the entire back of it was covered in golden threads that formed the image of a nine-headed hydra. The robe made it seems as if Li Yang''s cheeky grin was more confident and heroic, rather than its usual playfulness. But even that illusion was swiftly shattered as Li Yang stretched out his arms and spun around as if he was trying to show off.


    "What do ya think, enough to make you swoon isn''t it? It''s fine if you want to fall for me, I wouldn''t mind giving a rump that soft a few thousand more slaps. And if you prefer to give rather than take, hey, I''m open for that as well if you just ask me nicely."


    Mei Kongxu''s entire body jolted when Li Yang made his shameless statement. She was able to mostly ignore his earlier statements, but he seemed to be ramping it up to see just where her breaking point was, making it harder and harder to hold herself back. But luckily, she felt like she had just the thing to rein him in, giving him a sideways glare.


    "Do you want to head back down to the stage for another beating, is that what you''re trying to say?"


    He might have joked about his fragile pride earlier, but Mei Kongxu could feel that he was actually an immensely prideful person, he was just hiding it deep down most of the time. He was already beaten twice by her, the prospects of getting beaten so publicly for a third time should be more than enough to quiet him down. Sadly, she had underestimated Li Yang''s desire to tease her, underestimated just how much he wanted to see what it took to completely crush that boring look and expression she constantly wore.


    "Oh, so you do actually prefer to give rather than take. Well, I already said that''s fine by me, so here you go, have a good feel. Don''t worry, you can use both hands if you want, I can handle it."


    Li Yang stopped spinning and pushed his buttocks towards Mei Kongxu as he spoke, wiggling it as if to entice her. Mei Kongxu''s vision instantly blackened as Li Yang shook his rear, her fingers twitching as her Qi burst forth. Li Yang''s legs were knocked out from underneath him as the air itself was caught up in Mei Kongxu''s law of spinning.


    She emulated what he did to her, creating a multitude of small areas where the wind was twisting to push Li Yang into a continuous cartwheel so that he would finally be quiet. But Li Yang once again disappointed her, placing his hands on the ground the moment he was turned upside down and using his law of gravity to force himself down to the ground.


    He negated the spinning wind with his gravity, creating very small fields where gravity flowed in the opposite direction of the twist. He then spun as if he was breakdancing, knocking Mei Kongxu''s legs out from underneath her while simultaneously standing up. He returned to his normal upright position and stretched out his arms, catching the still falling Mei Kongxu in a bridal carry.


    "Oh, you wanted to get carried? Well, why didn''t you just say so, there''s no way I can reject the request of such a beauty."


    Li Yang''s law of speed allowed him to move so swiftly that Mei Kongxu simply didn''t have the time to straighten herself up before he caught her. But Li Yang let go of Mei Kongxu the moment he finished talking, his beaming smile twitching slightly. Her hand had been reaching for his groins, but the faint scent of decay accompanying her hand told him that she wasn''t about to get frisky with him.


    "Right then, shall we go look at some seafood?"


    Li Yang casually started to walk again while folding his hands behind his back, acting so casually that Mei Kongxu felt like hitting him. She took a deep breath and regained her calm, the corners of her lips imperceptively turning up. She couldn''t deny that Li Yang was at least funny, time and time again he cracked her cool and her calm, and he did it so easily that it seemed like second nature to him.


    The two left the arena part of the stadium and arrived in a large room filled with small spatial arrays. Li Yang guided her to one of the spatial arrays and activated it, the two vanishing from the stadium and arriving in one of the four cities that existed on the island. These four cities not only connected the island-based sect with the rest of the world but it also served as a place for the sect-members to relax and enjoy some entertainment if they wished for a break.


    The cities once started as no more than a few small huts from back when the sect was first founded, they grew as the sect did, eventually becoming splendid cities that the sect could show off with pride. The buildings came in all sort of shapes and sizes, each one unique and decorated with coral or some aquatic plants that had been preserved in their blooming state.


    Li Yang escorted Mei Kongxu through the streets, occasionally stealing glances at her slightly gleaming eyes. She tried to hide it but it was clear that this was her first time being near the ocean, she couldn''t keep her eyes off of the coral and aquatic plants, her gaze occasionally drifting towards the glimpses of the ocean you could see in the gaps between some buildings. Li Yang smirked slightly at the sight, grabbing one of the dishes that one of the stands close to them was selling and holding it up in front of Mei Kongxu.


    "See, that''s a much better look than the droll one you seem to wear at all other times. If you could stay like that I might actually fall for you and give you all the spankings you want. But until then, here, one of our most famous gourmet dishes."


    The dish Li Yang shoved into her face could hardly be called gourmet, it was a sea-cucumber stuffed with a sweet and salty sauce made from melon. Mei Kongxu only barely got the chance to see the shape of the sea-cucumber before Li Yang gave it a squeeze, launching all the sauce within it at Mei Kongxu.


    But the slightly crimson and sticky sauce never reached Mei Kongxu, it was swept up in a sudden gust of wind that gathered the sauce into a ball and blew it away. The ball was blown over to the person who had controlled the wind, a handsome young man with ashen hair and light brown eyes, a light green robe covering his body. The man, a member of the Deepsea King sect, had the ball of sauce hover above his hand as he directed a charming smile at Li Yang and Mei Kongxu.


    "Really, Sect Brother Yang, you even bother with such base and tasteless jokes? Well, you don''t really bother with cultivation so I guess jokes like this are more suited to you. Young Lady, you don''t need to put up with this fellow''s low antics, you also shouldn''t believe anything he has told you. He might be a member of our exalted Deepsea King sect, but he doesn''t bother with cultivation and just plays around all day, he truly isn''t worth your time. I, however, have already reached the middle-stage of the Human Rune realm and have carved five runes after only three short years, I am guaranteed to become an inner disciple next year. And I would be honoured if you would spend the day with me, I can assure you that it will be much better than following a fellow who can only barely hold onto his position as an Inner Disciple."


    The youth, Jue Dong, gave a slight bow while maintaining his charming smile, gracefully introducing himself. The Deepsea King sect had four different types of disciples, the 10 Core Disciples, the Inner Disciples, the Outer Disciples, and the Provisional Disciples. The Provisional Disciples were newly acquired disciples that could lose their rank if they didn''t prove their skills while the Outer Disciples were people with lower cultivation or familial status.


    Inner Disciples were those with higher cultivation or stronger familial ties, Li Yang, for example, was only considered an Inner Disciple thanks to his father. The Core Disciples were the greatest elite of the sect, they studied directly under one of the elders or even the patriarch himself, many of them were even stronger than some of the weaker elders, or at least the elders ranked below the 10th position.


    Li Yang looked at Jue Dong with great amusement, glancing sideways at Mei Kongxu to see how she would react. But contrary to all his expectations, she actually looked somewhat revolted at Jue Dong''s actions. Giving it a bit more thought made him realize that she had probably been approached like this countless times in her own sect, she was quite the beauty after all. Jue Dong raised his head again after finishing his introduction, Li Yang taking this opportunity to lean so close to Mei Kongxu that their ears were practically touching as he pretended to whisper.


    "I...I don''t think he knows? Should we tell him? It might break his heart, I mean, just look at the kid, he looks like a lost puppy. Do we wanna break the heart of a lost puppy like that, do we have so little empathy? I mean, he might just start crying here, he might even cry so much that he pisses his pants. Do we need to clean that up if that happens? Would it be considered our responsibility?"


    Mei Kongxu rolled her eyes and pushed Li Yang''s head away, but he saw the very faint amusement visible within her upturned lips so he chalked it up as a win in his book. Li Yang was just pretending to be whispering, he barely bothered to lower his volume, allowing Jue Dong to hear every single word he spoke. Jue Dong''s eyebrows immediately ticked up as his expression froze, fiercely stepping forward.


    "What?! Come here, I dare you to say that to my face! Come, say it! Prove that you''ve at least got some guts before I show you why you shouldn''t insult your future superiors! Please forgive me, My Lady, I must show you something unsightly before we can go and enjoy ourselves without this base thing."


    Jue Dong reached for Li Yang''s collar, Mei Kongxu not even bothering to acknowledge his existence despite his flattering words. But the moment he tried to grasp Li Yang''s collar, he felt his legs vanish from underneath him as Li Yang kicked them from the side. His body was immediately kicked into a horizontal position in the air, Li Yang''s knee rising up and smashing into Jue Dong''s exposed abdomen so that he was launched higher into the air.


    Li Yang jumped into the air after him and immediately caught up, flipping into a somersault and smashing his heel into Jue Dong''s back. The attack knocked all the air out of his lungs and sent him crashing towards the ground, Li Yang increasing the gravity slightly so that Jue Dong hit the ground harder than he should have.


    Li Yang himself then landed on the ground and heavily sat down on Jue Dong''s back, his right hand stretching out and using a field of attractive gravity to gather up all the sticky sauce that had scattered again. He pulled on Jue Dong''s collar and stuffed half the sauce down his back, rubbing the other half of the sauce into Jue Dong''s ashen hair while talking.


    "You shouldn''t insult your future superiors like that, it might end with you getting a beating. Now, is the lost puppy gonna start crying, maybe piss his pants a little? Did we break the heart of the lost puppy? Or are you going to be a good little puppy and scamper off? This base person still has to escort ''Your Lady'' around for a bit longer."


    Li Yang did not mind rubbing salt into Jue Dong''s wounds by insulting him, it was the least he could do when Jue Dong was acting so insufferably just because he was going to become an Inner Disciple. Jue Dong couldn''t say anything, the air had yet to return to his lungs after the kick to his back. He grit his teeth and raised his head to protest, or at least drag Mei Kongxu into this, but hearing a very soft giggling sound from Mei Kongxu made him realize that she would just side with Li Yang even if he dragged her into this. And to make things even worse for him, Li Yang let out a short whistle as Mei Kongxu laughed.


    "Ey, you laughed again. That''s twice today already so I must be doing something right. But I gotta say, Fairy Sister, if you keep smiling like that then I really will end up falling for you, it suits you a few thousands of times better than your usual boring expression."


    Not only had Li Yang beaten him down and dirtied him, now he was even sitting on his back while teasing and flirting with a woman right in front of him. Jue Dong felt his entire face burning from shame, but Li Yang stopped bothering with him and got up from his back, only sparing him a single sideways glance that told him what he had to do.


    Jue Dong grit his teeth so hard that they felt like they were about to break but knew that there was nothing he could do. He got up and quickly scurried away to clean his hair and robe, casting a few vicious glares at Li Yang while he was hurrying away. Li Yang didn''t bother with Jue Dong or his thoughts, continuing to guide Mei Kongxu while doing his best to force more laughter out of her.


    A good portion of the day had already passed while they were observing the sparring matches so the sun set as he was escorting her, the entire city lighting up with lamps placed on each building. Thanks to this he could escort her all the way through the night, only returning her to the people from the World-rending Behemoth sect when the sun started to rise again.


    The sparring matches had ended and the sects had announced Li Yang''s and Mei Kongxu''s engagement while the two were out touring the city so the World-rending Behemoth sect had completed what they came for. They were going to return to their own sect, but Li Yang was informed that he and some people from the Deepsea King sect would head over to the World-rending Behemoth sect in a month''s time to return the favour, engaging in a few sparring matches while announcing the matter of his engagement. Thanks to this, Li Yang only gave Mei Kongxu a quick and cheeky farewell.


    "Alright, I''ll see ya in a month. Don''t miss me so much that you end up getting frisky with yourself at night, leave that to me when we meet again."


    Mei Kongxu''s vision once again went black as she assaulted Li Yang, in front of everyone this time. But he dealt with her as easily as he did previously, flipping her into a bridal carry so that it looked like they were just flirting all along. She and the rest of her people then used a special spatial array to return to their sect, Li Yang carefreely using the wooden plaque his father had given him.


    The plaque teleported him to his father''s office, Li Tian already sitting behind his desk again with a new stack of documents. Running a sect wasn''t easy, the higher-ranked elders were always swamped with work so that the younger disciples could have slightly easier lives. He raised his gaze slightly when Li Yang arrived, an appreciative light in his eyes as he nodded his head.


    "I knew you wouldn''t disappoint me, but don''t get lax just because you''ve stopped hiding your strength. I''ve already prepared a spot for you in the upcoming Stars Ascension competition, you might die if you are too weak."


    The Stars Ascension Competition was the name given to the grand competition that encompassed the 100 largest organizations on the planet. It was a place for all the organizations to show off their younger disciples and their skills, it would also be used to decide the rankings of the various younger disciples of the organizations.


    The competition was still a year off but all the organizations were preparing for it with all their heart, not willing to make a fool of themselves. Li Yang nodded his head seriously, Li Tian flicking his wrist and throwing over something that looked like an extremely glistening bone.


    "That is one of our sect''s most well-hidden secrets, don''t let anyone see that you have it. You focus mostly on martial arts rather than weapons so you need to make sure to cultivate your body to best utilize your skills. That bone contains the Heavenly Queen''s 1st Star, the first part of the Heavenly Queen''s body cultivation technique. That part only focuses on cultivating the bones but it''s still better than the other body cultivation manuals you can find in our archives."


    Li Yang curiously studied the bone, which seemed to be the humerus, his pupils contracting when he heard what sort of technique it supposedly contained. The Heavenly Queen was among the peak experts of the universe, she had reached such a realm that she was only below the gods ruling the various elements and concepts.


    She was so highly sought after that the number of people vying for her hand in marriage had reached an uncountable number. This resulted in her going into hiding many years ago to get some peace, the last known sigthing of her was already a bit over 100 000 years ago. Li Tian looked at Li Yang with an exceedingly serious gaze, throwing him a box that seemed to be made from burnt wood, traces of lightning still visible on the edges of the box.


    "I repeat, don''t let anyone see or know that you have it, the skills of the Heavenly Queen will arouse greed in even the noblest heart, our entire sect could be attacked if news came out that we have such a thing, had I not found it during one of my travels long ago we would not be qualified to have such a thing. Always keep it within that box and only take it out when you are 100% confident that no one will be able to see it."


    Li Yang once again nodded his head seriously and placed the bone into the box, closing it shut and putting it into his interspatial ring. Li Tian then gave Li Yang a few more reminders about the upcoming sparring matches in the World-rending Behemoth sect and then sent him on his way, Li Yang giving him a polite bow before leaving to study the body cultivation technique.

 9 Li Fang.

    Li Yang left his father''s study, his hands resting behind his head as he moved through the tree-like hallway with a leisurely gait. His mind was drifting slightly, curious about the body cultivation technique he had just been given. It came from the Heavenly Queen so it was guaranteed to be something extremely great, but that also meant that it was likely exceedingly difficult to cultivate it.


    But since his father had given it to him that meant that Li Tian felt that Li Yang would be capable of cultivating it. It could be considered a sign of trust and faith, something his father rarely showed others. Li Yang''s crimson pupils landed on a young black-eyed and blue-haired boy that was making his way through the hallway with a serious expression, his own lips curving into his usual cheeky smile.


    "Oh, Lil Yongi, you''re actually able to walk again? I thought you''d be out for several days after you were beaten like that, almost expected you to just lay around and cry until your pillow was soaked and your nanny comforted you by stroking you gently down below."


    The young boy, Li Jueyong, stiffened when Li Yang sauntered over and called out to him, his pupils trembling slightly. He sucked in a long breath to stop the trembling of his pupils and loosen up his body, his movements still somewhat stiff as he turned his head to look at Li Yang. He was clearly rather annoyed at the way he was spoken to, but Li Yang didn''t care and kept on prodding him.


    "Hey, didn''t you wonder if I could keep acting so cockily and carefreely after getting beaten down in front of everyone? Didn''t you say you were going invoke the rite of passage to have someone challenge me? What happened to that, eh? Did that plan get sidetracked after you got your ass handed to you? And I must say, that was a magnificent loss, the way your head got stomped into the stage was magnificent. It''s a good thing you were knocked unconscious, otherwise, I''m afraid you might have ended up vomiting blood when you heard how loudly I laughed."


    Li Jueyong''s fingers stiffened and twitched in a manner that made it look like he wanted nothing more than to dig them into Li Yang''s throat to silence him. But he didn''t move in the end, sucking in breaths so deeply that he looked like he was hyperventilating. Li Yang saw that Li Jueyong had no intention to fall for his provocation so he shrugged his shoulders and stepped past him, his hands still resting behind his head. But just as he moved past him, Li Jueyong spoke up.


    "I''m not going to thank you, not in a million years."


    No matter what his reasonings were, Li Yang had gotten revenge for him by publicly beating the one that had defeated him. But he refused to thank Li Yang for it, he still couldn''t stand Li Yang''s attitude and mannerism, it was unbecoming of his strength and status. Li Yang''s steps halted for a split second, his head turning slightly as he cast a glance at Li Jueyong.


    "What makes you think I want your thanks or gratitude? Come back with them when you''re stronger than me, then they might actually be worth something."


    Li Yang continued walking as he spoke, not even bothering to remove his hands from his head as he chuckled at Li Jueyong. His words didn''t save any of Li Jueyong''s face, causing his fingers to twitch violently once more. But he once again didn''t take any actions, nor did he say anything else as he watched Li Yang''s back disappear down the hallway.


    Li Yang reached the end of the hallway and arrived in the circular building that had several smaller hallways leading away from it. He headed over to the centre of the room, making his way around the various small spatial arrays until he reached the one he was looking for. He activated the spatial array and left the area, taking three more spatial arrays to reach the building he was aiming for.


    The building, basically a two-story wooden cabin, was situated next to a lake that was lined with weeping willows that were constantly blooming with icy-blue plum flowers. Li Yang''s cheeky grin gave way to a softer smile as he looked at the building, plucking one of the blooming flowers before he made his way into the house.


    "Mother, are you awake?"


    Li Yang''s voice echoed throughout the living room he arrived in, a soft response coming from one of the rooms beyond the short hallway to the right of the living room. Li Yang swiftly moved through the living room and hallway, pushing open a wooden door and entering a room that had a window so large it practically took up the entire wall, allowing those within the room to gaze upon the lake.


    The room was furnished in a very simple manner, containing a bed, a nightstand, two bookshelves standing right next to the bed, and a single chair. Lying in the bed was a mature and graceful woman, her icy-blue hair hanging loosely down past her shoulders and onto the bed, her green eyes slightly sunken in. She looked to only be in her thirties, but her body was rather thin and frail, her skin was a bit pale and there were a few wrinkles starting to appear by her eyes.


    The woman smiled gently at Li Yang, who dragged the chair over to the side of the bed and sat down. He took the flower he had plucked and fastened it to the woman''s hair by placing the stem on her ear, stretching out his hand and presenting his open palm once he finished.


    "Arm."


    The woman, his mother and the parent he had inherited nearly 80% of his features from rolled her eyes at Li Yang''s simple statement. But she, Li Fang, still raised her left arm and placed her forearm into his palm, only uttering a playful complaint.


    "Really, that''s always the first thing you do. Do I really look like I''ve gotten that forgetful?"


    Li Yang grinned in response to her complaint, rolling back the sleeve of her blue robe and revealing a complex array that had been engraved directly into her flesh. He swiped his interspatial ring and took out a vial filled with pulverized Spirit Stones, gently placing some of the dust into certain spots of the array while bantering with his mother.


    "Nah, you don''t look forgetful, just old and decrepit. Then again, getting forgetful is pretty common as you get older, so maybe?"


    Li Yang''s bantering was met with a weak knock on his head from Li Fang''s other hand, her lips curling slightly as she spat out her words in an overly exaggerated and heart-broken manner.


    "Bah, what does a brat like you know? I really don''t know how we raised you to turn you into this, you''ve got none of your father''s rigid charm or my own elegance, grace, and composure."


    Li Yang only grinned and laughed in response to her boasting, continuing to carefully place the Spirit Stone dust into the appropriate spots of the array. His mother was weak. Many years ago she had been mortally wounded by an elder of the Star-Scorched Valley sect, the sect ranked 53rd on this planet, and not even the sect was able to truly heal the wounds.


    The best they could do was engrave this array directly into her body and use it to support her vital functions, drawing the array anew every five years. Without this array, his mother was unlikely to last for even one more month so even though his father visited her every other day and someone else came to check up on her every day, Li Yang still visited her as often as he could to check up on her. A soft and warm silence descended over the two people, Li Fang breaking it after a few moments.


    "I''ve heard that you''ve been introduced to your principal wife. I''m sorry that I couldn''t come to meet her, but what is she like? Is she nice, funny, beautiful, cheeky like you, maybe a bit rude?"


    The array engraved into her flesh supported her vital functions but that was the best it could do so it was hard for Li Fang to leave her bed for extended periods. Making the array larger also wouldn''t help as the function wouldn''t change, nor did the sect have better arrays they could use so she was basically completely bound to her bed. Li Yang finished applying the Spirit Stone dust and allowed Li Fang to move her arm again, smiling faintly as he responded.


    "She''s very interesting. She puts on a cold front but I''ve already managed to crack it a few times against her will so I''m certain I can do it again in the future. She definitely has her cheeky moments, I can''t deny that, but she''s far from as cheeky as this brat right here. And she''s definitely beautiful, I can confidently say that she''s the most beautiful woman I''ve ever seen. Just thinking about all the trouble that Fairy Goddess is going to get me into his giving me a headache, but all the gloating I''ll be able to do will probably make up for it. Don''t worry, I''ll bring her here next time so that you can meet her."


    That was Li Yang''s honest thoughts about Mei Kongxu, an interesting girl in an otherwise dreary and serious world, she was definitely a far cry better than the likes of Li Jueyong. Li Fang''s smile turned even gentler, and slightly conflicted, when Li Yang finished his assessment. She quickly slid off the simple and unadorned silver ring she wore on her right hand and passed it to Li Yang.


    "I know that you probably don''t feel comfortable having a marriage forced upon you for the sake of the sect, and I am truly sorry that you can''t even choose your principal wife for yourself. But there will come a day when you find a woman you love, a woman you chose for yourself. And when you do, you can give her this ring. This ring has been within the Li family for several thousand years already, it is reserved for those we truly love. I got it from your father, who got it from his mother, who got it from her mother, who then, in turn, got it from her mother, the one who first crafted this ring. Keep it close and keep it safe, and when your heart has managed to make its own choice then you can pass it on."


    Li Yang looked at the unadorned ring, which still carried the warmth of his mother''s finger. Li Fang held onto Li Yang''s hand and clenched his fist for him, making sure that he held the ring tightly while she smiled at him. This was the only thing she could do for him now, promise him that there would come a day where his heart would get to choose his own wife. Li Yang smiled softly to reassure his mother, putting the silver ring into his own interspatial ring to keep it safe.


    He then spent a few more hours with his mother, the two passing the time by talking about books she had read, things she had seen, what Li Yang had done during the sparring session, or just every day things they did to pass the time. She chased him away once the sun started to set, shooing him away with her gentle yet slightly tired smile.


    Li Yang could only leave after being chased away by his mother, promising that he would visit her again soon before he left. He took several spatial arrays to return to his own house, immediately heading to the large stone room that served as the training room. He closed the door and sealed off the room, taking out the burnt box containing the bone that his father had given him. It was time to study the Heavenly Queen''s 1st Star, the foundation of the Heavenly Queen''s body cultivation technique. And the basis of the technique was one he hadn''t expected, overpowering and utterly crushing amounts of force.

 10 Prefer white.

    Reading through the information about the Heavenly Queen''s 1st Star, there was only one word Li Yang could think of to describe this body cultivation technique, perplexing. It wasn''t straightforward like other cultivation techniques, it didn''t even completely describe just how you were meant to cultivate it.


    After going over all the information stored within the bone, Li Yang understood the essence as ''feel the overwhelming force, conquer the force, merge with the force and crush all dissidence.'' This was the best he could come up with in the end, but he had no clue exactly what sort of overpowering force was the proper one to use, nor did he even know how to conquer or merge with it.


    He could guess that the force should be something overwhelmingly destructive, it might actually just be the law of crushing based on the final clue he extrapolated. But these were just guesses that he had no way of discovering if they were correct, he would have to ask the Heavenly Queen herself if he wanted to get a proper answer. But that was clearly impossible, even if she hadn''t vanished long ago, there was no way she would bother even noticing an existence such as his.


    Since Li Yang had no way to get the true answers, he could only move forward with the answer he had come up with one his own. Force, pure and untainted, overwhelming and merciless, that was what Li Yang decided on. And with his choice of force made, the first step was sensing the force and properly understanding it.


    "Guess we''ll start with the most obvious..."


    Li Yang stretched out his left arm while muttering, closing his eyes and focusing his senses on his left pinky. His Qi seeped out from his body and gathered around his finger, slowly interfering with the natural gravity in the area. A field of reverse gravity appeared beneath his finger, a field of heightened gravity appearing above it. The two opposite fields started to act upon his finger, squashing it between them while they were trying to force it to move away.


    The fields were weak at first, only producing a slight discomfort in Li Yang''s finger. But he slowly increased the strength of both fields, the discomfort quickly turning into pain as his flesh and bones were squeezed tighter and tighter. His brows furrowed somewhat due to the pain, but he kept his senses locked on his finger, focusing on the force that was currently causing the bones within said finger to creak and moan.


    He could definitely sense the force that was moving through his bones and flesh, he sensed it so easily that it was almost astounding to him. The force practically pulsed through his finger, rushing up and down like a trapped rat that tried to flee. The force was different from the gravity that acted upon his finger, it would be more fitting to call it the energy that came about as a result of gravity acting upon his finger.


    Li Yang continued to sense the force, but the amount produced by his gravity wasn''t quite enough, it was too faint for him to get a truly good feel of it. He tried to increase the gravity further, but he encountered a problem after the gravity reached a point where his bones started to bend and a slight tear appeared in his skin.


    His own Qi that was being used to sustain the gravity started to seep into his body, sinking into his bones and forming very faint and tiny runes. The reason this was a problem was that while it was indeed the most orthodox body cultivation method, it was also the weakest. And with his own Qi seeping into his body again, it polluted the pure force that he was aiming for, making it useless to him.


    He quickly lowered the force of the gravity and forcefully extracted the Qi that had started to seep into his bones. This orthodox and normal body cultivation path wasn''t what he was looking for, it was too weak and didn''t feel worthy. In fact, while his father and the others thought he simply had no interest in body cultivation, just like they previously thought he had no interest in cultivation, he had actually looked over all the body cultivation manuals that the sect had to offer.


    He fought using his own body as his weapon, a strong body meant a stronger weapon so it was only logical for him to train his body. But none of the body cultivation manuals owned by the sect felt worthy, his instincts subconsciously rejected each and every one of them. As for the voices that he heard whenever he closed his eyes, they never spoke about body cultivation so they weren''t of any help to him.


    But this body cultivation technique left behind by the Heavenly Queen, it was something left behind by a peak existence. When it came to this cultivation manual, both his mind and instincts were in agreement, it was worthy. His own Qi stopped polluting the force he had set his sight on, Li Yang''s thoughts quietly moving as he worked to come up with a different way to increase the force so that he could get a better feel of it.


    One of his brows twitched slightly as an idea popped up in his mind. He stood up from his seated position and made his way over to the stone wall right in front of him. He clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it into the wall, maintaining the two gravitational fields around his finger all the while.


    The punch sent an aching jolt straight up his arm, his flesh quivering slightly before the resulting force of the punch dissipated. It was a bit painful, but it provided Li Yang with what he was looking for, a force that was pure and untainted. But he couldn''t stand here and keep punching the wall, and he certainly wouldn''t be able to do it with his back or thighs if he wanted to sense the force through them.


    "Guess I gotta go take a trip."


    Li Yang opened his eyes and pulled back his Qi, shaking his left hand to subdue any residual aching as he turned around and left the training room. He packed a few things into his interspatial ring and then left his house, making use of several spatial arrays to make his way to the very edge of the island.


    He arrived inside the hollowed-out trunk of a massive tree, reaching one of the few spatial arrays that actually had two armoured guards standing watch by it. He kept his hands behind his head while walking in a nonchalant manner, casually stating his destination as he approached the spatial array.


    "Third island of Emerald Lake Archipelago, the spatial array closest to the 15th training area."


    This island was the main base of the Deepsea King sect, but it wasn''t the only one they operated on, there were several smaller island and archipelagos in the area that they also controlled. But those places were mostly used to rear certain beasts, herbs, or to house some of their specialized training areas, very few people actually lived on them. One of the two armoured guards stretched out his arm and opened his mouth, but the other guard quickly silenced him by hitting him over the head.


    "Please produce a writ of ac...Ghh!"


    The other guard sent a glare at the one that had just spoken up, signalling him that he should just stay quiet. He then gave Li Yang a polite bow and gestured towards the spatial array standing right behind them.


    "Certainly, please just step onto the array."


    Li Yang lazily nodded his head at the guard and stepped onto the array, the guard quickly inserting a few Spirit Stones into specific spots of the array. This array was slightly different from the others in the sect, it would send you to a different place based on where the Spirit Stones were placed. As a result, these people weren''t here just to guard it, they were also in charge of configuring the array for those that wanted to use it.


    The array was activated and Li Yang was sent away, a bright light blinding him for a short while before it vanished and revealed his surroundings. The place he arrived was the branch of a massive winding and coiling tree that rose up from the ocean, thousands of smaller roots covered in moss and algae stretching out beneath the water and dyeing it a deep emerald. Several tens more such trees rose up from the water around him, forming what was known as Emerald Lake Archipelago, a collection of demonic trees planted by the founder of the Deepsea King sect.


    The trees were actually just floating on the water, the roots not long enough to reach the bottom of the ocean. The roots absorbed the needed nutrients from the surrounding water as well as the underwater Demonic beasts that got too close and ended up getting snatched up by the roots. The underwater roots were somewhat vicious, but the roots and parts of the tree that reached above the water were harmless, only existing to draw in sunlight to further feed the hungry roots.


    Each of the trees was between 10-20 kilometres wide and about three times as high, making their appearance exceedingly strange. They were also covered in caves and stairs that had been carved out directly into them, each cave serving as a training ground while the stairs were there to make accessing the caves easier.


    Li Yang didn''t head straight for the cave located at the base of the branch he was standing on, turning around and gazing out across the vast ocean. He sucked in a deep breath of salty air, his practically sparkling gaze sweeping across the seemingly infinite ocean. From this position, even the island that the grand and majestic Deepsea King sect was on seemed so infinitely small, he only had to stretch out a single finger to fully blot it out.


    Overlooking the ocean from here made it feel like he was standing at the top of the world, overseeing all creation. But raising his head revealed that there were many more branches above him, culminating in the crown of the massive tree. No matter how much it felt like he stood at the top of the world, there was still more above him, restricting his wings and vision like a prison. He turned his gaze away from the ocean and placed his hands behind his head, humming a soft tune as he headed for the cave at the base of the branch.


    The wood around the cave was covered in engravings lined with blood, the engravings actually stretching into the darkness that was the mouth of the cave. These engravings formed a powerful spatial array that not only expanded the space within the cave but also altered it so that it suited the need of the sect. The blood and other ingredients used to create these arrays were much more expensive than a normal spatial array and it was thus completely forbidden to touch the arrays. The sect would be notified the moment they were touched or altered, and the punishment reserved for those who did so was death.


    Li Yang stepped into the cave and entered the array, a bright light washing over him as his surroundings changed. He didn''t end up inside a wooden cave but rather on a barren prairie, several small and craggy mountains rising up all around him. He only gave the grey mountains a cursory glance before bracing his body and calling out.


    "Level 1!"


    The mountains quivered slightly after his voice sounded out, hundreds of small rocks splitting off from them and hovering in the air above Li Yang. The stones started to descend one by one, smashing into Li Yang before falling to the ground and dissipating into energy that once again sank into the mountains. This was one of the body cultivation training rooms of the sect, it was mostly geared towards disciples who trained in the Herculean King technique which required one to withstand countless blows to slowly strengthen the body.


    Li Yang closed his eyes under the constant barrage of attacks, the dull thuds coming from his body practically forming a rhythmic tune as more and more stones smashed into him. Each hit caused some force to course through his body, his flesh and bones quivering faintly as the force pulsed through them.


    Li Yang stood still and endured the attacks for a few hours to sense the force that each of the hits unleashed, but it still wasn''t enough. He managed to get a preliminary grasp of the force, but every time he tried to pry a bit deeper it would dissipate, having used up all the energy within it. As such, he could only let out an unsatisfied click of his tongue, his teeth gritting slightly as he called out once more.


    "Level 2!"


    The intensity and strength of each stone immediately increased after Li Yang called out, his knees bending slightly from all the attacks that crashed into him. But stronger attacks meant more force, which allowed Li Yang to study it even more deeply than before, the preliminary understanding slowly deepening as he understood the force more and more.


    He knew that he had already completed the first step to cultivating the Heavenly Queen''s 1st Star, sensing the force. But when it came to the second step, conquering the force, he still wasn''t quite sure how to complete it. He had a faint idea, but once again he had no idea if it was the right one. But since he had no other choice but to move forward with his own answers, the hours quickly passing made him settle on attempting his idea. But just as he was about to open his mouth to call out once more, a different voice reached his ears.


    "Well I''ll be damned, you''re actually cultivating? Are our pigs about to start flying? Are the seven realms of Naraka about to open and unleash all their tainted spirits?"


    The barrage of attacks stopped as the voice sounded out, Li Yang opening his eyes with some surprise. The tall and curvaceous Ting Miu was walking over with a swaying gait, her dark orange hair cascading down her back while her brown eyes were looking at Li Yang with slight amazement. She was clad in a tight-fitting blue shirt and wore a somewhat short and frilly skirt, showing off her long and slender legs.


    Li Yang gave his somewhat sore body a few stretches while looking at Ting Miu with slight confusion, a seemingly bashful smile quickly forming on his face as he twisted and covered his chest.


    "Fairy Siter Miu, you actually missed me so much that you sought me out on your own? Don''t get me wrong, I''m incredibly happy to see you, but Fairy Sister...I''m so dirty right now, I don''t dare to show you my body. Is there any chance that you can contain your carnal desire for me until I''ve gotten to take a shower and become presentable for someone as... devilish and lustful... as you?"


    An immense amount of pressure bore down on Li Yang''s the moment he finished his words, his body immediately ending up getting squished against the ground. The pressure was so intense that it was almost hard for him to breathe, but at the same time it caused a large amount of force to pulsate through his flesh, making it incredibly easy for him to study it. And as he was getting crushed against the ground, Ting Miu walked over with a smile that wasn''t a smile, her eyebrows twitching faintly.


    "What''s the matter, weren''t you happy to see me, why aren''t you ''praising'' me more?"


    Ting Miu stopped right in front of Li Yang, who had to struggle just to raise his head out from the dirt so that he could just barely direct his gaze upwards. His mouth opened as he started to stutter out a few words, but Ting Miu spoke up before him.


    "Your father sent me here, he asked me to use my law of pressure to help you with your cultivation. So, what do you say, shall we have some fun cultivating?"


    The smile she flashed him contained some playful maliciousness, he kept on teasing and playing around all the time so this was the perfect chance for her to get some payback and reclaim her position as the senior sister. But then Li Yang finally finished stuttering, his trembling finger just barely able to point upwards.


    "Fairy Sister... Miu... I prefer... White ones..."


    A sliver of confusion flashed through Ting Miu''s pupils before she understood what he meant, an enticing shade of red spreading on her face as she quickly tucked the bottom of her skirt between her legs. The pressure bearing down on Li Yang immediately intensified, Ting Miu''s slightly embarrassed voice sounding out.


    "Level 3!"


    The attacks that had stopped earlier immediately started up again and bore down on Li Yang, now far more ferocious than earlier. Coupled together with the pressure that Ting Miu was unleashing, a massive amount of force was constantly rampaging through the body of the weakly snickering Li Yang.


    The pressure and force rendered him unable to speak now that it had increased so he focused fully on sensing and understanding the force. And as his understanding of the violent force grew greater and greater, thin lines started to gather within his dantian, a small rune shaped like an imploding star starting to form.

 11 The simple secret.

    Ting Miu stood over Li Yang and quietly observed his body as the attacks of the array rained down on him. She wasn''t going to let him die just because of some embarrassment, she was making sure to keep a close eye on him so that she could intervene the moment things seemed like they might go wrong. But looking down at the youth who was practically getting squashed into the earth, she couldn''t help but click her tongue at him.


    "Tch, you''d be an amazing catch if you''d just show a bit more seriousness, that''s all you need to become utterly amazing."


    Truth be told, Ting Miu used to have the same opinion as almost everyone else in the sect, Li Yang was just a lazy bastard who should just leave the sect if he had no intention of actually cultivating. She knew about, and had personally experienced, his great skills when it came to dodging around like a nimble monkey. But that alone wasn''t enough to make others think much of him, so she was among those who ended up greatly shocked when Li Yang finally showed off earlier.


    He had shown off that not only was he actually cultivating, but also that his strength was a fair bit greater than others of his cultivation realm. The opponent he had beat was only at the late stage of the Houtian Rune realm, only two runes above him, so she had yet to enter the Xiantian Rune realm. Some people argued that this meant that the difference in strength wasn''t insurmountable, but most considered this a rather shallow and petty argument.


    Li Yang could also be considered rather slow to only have carved four runes at the age of 15, of course, the fact that he had carved two sets of four runes basically negated this slowness. These two facts, especially coupled with his willingness to keep the truth hidden for so long, was sufficient to leave most people more than a bit shocked.


    And now, as she was looking down at his body, she could feel that he was adapting to both her pressure and the cascade of attacks at a blistering pace. At the start, his body would twitch a little each time an attack landed on him, the force of the impact shifting the position of his body in a minute manner. But now, after only a few hours had passed, that twitching had been all but eradicated.


    The attacks landed and unleashed their force, but now he seemed to be capable of shifting around the resulting force in a smooth manner that didn''t impact his body. There was only one word Ting Miu could think of to describe this adaption speed, talent. Li Yang was talented, everything she had seen from him recently made that fact abundantly clear to Ting Miu.


    But he had a flaw, a very glaring one at that, his personality. He was too frivolous and joking, seemingly unable to take a single thing seriously. If it wasn''t for this single flaw then Li Yang could easily become one of the most respected people in the sect, with time he might even take over the position of his father and be one of the sect''s leaders. But sadly, the little haunted troublemaker in front of her had never shown any signs of changing or abandoning his frivolous persona.


    Slight movements from Li Yang''s body broke Ting Miu out of her quiet contemplation and slight day-dreaming about what Li Yang might have ended up becoming. He was struggling to raise his arms and head under the barrage of attacks and Ting Miu''s own pressure, placing his palms on the earth while trying to push himself up. He wasn''t able to move much, his earnest and struggling effort slightly touching Ting Miu''s heart. But then he managed to raise his head out of the dirt, raising it just enough for him to barely glance upwards while squeezing out a stifled voice.


    "Fairy Sister Miu... While I prefer... White ones... I think blue... Suits you nicely..."


    An alluring blush immediately spread across Ting Miu''s face as she understood what Li Yang meant, every single positive idea of what he might have become instantly shattering. Her hand immediately reached down and pushed her skirt between her thighs again, her left shooting forward on instinct. Her foot made contact with Li Yang''s face and sent him flying back, blood spurting from his nose while Ting Miu regained her clarity.


    "Ah fuck!"


    She had acted on instinct just now and put more force than intended into that kick, resulting in Li Yang flying back until he crashed into one of the craggy mountains that the array had created. The array luckily halted its attacks upon detecting the rapid movement, giving Li Yang a short moment of reprieve from the unending stream of attacks as he crashed into the mountain.


    Ting Miu quickly walked over to make sure that he was still okay after getting kicked, but to her surprise, he dropped down from the side of the mountain while looking mostly unharmed. Some blood poured from his nose, but he rolled his shoulders casually while wearing a somewhat playful smile.


    "Force upon force, that''s the answer, huh? You bastard of a queen, I swear that I''ll slap the shit out of you if we ever meet. What''s the damn point in making it so cryptic?"


    Ting Miu didn''t understand what Li Yang''s mutterings were about, heaving a stealthy sigh of relief that he hadn''t been badly hurt by her instinctual retaliation. Li Yang blew out the blood that was gathering within his nostrils and then wiped his upper lip, turning his gaze onto Ting Miu.


    "Fairy Sister Miu, I know that it must hurt your soul deeply to raise your hands against the delicate me, but could I trouble you to give me more love-taps like that? They are quite useful to my cultivation. Of course, if you want us to go to a place more private for some more intimate love taps then I''m all for that, I''ll just ask that you be gentle with me since it''s my first time."


    Li Yang squirmed shyly as he spoke, Ting Miu''s hands twitching as she resisted the urge to smash his face in. Li Yang stopped squirming when he saw Ting Miu''s practically black expression, the smirk hanging on his face only serving to further boil Ting Miu''s blood.


    Li Yang had spent a few hours understanding the essence of force, actually resulting in a rune being formed in his dantian. But it was only when he tried to push himself up that he was enlightened on how to continue cultivating the Heavenly Queen''s 1st Star. The way to conquer and merge with the force was much simpler than any idea he had come up with, it was to the point of being annoying.


    All he had to do was use another type of force to push the external force into his bones, somewhat emulating the standard body cultivation method. The way it differed was that it required an outside source of force, such as a strong punch or attack, and you couldn''t let your own Qi or energy mix with that force as you forced it into your bones. Just doing it once wasn''t enough either, the force would just dissipate after passing through your bone. No, you had to do it again and again, trapping the force inside your bones until it merged into them.


    Ting Miu shook her hands to loosen them up and was just about to let out an exasperated sigh when she saw a very faint sliver of seriousness hidden within Li Yang''s eyes. She couldn''t help but stop for a second, tilting her head with eyes that were slightly narrowed in confusion.


    "Wait, you''re actually serious?"


    Li Yang had teased her countless times about ''being rough'' and ''remembering that he liked a bit of pain'', but the look in his eyes this time was different from all those times. And faced with her confusion, Li Yang nodded his head as if he was speaking about something that was just par for the course.


    "Yeah, gimme your best shot, Fairy Sister Miu. Of course, if you feel bad about hitting my delicate body then I can use the array here instead, the sheer number of attacks will just make it a bit more troublesome."


    If he activated the array and was attacked from all sides then it would be a bit troublesome as it would occupy a bit of his focus, making it harder to focus on one part of his body at a time. But if he was just hit by Ting Miu then he could take his time to focus on one part at a time by controlling how often she hit him. Ting Miu still looked a bit suspicious that he was just playing with her, but eventually, she cracked her knuckles while the corners of her lips curved up faintly.


    "No no, don''t bother with that. As your Senior Sister, I am of course more than willing to help you with your cultivation. Just you tell me when I can bea... launch an attack to aid you."


    Li Yang didn''t mention anything about her slight... mispronunciation, placing both hands behind his head and tensing his stomach. He nodded at Ting Miu, who immediately sent her fist crashing into Li Yang''s stomach, controlling her power so that she didn''t accidentally hurt Li Yang.


    Li Yang sank his vision into his own body, focusing on the invisible force that Ting Miu''s punch sent coursing through his stomach. He drew out energy from the single force rune carved in his dantian, an invisible stream of Qi moving through his body and surrounding the invisible force that the attack had created. He used his Qi to guide the force up through his body, focusing it on his right hand and forcing it to sink into his bones.


    The process could only be called excruciating, it felt like he was breaking his bones over and over again. But each time the force moved around in his bones, a little bit of it was absorbed by his bones, the corners of Li Yang''s lips curving up slightly. He was already looking forward to meeting Mei Kongxu again, she had taken quite the advantage of him back when they first met so now it was his time to take the lead. With that thought in mind, he flashed Ting Miu a smirk.


    "Fairy Sister Miu, such a gentle touch... are you perhaps trying to arouse me? If that is your intention then I can only say that you are succeeding, more love taps like that will certainly wake up my junior and make him raring to go."


    Ting Miu''s expression faltered as her lips twitched while she looked at Li Yang squirm as if he was trying to cover his crotch. She clenched her fist again and sent out another punch, increasing the power of her attack this time to hopefully silence him. But reality proved disappointing, each of her punches was followed by some teasing from Li Yang, the only sound audible in the training room being Li Yang''s teasing and the sound of Ting Miu''s fist hitting his stomach.

 12 Mei Cuixue.

    The hours turned to days and the days turned to weeks, Li Yang practically taking up residence within the training array. Were it not for the times he left to visit his mother or to get some food then some people in the sect might finally have gotten to breathe a sigh of relief that they got some peace for a change. He only had a month before they were going to head over to the World-rending Behemoth sect, and since his plan was to get the high ground over Mei Kongxu, he couldn''t really afford to waste much time.


    Of course, Ting Miu didn''t spend every day with Li Yang just to assist him in his cultivation. She couldn''t neglect her own cultivation or the classes she taught, so the best she could do was pop in once every five days to give Li Yang a helping hand. And just like that, the days and weeks quickly passed, the day that they would head to the World-rending Behemoth sect arriving in a flash.


    Li Yang was sitting within the training array, fist-sized rocks bombarding him from practically all directions without pause. His eyes were closed, but his brows were slightly furrowed while his flesh trembled from all the attacks pelting him. His interspatial ring vibrated softly and drew his attention, his eyes popping open and the never-ending flow of attacks halting.


    "About time to leave, huh? Time''s really flown while I wasn''t paying attention, gotta make sure to spank her a few times for making me cultivate this seriously."


    Li Yang hopped up from his seated position, but he couldn''t help but cringe slightly as he moved his body. His mouth curved somewhat bitterly, one hand rubbing his shoulders and neck while his other hand rubbed his thighs and waist while he cursed softly.


    "Damn Heavenly Queen, what''s the point in coming up with a cultivation technique as sadistic as this? I''d say that I''ll have to smack you if I ever meet you, but looking at what you''ve created I fear that you would just end up enjoying it."


    Li Yang''s entire body felt sore after getting pelted with such constant attacks, the need for a strong outside force to cultivate the technique made it far from pleasant. And what''s worse was that it was ludicrously thorough, requiring extensive cultivation and pain for even the smallest advance, something Li Yang was more than familiar with now.


    The Heavenly Queen''s 1st Star actually had what could be considered three stages, each one based on how much force you had merged into your bones and how deeply the two were merged, going from an initial merging with a weak force, to a moderate merging with a strong force, and a complete merging down to the very core with a tremendous force. The three stages were called Small Success, Large Sucess, and Perfection, and after this month of intense cultivation, Li Yang had only managed to reach Small Success with both his hands and both his feet.


    He didn''t even want to think about how much time and force would be needed to reach Small Success with his entire body, much less how much he would need to reach Large Success or Perfection, it was practically headache-inducing. He finished rubbing the sorest parts of his body and then gave it a few stretches, casually heading for the exit of the training array.


    "Alright, let''s pop home for a second and then head out, should still have time for a nice shower."


    Li Yang left the array and once again arrived on the branch of the large tree, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding ocean as he walked over and stepped onto the spatial array. He arrived back on the main island of the Deepsea King sect and then took a few more spatial arrays to reach his house. He took a good and long shower to dispel any lingering soreness, packing his interspatial ring with a few items that he might need, and some that he only brought along because he thought he might be able to use them for some funny tricks.


    With everything taken care of, he finally headed over to the plaza that was set to be their meeting point, once again taking his time by sauntering over leisurely. With his casual gait, it was inevitable that he ended up as one of the last people to arrive, the plaza already packed with disciples and a few elders. Li Yang swept his gaze over the crowd of excited disciples, his thoughts starting to move when he realized that about 90% of the people heading out were the same disciples that had taken part in the sparring matches when the World-rending Behemoth sect came to visit.


    Li Yang''s hands were resting behind his head in a nonchalant manner, but his gaze was slightly narrowed while the corner of his lips curved up faintly, a fun idea rearing its head inside his mind. He didn''t bother telling anyone about his idea, doing so would just ruin the fun of it, so he proceeded to just quietly wait. Two or three others arrived after Li Yang, an hour after his arrival, the final member to head out arrived, Li Yang''s father, Li Tian.


    "Good, I''m glad that no one has decided to stay here out of laziness."


    Li Tian''s gaze swept over Li Yang for a short second as he spoke, making it perfectly clear exactly who it was that he was talking about. Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders without caring too much, his father turning to look at the accompanying elders and making sure that everything was ready. Once everything was confirmed to be in order, Li Tian took out a handful of grape-sized brown orbs and started placing them around the spatial array they were going to use, altering it so that they could take it directly to the World-rending Behemoth sect.


    The array was activated and the crowd buzzing with excitement was blinded by a bright light that washed over them for a short instance. When the light vanished, they had finished the transfer and had arrived in a completely different place, a large and imposing stone city surrounding them. The sharp tips of several mountains were barely visible in the distance, forming a circle that seemed to surround the entire city, telling them that they had indeed arrived at the main city of the World-rending Behemoth sect.


    This was Li Yang''s first time visiting the World-rending Behemoth sect, but his gaze was drawn towards a large crowd standing not too far away from them before he could inspect his surrounding. He recognized quite a few faces in the crowd so he knew that they were the disciples that had taken part in the previous sparring, so they were likely to be their enemies this time as well. He hadn''t expected them to meet them here when they arrived, but that fit his plans so the corner of his lips tugged up slightly.


    He also spotted the black-eyed and white-haired Mei Kongxu, a delicate silver dress adorning her body and enhancing her curves and her enchanting features. Her eyes still looked somewhat forlorn and distant but there was an added touch of confusion in them, almost giving her the air of a damsel in distress. Li Yang ignored the people who were clearly ogling her, his own gaze focusing on the middle-aged and graceful woman standing a few steps ahead of Mei Kongxu.


    The woman had a tall and majestic stature, her black eyes containing and unquestionable authority while her bronze hair was cut so short that it stopped just above her ears. She had several traits that matched Mei Kongxu, and sensing the pressure she unleashed, Li Yang could easily guess that this was Mei Kongxu''s mother, the Second Elder of the World-reading Behemoth sect.


    The buzzing excitement running through the two crowds died down now that they were facing an exalted elder from the other sect, Li Yang''s father and Mei Kongxu''s mother stepping forward. The two stopped a short distance from each other, cupping their hands in greeting while Mei Kongxu''s mother took the lead in speaking.


    "Greetings, we are pleased that you could make the trip. From the looks of it, you''ve managed to bring along all the disciples that will take part in the sparring, so shall we get the usual duels underway immediately?"


    This sparring was a fairly regular occurrence for the two sects, it had practically become standard fare for them now. So the words spoken by Mei Kongxu''s mother were just a formality, both she and Li Tian knew that things would just start straight away like they always did. Or at least so they thought, but this one time there was an unknown element that had mixed in.


    "Sorry, but would it be possible for me to speak up and come with a suggestion?"


    The unexpected voice caught everyone''s attention, all the gazes focusing on Li Yang, who had raised one of his hands slightly. There was a short moment of silence, one of Li Tian''s, Mei Kongxu, and Mei Kongxu''s mother''s eyebrows raising in surprise, partly due to the unexpected action and due to Li Yang''s guts to speak up in front of two exalted elders. Li Tian glanced at Mei Kongxu''s mother, who nodded her head and gestured for Li Yang to continue talking.


    "Thank you for allowing me to speak. My suggestion is simple, aren''t you all tired of these sparring matches? I won''t deny that they help a bit with increasing our skills, but that is only when there is some variety in when it takes place and who takes part. We only just had a round of sparring matches a month ago, and about 90% or more of the people who fought then are going to fight now, the results simply aren''t going to be that different, are they? So rather than just repeated sparring matches where the results are pre-determined, why don''t we mix things up?"


    Li Yang wore a charming smile as he spoke in a casual and carefree manner, his elegant appearance and guts sufficient to cause some of the girls to take a second look at him. His words also caught the attention of the disciples, especially those who had lost previously and were certain that they would just lose here as well.


    Li Tian and Li Jueyong couldn''t help but narrow their eyes slightly, wondering exactly what Li Yang was planning this time around. Li Tian didn''t make a comment, glancing at Mei Kongxu''s mother and leaving the final decision in her hands. Mei Kongxu''s mother swept her gaze across the crowd of disciples behind her for a short second, her gaze eventually landing on Li Yang.


    "you''re Li Yang, correct? The lad who''s going to marry me, Mei Cuixue''s daughter, Mei Kongxu? I''ll give you this, you certainly have great guts to be able to speak so carefreely in front of elders like us. Very well, you''ve caught my interest, what''s your idea?"


    Li Yang smiled politely in the face of Mei Cuixue''s praise, making sure to give her a polite bow and introducing himself while heaping some praise onto her.


    "Indeed, this little one is Li Yang, the son of Li Tian. And it is indeed I that have been blessed with the privilege of marrying your daughter. And I must say, I can see where she gets her great looks and aura from."


    He was eloquent and charming, but his words caused Li Tian to nearly roll his eyes while Mei Kongxu''s lips twitched slightly. He didn''t bother with their reactions, straightening his back and pointing at one of the distant mountain peaks.


    "My suggestion is fairly simple actually, why don''t you send us into one of the training grounds where you allow Demonic beasts to roam freely? Like this, we can show off our actual fighting skills by fighting proper battles, it''s much better than sparring matches where everyone constantly has to hold back. We can also rank people based on how strong the Demonic beast corpse that they leave the training grounds with is, that way it will be a bit easier to hand out the rewards from the sparring matches. What do you think?"


    Just like the Deepsea King sect, the World-rending Behemoth sect had several training grounds where they allowed Demonic beasts to roam. These training grounds allowed the disciples to properly test themselves in bloody combat, it was a much better forge than some standard sparring matches. Mei Cuixue didn''t say anything straight away, allowing her gaze to sweep over the clearly excited disciples.


    Wherever there were Demonic beasts there would be Qi, and thus there would be plants and other resources that they could use for cultivation, not including the Demonic beasts themselves. Seeing their expressions, Mei Cuixue ended up nodding her head, pointing at Li Yang and Mei Kongxu.


    "Seeing as you''ve already convinced the disciples, me saying anything else will just disappoint them. Very well, we''ll change it up this once to see how it goes. But you will have to enter along with everyone else, and the two of you will travel together."


    He was supposed to marry Mei Kongxu so that the two sects could foster a closer relationship so she might as well take this chance to push them a bit closer to smoothen the process. The disciples from both sides immediately started buzzing with excitement at the prospects, Mei Kongxu getting sent over to Li Yang''s side and whispering to him suspiciously.


    "What are you planning?"


    He clearly had some plan behind changing the usual sparring matches, it might just be to get his hands on some resources, but it might also be something else. But facing her suspicion, Li Yang simply feigned innocence, acting as if he had just thought of something as he swiped his interspatial ring.


    "Planning, me? I just want to encourage some friendly competition. How about you and I have a little competition? The one who bags the strongest beast gets a reward, separate from the usual rewards of course. Hmm, if you win, I''ll give you this, how about it?"


    The thing he took out from his interspatial ring was a box that seemed to be made from burnt wood, traces of lightning still visible at the edges of the box. This was the box that was meant to hide the Heavenly Queen''s 1st star, it was one of the few things capable of properly hiding the energy coming from the bone. Mei Kongxus'' gaze narrowed faintly when she saw the box, a soft light flashing through her pupils as she responded without hesitation.


    "Deal"

 13 First tail.

    Li Yang wasn''t being stealthy while he made his bet with Mei Kongxu so their interaction was seen by everyone around them. If Mei Kongxu''s instant agreement wasn''t enough to make them curious, then Li Tian''s act of furrowing his brow upon seeing the box certainly did. If even the Third elder of the Deepsea King sect reacted upon seeing the box then it was clear that whatever was hidden within the box was more than just a bit valuable.


    Li Yang glanced sideways at his father, stealthily allowing his gaze to run over the surrounding crowd that was now looking at either Mei Kongxu or the box. Li Tian''s gaze narrowed faintly as his eyes met with Li Yang''s, but he chose to remain silent after seeing the look in Li Yang''s eyes, trusting that his son wouldn''t truly be that foolish.


    Li Tian''s slightly narrowed gaze and furrowed brows were also seen by Mei Cuixue, who couldn''t help but glance at the box that Li Yang was holding. Li Yang pulled his gaze back after seeing that his father chose to remain silent, playing with the wooden box for a bit before throwing it into his interspatial ring.


    "You''ll get the box if you win, as for my reward... how about you tell me a bit more about what you asked me when we first met? While accompanying me on a nice date around the sect, of course."


    The first thing Mei Kongxu had asked him when they met was if he knew about the Thunder''s Roar and the how of the Tyrant, two statements that didn''t mean a single thing to him. But they had piqued his interest, especially with the things Mei Kongxu told him during their following betting matches.


    Mei Kongxu''s brows furrowed for a second, a snicker coming from one of the sect members closer to the two of them drawing their attention. The young girl that had snickered quickly looked away and acted like nothing, but her actions further aroused Li Yang''s interest in Mei Kongxu''s little secret. Mei Kongxu''s expression returned to its usual cold and distant one after she removed her gaze from the young girl, nonchalantly nodding her head to Li Yang''s offer.


    "Alright, I''ll pay my part if I lose, but I hope you won''t go back on your word if you lose."


    Mei Kongxu glanced sideways at Li Tian to further emphasize that he shouldn''t use his father as an excuse when he lost. But Li Yang simply laughed in response to her worries, grinning cheekily while winking at her.


    "You don''t need to worry about that. Truth be told, this thing is something I would have given you if you had just asked, I''m only using it as a betting stake now to take advantage of you since I know that the thing inside the box is irresistible."


    Li Yang still didn''t bother to hide his words in the slightest, his loud laughter and confident words further drawing the attention of the surrounding disciples. His proud and confident visage made him look like a peacock proudly displaying his feathers to attract his mate, unaware of just how visible it made him to other predators. But no one made a move yet, Mei Cuixue speaking out in a stern voice that reached everyone''s ears.


    "Alright, we''ve lingered around enough, it''s time to get the actual sparring underway. The process is a bit different this time around so I''ll set some ground rules. This isn''t a tournament or competition against the other sects, its a friendly sparring match. As such, there will be no killing or robbing anyone of their chastity, understood? The moment someone doesn''t leave the forest alive, everyone else will be forbidden from leaving the area until we have indisputable evidence that the one who died was in fact killed by a Demonic beast. And should someone be found guilty of murder or ****, they will be immediately killed. Have I made myself clear?"


    Mei Cuixue''s words embedded themselves in the minds of everyone present, almost hammering against their souls. She was the Second Elder of the World-rending Behemoth sect, the fearsome Iron Tiger Lord, there was no one present that would dare to go against her words so everyone could only agree loudly.


    "Yes Ma''am!"


    "It will be as you say, Elder!"


    Li Yang also saluted Mei Cuixue, the corners of his lips pulled up very faintly. He was actually able to discover the hidden meaning behind her words, killing and raping were forbidden, but robbery wasn''t. So even if someone stole the box from him, Li Yang couldn''t complain since it wasn''t against the rules, it just meant that he was too weak to hold it. It could be considered a bit callous, but the disciples should actually be somewhat grateful that the sects forbade killing, an act that many of the higher-ranked sects didn''t forbid during their training excursions or sparring matches.


    Mei Cuixue and Li Tian took the lead in walking away, bringing the disciples of the two sects to the training area that would be used. While they were walking, Li Yang noticed that people were keeping a small bit of distance from him and Mei Kongxu, several people glancing at them more than once. He expected the glances he got, as well as the glances Mei Kongxu got from the male disciples, but he hadn''t expected the glances Mei Kongxu got from the female disciples of the World-rending Behemoth sect.


    They looked at her in much the same way as the young girl from earlier had, with a light snicker, seeming to be quietly mocking her. It could be that they were just jealous of her beauty, which probably was actually one of the main reasons, but there seemed to be something more as well. Li Yang glanced somewhat amusedly at the girl walking at his side, but she ignored the incoming glances and maintained her chilly expression. Li Yang couldn''t hold himself back when he saw her expression, leaning in as close as he could, only stopping when it looked like she was going to punch him if he moved closer.


    "This might be a bit of a bad time to tell you, but there''s a tear in the back of your dress. I mean, I''m not gonna complain about the free showing of skin, and I do like the colour of your underwear, but are you sure you want to get me all hot and bothered with so many people watching?"


    Mei Kongxu''s pupils instantly shrank as she hurriedly turned her head and twisted her body to check out her back, covering her rear with her hands just in case. But checking her back, her silver dress was spotless, not a single sign of the tear that Li Yang had mentioned. Thinking about it for a split second she also realized that there was no way her mother would let her walk around with a torn dress, meaning that Li Yang had just been messing with her.


    Her head riveted around, but Li Yang had already pranced forward and put some distance between the two so that she couldn''t instantly retaliate. But he was glancing back at her with an amused smirk, her chilly mask cracking as she fumed, almost cutting into Li Yang with her glare. She hurried her steps somewhat to chase after him, but he continued to prance and practically skip away, always making sure to stay just far enough away that she couldn''t get her hands on him.


    And so, before she could exact her revenge on him, the two groups reached the area that Mei Cuixue had decided on for their sparring. The area was the foot of one of the mountains that encircled the sect, but it wasn''t the mountain peak that Li Yang had pointed at.


    The area wasn''t even quite suited to be called the foot of a mountain, as there were actually five smaller mountains present in the area, only the one serving as the centre of the area stretching beyond five or so kilometres into the sky. The four other mountains stood a distance away from the centre mountain, connecting together to form a nearly perfect square that made Li Yang think that the area might be man-made. A sprawling forest meandered around between the five mountains, dense at some points while seemingly sparse at others, the verdant leaves rustling in the wind.


    Mei Cuixue didn''t immediately unleash the disciples upon the sprawling forest, spending a few minutes speaking with Li Tian first. The two people weren''t all that far away from him, but Li Yang was unable to hear a single word that left their lips, it was as if they were standing in a completely different world. The two people ended their conversation with Li Tian swiping one of the rings on his left hand and muttering a few words into it, Mei Cuixue addressing the eagerly awaiting group of disciples.


    "As this will be a bit different from our usual sparring matches, we''ve decided to alter the timeframe a little. Rather than spend just one day, we''ll give you five days within the forest to look for Demonic beasts, we''ll rank you based on the strength of the Demonic beast corpse that you deliver to us here outside the forest. You are free to keep everything you find inside the forest, even the beast corpses and herbs you find. If you find yourself unable to last any longer in the forest then you can come out here, do not worry about being shamed, there is nothing wrong with trying to stay alive. And speaking of staying alive, do not go to the central mountain! The other places don''t hold Demonic beasts that are too dangerous, but the central mountain the home of the Demonic beast that rules this small training field, there will be a few beasts there that you lot can''t handle."


    The nearly 600 disciples hurriedly nodded their heads, some of them so eager to head out that they weren''t able to stand still. You couldn''t just enter one of these training areas whenever you wanted, if they let the disciples do that then the Demonic beasts and herbs would be hunted to extinction before long. So even though Mei Cuixue said that they should leave if they were unable to go on, not a single disciple even entertained that notion.


    Mei Cuixue nodded her head, the disciples taking it as the signal that they were free to enter. The disciples flooded into the forest like a ravenous swarm of locusts, quickly dispersing into smaller groups that vanished beyond the trees. Compared to the other disciples'' rushing, Li Yang''s leisurely and carefree gait was a stark contrast, Mei Kongxu tilting her head slightly while once again maintaining her chilly mask.


    "Considering the fact that you''re the one who set this all up, you''re surprisingly slow about it. Are you not worried that all the good things will be snatched up before you can get to them?"


    Li Yang''s leisure gait didn''t change despite Mei Kongxu''s question, his hands resting behind his head as he turned to look at her. The corners of his lips were faintly pulled up, his crimson eyes roaming over Mei Kongxu''s enchanting frosty face for a second before he chuckled.


    "Worried? Why should I be? We''ve got five whole days, and the fun has only just begun to build up. It''ll grow and grow even without me doing anything, and then when they all come for us, it will fully burst open so that I can reap every last ounce of amusement from it. So it doesn''t matter how slow I am about it, the end result is already determined."


    Mei Kongxu''s brows twitched for a second, a sliver of understanding spawning in her mind. He wasn''t lying when he said he was only using the box to take advantage of her, he was using it to entice everyone else, he wanted to rile them all up for some reason. But that realization left a question in her mind, what did Li Yang stand to gain from that, putting himself in a position where everyone else would eye him hungrily. She refused to believe that he did it just for his own amusement, she didn''t believe that such a person actually existed.


    But Li Yang didn''t answer her confusion, maintaining his faint smirk-like smile as the two ventured deeper into the forest at a leisure pace, Li Yang leaving it to Mei Kongxu to pick their direction. But as this was a place where Demonic beasts were allowed to roam freely, their leisure pace could only last for close to an hour before it was interrupted. A creature that looked like three-metre long mole broke through the earth, a few brown fins tucked away within the black fur of the beast, which didn''t have any eyes.


    Looking at the energy it radiated, the beast seemed to have strength equal to someone who had reached the middle stage of the Human Rune realm, probably equal to someone who had carved the 5th or 6th rune. The beast didn''t have eyes but still faced Li Yang and Mei Kongxu so it clearly had a way of detecting them, its star-shaped snout sniffing at the air.


    Li Yang and Mei Kongxu stopped moving as the beast faced them, inspecting the beast for a short second before glancing at each other. They were silently deciding on who would take on this beast, Li Yang smirking and stepping forward.


    "Alright, I''ll take on this one, there''re some things I want to test out."


    One of Mei Kongxu''s eyebrows rose slightly at Li Yang''s statement, had he actually managed to learn something new during the one month since their previous sparring? Li Yang simply smirked at her raised eyebrow and faced the beast, fondling his chin slightly while muttering to himself.


    "Now, just how did it feel again?"


    Li Yang rolled his eyes for a slight second while thinking back to the previous battle he had with Mei Kongxu, thinking back to the voice that sounded in his mind and spoke nonsensically about tails. He remembered the sensation he felt back then, the light of realization flashing through his pupils.


    "First tail, wasn''t it?"


    He emulated the sensation he felt back then, his body suddenly starting to bubble with energy that rose up from the very depths of his soul. Most of the energy coursed through his body, boosting his power, but some of it seeped out through his back and formed the transparent outline of a bushy white tail waving around in the air to the right of his tailbone. Mei Kongxu''s pupils shrank slightly as she looked at the transparent outline, the faint curve of Li Yang''s lips growing a bit larger as he sensed the power coursing through him.


    "Yup, that''s the feeling alright."

 14 The disk in the box.

    Li Yang glanced back at the faint outline swinging around behind him, the corners of his mouth curved up in a pleased arc. This was the first time since it popped up back in the sparring match that he brought forth this illusory tail, and now that he made it stick around for a bit he could more clearly sense how it increased his strength. He could even move the tail a little if he put his mind to it, but the motions were so slow and stilted that he couldn''t see a single use for it at the moment.


    Li Yang turned his gaze back onto the three-metre long black mole that had burst out from the earth a few metres ahead of him, a faint smirk on his face as he stretched his arms and started to head for the enemy. Strangely enough, the large mole actually shrunk back somewhat as Li Yang approached, the brown fings tucked away within its fur protruding and vibrating as if the beast wanted to make itself seem larger.


    "Come on now, acting scared despite being the one that snuck up on us?"


    Li Yang finished stretching his arms as he spoke and then stepped forward, shooting at the beast like an unleashed arrow. The distance between the two was short to begin with so Li Yang reached the face of the mole in practically an instant. He reached it first but wasn''t actually the one to throw out the first attack, the mole quickly sweeping out with its left front leg when it noticed that Li Yang didn''t launch an attack straight away.


    But this was exactly the response Li Yang had tried to coax out from the beast, his right hand clenching into a fist that he smashed upwards at the incoming clawed-paw. His fist crashed into what should be the beast''s wrist, the dirty black fur there actually feeling like solid leather, the beast''s bones and flesh as solid as stone.


    Demonic beasts were often mindless and savage, especially the weaker ones that were stuck at a lower level of strength. But while the heavens hadn''t granted them the early intelligence that humans enjoyed, beasts had been blessed with terrifyingly strong bodies and innate abilities. Even beasts that had merely mutated from immense amounts of Qi generally had bodies that were far stronger than cultivators of the same rank, that was what made Demonic beasts so fearful. And there was no need to even mention the even stronger Divine Beasts, which could only be considered unfair beings blessed with the body of a Demonic beast and the mind of a human, they were truly horrifying monsters.


    But the toughness of the beast''s body didn''t matter at this moment, even if he could, Li Yang''s intention right now wasn''t to merely shatter the beast''s paw. He drew upon the energy from his three force runes and his four gravity runes, the Force Qi gathering up the energy that entered his arm from the collision while his Gravity Qi acted upon the beast itself.


    Gravity on the beast''s left side was reversed drastically for a single second, coupling together with the punch to actually lift the entire beast''s side up into the air. The sudden change caught the beast off-guard, Li Yang immediately grasping the opportunity to send a sideways kick at the beast''s other front leg, kicking it out from underneath its body. These two attacks coupled together to actually flip the large beast onto its back, the reversed gravity acting upon the left side of its body returning to normal just as the beast finished flipping.


    And this was exactly what Li Yang had been aiming for, to push the beast into a defenceless state to quickly finish it. And he didn''t waste a single second, his right leg rising as high as he could bring it before he brought it smashing down. As his heel approached the underside of the mole''s head, he transferred all the energy his Force Qi had gathered up earlier and sent it into his foot. He then supplemented that energy with more Qi from all three of his runes, which were all currently strengthened thanks to the illusory tail waving around behind him.


    And in that state, his heel collided with the underside of the mole''s head and unleashed all the power gathered in it. Li Yang felt a somewhat sickening crunch beneath his foot before the head of the beast gave out under his heel and cracked apart, his foot barreling through the beast''s head until his sole touched the earth again. With a foot having passed through its skull, the beast inevitably turned limp, Li Yang exhaling a long breath that caused the illusory tail behind him to dissipate.


    "No wonder most people prefer to use weapons. Shame that it''s not really my style."


    The sickening crunch he felt under his foot as the beast''s skull collapsed had practically embedded itself in his mind, a constant reminder of his first kill. And if it was going to be that sickening every time he used his fists or feet to kill something then he could somewhat understand why people would choose to use weapons. But using weapons wasn''t quite his style so he spat out another breath and then stepped back, dragging a bit of blood and brain with him as he pulled his foot back.


    He looked at the ruined head of the mole with slightly narrowed eyes, unable to deny that he was surprised at just how easy it had been to crush the beast. This monster was on the more mindless and savage side of Demonic beasts, there was no fun to be had in teasing and taunting it while they fought, it would just end up being a boring fight.


    As such, he decided that this was an excellent opportunity to test out his force runes, the illusory tail, and the strength of his hands and feet after he strengthened them using the Heavenly Queen''s 1st Star. And the result was more than pleasantly surprising, by pushing his strength to its limit he was able to quickly and decisively crush a Demonic beast that was one or two small realms above him.


    He wiped away some of the blood staining his foot by using the surrounding grass, chucking the beast''s corpse into his interspatial ring before he turned around. And the first thing that greeted him was the narrowed eyes of Mei Kongxu, a somewhat confused and lost expression lingering on her face.


    "That tail... What was it? Where did you learn about it?"


    She pushed her face uncharacteristically close as she questioned him, her warm breath practically tickling the tip of his nose. Her current expression was more in tune with some of the expressions she had when they first met and engaged in the betting matches to ask each other questions. The questions back then had been strange, and even she seemed to be at a loss, confused even, when it came to some of them.


    Some might be slightly caught off-guard, maybe even charmed, by the difference between these expressions and the usually cold one that Mei Kongxu wore. But Li Yang was not one of those people, all he saw in this situation was a good chance to fluster her to see even more expressions. And he did just that, taking advantage of the fact that she had unconsciously stepped so close to softly lift her chin while leaning his own face closer, whispering sensually before she had the chance to react.


    "Would you believe me if I told you that I have no idea what it was? And what if I told you that I only heard about it randomly?"


    His answer was actually the truth, he didn''t have a clue what the tail was, and he had only heard about it randomly from the voices in his head. But whether or not Mei Kongxu actually believed him, that wasn''t something he knew. As for Mei Kongxu, an endearing blush ran across her face for a short second when Li Yang''s voice tickled her ear.


    But that blush vanished practically as soon as it showed up, her expression returning to normal as her fist shot forward to push Li Yang back. He swiftly stepped back and twisted his body to dodge the fist, raising both arms in apparent defeat while smirking faintly.


    "Woah, woah, easy there, easy. I just thought that you wanted to get a bit more... intimate, since you took the initiative to get so close. And with a Fairy Sister like you taking the initiative, how could I possibly turn you down?"


    Mei Kongxu''s expression cracked slightly again under Li Yang''s smirk, the fiend in front of her seemed to have more than just a knack for cracking the expression she had worn so naturally in front of others. She sucked in a quick breath to return her expression to normal, not indicating her stance on whether or not she believed his earlier words as she changed the subject.


    "The box, the reward you chose for our bet. You said you would give it to me if I just asked, so would you hand it over now?"


    She might not be showing her stance on whether or not she believed him, but just the fact that she changed the subject like this so quickly made it clear to Li Yang that she thought that he was most likely just playing with her. So since she couldn''t get an answer to the more urgent questions in her mind, she probably decided to see if she could get an answer to a different question.


    Li Yang wasn''t bothered about her not believing him, it was the same as when he told the others in the sect that he heard voices and saw a pair of eyes looking at him whenever he closed his eyes. They weren''t words you could just believe like that, if you told someone something like that then it was more likely that they''d look at you as if you were mentally deranged. But being believed didn''t really matter much to Li Yang, the faint smirk remaining on his face as he swiped his interspatial ring and tossed Mei Kongxu the burnt wooden box.


    "Of course I would. I may be a jokester, but I take my own word very seriously. If I say I''m going to do something or if I promise something, then I''ll go through with it no matter what."


    Mei Kongxu caught the wooden box, tracing the scorch marks that resembled lightning. Holding the wooden box magnified the familiar and dear sensation she had felt when she first laid eyes on it. It felt less like she was holding a simple box and more like she held a memento left behind by a family member or dear friend. She didn''t immediately open the box, tilting her head somewhat curiously at Li Yang.


    First there was his ever-present calmness yet joking nature that aroused her curiosity, then his seemingly familiar fighting style, then the tail he just showed off again, and now finally the box. Everything he showed aroused her curiosity and interest more and more, especially all these things that felt so familiar to her, so while she at first only had a passing interest in him, she now couldn''t help but be actually curious about him.


    But she didn''t state that, she had seen enough of his personality to know that he would definitely take advantage of something like that. So she just quietly looked at him, her pitch-black eyes seemingly trying to peer into his true nature. But Li Yang''s expression didn''t change even under the intent gaze of a girl as beautiful as Mei Kongxu, who pulled back her gaze after a few seconds and opened the wooden box.


    A trace amount of energy burst out from the box when she opened it, the energy carrying a different feeling from the box but still feeling incredibly familiar. And lying within the box was a circular jade disk covered in small array runes, the light of the sun dancing across the surface of the green disk. Mei Kongxu was fairly familiar with jade disks like this one, they were mostly used to store images depicting the more complex movements needed for some cultivation techniques, her sect had more than a few of them.


    She eyed the disk with a sliver of a gleam in her eyes, could she maybe find out why the box and the energy felt so familiar by studying what was hidden within the disk? She held the box with one hand and placed the other on top of the disk, closing her eyes as she sunk her mind into it, her heart practically hammering from hopefulness. But that hammering stopped almost instantly when she studied the contents of the disk, her eyes shooting open after merely two seconds.


    Li Yang had walked up to her while she studied the contents of the disk, the smirk on his face now a great deal larger. Mei Kongxu''s expression twitched uncontrollably, her usual cold demeanour nowhere to be seen as another rare blush showed up on her face.


    "Now that''s just nasty. Aren''t you worried that the others are going to beat you up if this gets out?"


    Her voice was somewhat low as she spoke, but Li Yang didn''t fail to notice the hint of interest and amusement buried within it. She called it nasty, enough to make her blush, but he could tell that the thought of what the end result might be had actually amused her at least slightly. His smirk grew a touch wider as he accepted the box that she handed back to him, every inch of his being exuding boundless confidence.


    "Worried? They''re free to come all at once if they want to, I''ll take em on and embarrass them. And besides, they''re the ones who took something I so labourously and intimately prepared for my future wife, justice is on my side even if I get a bit rough with them for being so... undeservedly angry at me."


    The corners of Mei Kongxu''s lips twitched a bit at Li Yang''s shameless statement, it seemed as if she wasn''t sure if she should be angry, flustered, or amused. She opened her mouth to speak, but her gaze sharpened dangerously before she managed to get out any words. She reached out and pushed on Li Yang''s shoulder while kicking his feet out from underneath him, her law of twisting causing him to spin in the air while she herself leaned to the side.


    A small dart covered in a dark yellow liquid whizzed past the spot where Li Yang''s neck would have been, also missing Mei Kongxu as she had leaned to the side in time. Li Yang''s feet touched the ground again, shaking his head for a short second while making a snappy remark that Mei Kongxu ignored as she gazed past him and called out to their hidden assailant.


    "Oh, rough and unexpected, I might just like that."


    "Hiding further is pointless, show yourself!"

 15 Ho Fei.

    Li Yang wasn''t perturbed by the fact that Mei Kongxu ignored his snappy remark, lazily turning his head to look behind him. His gaze quickly landed on the same thing that Mei Kongxu was looking at, a small group of five people that were walking towards them. Something that looked like a shimmering film was receding from their bodies, the parts covered by the film seeming as if they were phasing in and out of reality.


    Li Yang could sense some faint energy radiating from the film as it receded so he guessed that it was actually constructed using Qi, probably Qi pulled from a rune drawn using the law of camouflage or illusions. Li Yang swept his gaze across the five young men, his gaze lingering for a second on the angry-looking youth who seemed to be their leader. But he had never seen them before so he guessed that they were from the World-rending Behmeoth sect so he questioned the expert.


    "So, what''s with the sausage party over there? I hope they haven''t come to recruit another sausage, because I don''t really swing that way."


    His words caused the approaching group''s steps to falter for a second as their expressions twitched, his own lips curling up slightly at the sight. Mei Kongxu glanced sideways at Li Yang, but the angry-looking youth responded for her, his black eyes practically emitting sparks as he glared at Li Yang.


    "I am Ho Fei, and I''ve come to do the opposite actually. You are not worthy of Senior Sister Kongxu so I want you to cancel the wedding so that she can be with someone more deserving, someone who isn''t the laughing stock of his own sect."


    Ho Fei swept back his needle-like bronze hair as he spoke, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out another finger-sized dart. The dart was dripping with a dark yellow liquid and although Li Yang couldn''t detect any scent since they were still about 60 or so metres from each other, he was confident that the liquid wasn''t there just for show and was probably poisonous. Ho Fei wore an exceedingly serious expression, but Li Yang couldn''t stop himself from looking at the youth as if he was an idiot, pointing at him while tilting his head to Mei Kongxu.


    "Hey, has he been huffing the stuff he smears on his weapons or was he just naturally born with missing brain cells? Don''t tell me... dropped on the head as a child?!"


    His sudden exclamation caught Mei Kongxu completely off-guard, the absurdity of it shattering her stiff expression as she involuntarily let out a short giggle that stood in stark contrast to her usual coldness. Ho Fei''s expression twitched violently and the four other men around him started to step forward, but Li Yang turned his gaze back onto them and laid out the facts in a simple manner.


    "Oh don''t be so prissy, when you say dumb shit you get treated like a dumbo. We''re not the ones that decided on the marriage, the ELDERS of our sects decided on it. Our opinions on the marriage don''t matter, it''ll happen no matter what. So yeah, asking me to cancel the wedding tells me that you''ve been huffing a bit too much of your own stash."


    Ho Fei stretched out his hand to stop his four lackeys, sucking in a few quick breaths to calm down his nearly boiling blood. He let out a long breath once he managed to calm his anger, continuing to glare at Li Yang while making a counterpoint so valid that it actually surprised Li Yang.


    "You''re quite the infuriating person, I can see why there is no shortage of people from your sect who have been so willing to smear your name during the previous sparring matches. And it''s true, the elders were the ones who decided on the marriage to strengthen the bonds between our sect, but let''s be real, if you really tried to convince your father then you could break the engagement. After all, the only thing they care about is deepening the bonds through marriage, something they can easily achieve by tossing you one of the other daughters that our elders have, it doesn''t have to be Senior Sister Kongxu. And for that matter, it doesn''t have to be you either. How many children does your father have again?"


    Ho Fei made a surprising amount of sense, and his words were completely reasonable. Li Tian had plenty more children that could be married away, it was pure coincidence that Li Yang and Mei Kongxu had been picked. If either of them was adamant enough, the engagement could be changed and the elders could just toss out some make-shift excuse. But Li Yang didn''t falter facing Ho Fei''s logic, nodding his head in understanding.


    "You''re probably correct, pestering him for a year or three can probably make him work out a deal with your sect. But, and here''s the kicker, I''m not gonna do that."


    He said it as simply as he could, he had no plans of pestering his father to maybe change the engagement. He didn''t give Ho Fei a chance to make a counter-argument, placing his hand on Mei Kongxu''s shoulder and ignoring the sideways glare she shot at his hand.


    "You see, I''ve found that bugging the shit out of this girl is actually incredibly fun. She has great reactions, and I feel immense satisfaction whenever I break that cold facade she usually wears. She''s also interesting and has thus aroused my curiosity, so I''m fine with following through on the marriage and taking her as my principal wife. Let me put it in more simple terms for a poison huffer like you. She is mine, and I don''t abandon what''s mine, no matter what."


    While he started his sentence with his usual jovial tone, he ended it with the same tone he used when he answered Mei Kongxu''s questions in the past, boundless arrogance and conviction. The reasons might be stupidly simple, but they were more than enough for Li Yang to make his decision. She was his, plain and simple, and no one was going to rob him of what was his. Of course, if Mei Kongxu herself were to work to end the engagement then that would be a different story, but a certain part of Li Yang was confident that she wasn''t going to end the engagement.


    Li Yang took his hand off of Mei Kongxu''s shoulder when he finished speaking, he was a bit worried that she would snap at his hand if he kept it there much longer. But contrary to his expectations, she didn''t look like she was about to snap but was actually looking at him with faintly narrowed eyes, a bit of confusion swimming around within her pupils.


    This confusion was one of the reasons he found her interesting, she kept finding points about him that felt familiar and confused her. He wanted to discover the source of this familiarity and confusion, and he wanted to see if just maybe it had something to do with the voices that haunted him. He had also briefly toyed with the idea that the pair of black eyes he saw when he closed his eyes was actually her eyes, but the look in them was so different that he quickly tossed out that idea.


    She was looking at him purely out of confusion, but to Ho Fei, who was observing from the sideline without knowing everything, it looked completely different. And her actions, coupled with Li Yang''s simple yet arrogant statement, was enough to push him over the edge, his gaze turning steely and frosty.


    "Alright, we may not be able to change your mind, but we can at least prevent you from getting anything out of this trip you yourself proposed. And even if we can''t, there are hundreds of other men in this sect who covet Senior Sister Kongxu, so you are bound to have a bad time sooner rather than later."


    Li Yang wasn''t bothered by the prediction of doom that Ho Fei threw at him as he and his lackeys moved forward. Killing was forbidden, but just beating Li Yang until he was forced to leave the forest was more than okay, they could also take this chance to snatch whatever was in the wooden box he had used to make a bet earlier.


    Mei Kongxu frowned at the sight of Ho Fei''s group moving towards them, casting a sideways glance at the still smirking Li Yang. His hunch was correct, she had no intention of breaking off the marriage, she wanted to come to the bottom of why so many of the things he did seemed familiar, so she was planning to stick around him for a bit. As such, she couldn''t exactly just stand here and watch as he took on the group of five. Mei Kongxu stepped forward and spoke up, but Li Yang placed a hand on her shoulder and cut her off.


    "You got to fight earlier, this one..."


    "Nah, I don''t think so. I only fought against one so giving you an entire five seems unfair, it''s cute that you''re trying to hide your actual thoughts behind a lie like that though. I''ll take on the prissy looking baby and slap him around for a bit, you can have the rabble."


    Li Yang didn''t give Mei Kongxu the chance to voice any complaints, stepping forward and then shooting at Ho Fei like an unleashed arrow thanks to his law of speed. He crashed into Ho Fei, who just barely managed to block Li Yang''s punch by crossing his arms in front of his chest. But while he was planning on taking advantage of the fact that Li Yang was now right in front of him, an unexpected change occurred when a massive amount of force rushed into him from Li Yang''s fist.


    His body was violently pushed back, separating him from his lackeys while Li Yang pursued him, sticking to him like a maggot to rotten flesh. As for the lackeys, they were unable to follow after Li Yang as Mei Kongxu had reached them, a rare expression of slight dissatisfaction lingering on her face as she looked in the direction that Li Yang was moving.


    Li Yang didn''t bother with the soft searing sensation on his back, practically feeling Mei Kongxu''s eyes digging into his guts. He pushed Ho Fei back until there was nearly half a kilometre of distance between him and his lackeys, separating himself from Ho Fei once he was pleased with the distance. Ho Fei finally got a second of peace so he clenched his fists and tensed his muscles, expelling the remaining force still lingering in them while looking solemnly at Li Yang.


    "That... was a surprising amount of power, you must have cultivated more than one set of runes. Seems like you are worth at least a little bit, enough to at least look at properly. I am Ho Fei, I have carved 7 metal runes, 4 poison runes, and 2 strength runes."


    Ho Fei spoke in a grand manner, his expression making it clear that he was waiting for Li Yang to introduce himself and his runes in a respectable manner. But Li Yang simply looked at him as if he was an idiot, waving an arm in a dismissive manner.


    "Yeah, come back when you''re worthy, then I might actually introduce myself respectfully. The you right now, however? Yeah, not even close to worthy."


    Li Yang maintained his usual carefreeness, but his pupils had focused slightly as they swept over Ho Fei, searching for his every weakness. There were clear advantages and disadvantages to cultivating multiple sets of runes so the number of sets you went for was an important aspect for all cultivators.


    Each set of rune carried with it its own Qi, so the more sets of runes you carved the more Qi you had, it also meant that you had more laws at your disposal. But cultivating multiple runes meant that you had to spend more time cultivating, as wanting to reach the next cultivation realm required you to reach the peak and breakthrough with all of your runes at the same time.


    So while someone focusing on only a single set of runes broke through to the Immortal Rebirth realm, someone cultivating two or more sets might still be working on breaking through to the late or mid-stages of the Ascending Heaven realm. Achieve faster breakthroughs or acquire more Qi while cultivating slower than others who chose the first path, it was a question that cultivators had fought over for countless years already. And from his introduction, it was clear that Ho Fei had come to the same conclusion as Li Yang, one just wasn''t enough.


    Ho Fei''s eyes narrowed sharply as Li Yang dismissed his respect, not even deeming him worthy of formally stating his name before they fought, a grave insult. He let out a long breath, a bit of Qi escaping his mouth and forming a fine white fog before it dissipated. All trace of emotions vanished from his face as he started the battle, throwing out the dart he was still holding, simultaneously swiping his interspatial ring and tossing out four more darts.


    Li Yang leaned down and kicked off the ground, shooting forward at such a low angle that he almost resembled a beast pouncing forward, the five darts shooting over his back. The distance between him and Ho Fei was instantly crossed and he rose up while straightening his body, sending an uppercut straight at Ho Fei''s Solar Plexus.


    Ho Fei had just thrown out his darts so his hands were in a bit of an awkward position, forcing him to raise his right leg and push out his knee to block the fist. He steeled himself for the incoming force that he guessed was going to burst forth, but what overwhelmed him when the blocked the attack wasn''t an immense amount of force but a feeling of weightlessness.


    The sensation nearly made him lose his balance, an opening that Li Yang did not let go of as he slid his right leg into Ho Fei''s left leg, the only leg he had left standing on the ground. A bit of force burst out and coupled together with the weightlessness to knock Ho Fei off his feet, pushing him into a horizontal position in the air.


    And just as he reached this horizontal position, the sensation of weightlessness vanished, resulting in his body starting to descend to the earth. Even worse, Li Yang raised his knee to smash it into Ho Fei''s descending waist, the arm that had just been uppercutting bending so that he could smash his elbow into Ho Fei''s other waist.


    But Li Yang felt five soft stings on his back just as his elbow and knee collided with Ho Fei''s body, a stiff feeling starting to spread out from his back. His head rapidly snapped to the side so that he could glance at his back, his gaze landing on the five darts that Ho Fei had thrown out earlier. Looking at them from such a close distance, he was able to see that the wooden surface of one of the darts was scratched, revealing a metallic centre.


    Seeing that the wooden layer was just a distraction, and realizing that he had actually fallen into Ho Fei''s trap from the start, Li Yang felt like unleashing a barrage of curses. But the stiffness he felt spreading from his back got stronger and stronger, the yellow liquid was most likely a paralytic poison created by Ho Fei to rob his enemies of their mobility.


    The poison quickly spread throughout Li Yang''s body, even starting to affect his ears and eyes to plunge him into a world of total darkness. He was just barely able to see Ho Fei smirk as his vision started to turn dark, but before he got the chance to mentally curse both himself and his enemy, the voices assaulted him.


    "Heh, even a Primordial Man is coming along this time? Well, come then, I haven''t killed one of you before!"


    "Come then, you fucking maggots! I haven''t had my share of blood yet, and it seems like you''re all more than willing to donate some!"


    "Look at the lot of you, surrounding us but still shivering like a tree in a storm. Pathetic, every last one of you, pathetic losers. Well, come then, I''ll show you what happens to those who touch what''s mine!"


    "Heh, this is what you''re trying to use to kill me? What a sad sight, it''s like you''re not even trying. But, you''re still trying nonetheless, so you''d best be prepared to leave that head here!"


    The barrage of voices was different from any of the voices he had heard in the past, all of them were brimming emotion, an intense desire to butcher whatever was in front of him. It was quite a different experience from what he was used to, where the voices were either nonsensical or seemingly teaching him something while maintaining a calm and either neutral or arrogant tone.


    The bloodthirsty voices actually seemed to rouse body and mind, pushing back the approaching darkness for a bit. But an overwhelming sense of tiredness assaulted him just as he was starting to think that the voices were actually helping him. Each word that was shouted out made his consciousness turn blearier and weaker, like a candle flickering in the wind. And the weaker his own consciousness got, the more golden his crimson pupils got, an all-encompassing and overwhelming thirst for blood welling forth from his body.

 16 Chapter 16: Wilderness vision.

    Never before had Li Yang''s eyes felt so heavy and his mind so bleary, it felt as if his consciousness was trying to wade through a quagmire. Worse yet, the cacophony of noises only got worse and worse, practically hammering his consciousness deeper into darkness. And as his mind sank into the depths of the darkness, he saw a vision that felt like a dream.


    He seemed to have suddenly arrived above a vast wilderness, trees and majestic mountains stretching out as far as the eye could see, the occasional plain or lake interrupting the monotony. Li Yang saw the entire wilderness from above and could move his vision slightly, but he could only control the direction in which he looked, he wasn''t even able to feel his body much less move it.


    He was certain that he had never seen this wilderness before, but looking down upon it he felt a soft pang of pain and longing in his heart. Li Yang looked at the wilderness with some puzzlement, wondering exactly what was going on. It didn''t look like the descriptions of Svarga, so could it be that this was what the descent into Naraka looked like?


    But before his random musings could get anywhere close to an answer, his vision started moving. It descended into the wilderness at breakneck speed, guided by an unseen force as it rushed through the sea of trees. And then, as it reached the depth of the wilderness, a small two-story cottage entered his sight, a silent and depressing atmosphere surrounding the entire area.


    His vision shot forward again after stopping in front of the cottage for a bit, passing through the walls and ending up on the second floor. He arrived in a cosy room where the entire ceiling was covered in hanging vines sprouting with blue flowers, a silk-sheet covered bed large enough for two people serving as the centrepiece of the room.


    There were currently two people in the room, one lying on the bed while the other sat on a chair by the side of the bed, watching over the other with unshed tears. The one lying in the bed was an elderly man with skin so sickly pale it almost seemed to turn transparent, his sunken in golden eyes so dull and faded that he probably wasn''t even able to see anything. His head had a few patches of white hair left, but Li Yang couldn''t tell if the hair was white due to his current state or if it had always been white.


    As for the one sitting at the side of the bed, she could be considered the exact opposite, a young woman in her late twenties who had an appearance that could only be described as ruinous. She had pitch-black eyes so deep that you could lose yourself in them and the silky hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall was just as black as her eyes. She wore a simple brown linen robe, but that was far from enough to hide her curves and practically soul-stealing features, even her faintest movements enough to draw the attention of everyone who saw them.


    The old man raised his arm with stilted motions, his hand moving through the air for a few seconds before the woman reached out and took hold of it, placing his palm against her cheek. The old man seemed to somehow detect the unshed tears in the woman''s eyes, opening his mouth and speaking out in a voice so raspy that it sounded like his throat was completely shredded.


    "Ah, I made you cry again. Seems like just breaking my second promise wasn''t enough, I ended up breaking the first one too...Ghk!"


    The old man suddenly started coughing violently, blood spurting out from his mouth with each jerk of his body. The woman hurriedly leaned forward with a pained expression, but the old man waved his hand as if to show that he was fine. His chest and throat tensed, his coughing dying down so that the man could direct his blank gaze towards his now blood-covered hand and sheets, a weak laugh escaping him.


    "Haha, nine attempts and nine failures, it''s not even a tragedy anymore, just a very poorly written comedy. To the bottom of Naraka, the peaks of Svarga, the distant reaches of the Abyss, and yet, nothing to show for it. I really did not do justice by you."


    The lips of the old man curled up bitterly as he spoke, as if he couldn''t do anything but laugh in this situation. The old man didn''t even bother to wipe away the blood on his hand, or the blood running down his chin, he simply turned his head in the direction of the woman and smiled in a lonesome manner.


    "This is the last one, I''ve used up all nine lives and have done nothing but fail. I got to use all nine next to you, and while I regret that things will end like this, I will have to say myself content with the time I got with you. Should there ever come a day where you find ano...!"


    The woman''s hand shot forward before the old man could finish his sentence, gripping onto his cheeks while covering his mouth. The eyes of the woman had turned somewhat bloodshot, her outstretched arm trembling slightly.


    "Don''t you even dare say it, don''t you dare utter those words. I am yours, and yours alone, just like you were mine and mine alone. One day we will meet again at the bottom of Naraka, and at that time this accursed thing will not get to interfere."


    The woman looked directly into the eyes of the old man, whose pupils wavered slightly under her intense glare even if he wasn''t able to truly see it. He nodded his head in understanding, the woman removing her hand so that the old man could let out another weak laugh.


    "Haha, just like they said, you were really too good for a nobody like me."


    The man''s laughter caused his chest to convulse slightly, the woman quickly helping him lay down again before he fell into another violent coughing fit. She gently wiped away the blood around his mouth, speaking softly to raise his mood but receiving a swift and regretful chuckle as a response.


    "If you are a nobody, then no one else in this universe will ever amount to anything."


    "If I wasn''t a nobody, I would have found a way to get around that accursed thing. But I couldn''t, so I''m a nobody."


    The man continued to chuckle regretfully and weakly at himself for a few seconds before he stopped, his chest convulsing again. A short silence descended over the two people, who only silently gazed at each other, but the woman broke it with a faintly choked-up voice after a minute.


    "I don''t want this to be the end... You said you had to call yourself content with the time you got with me, but what about me? Will I have to call myself content being the monster who has had to kill you nine times?"


    Li Yang felt as if he had just heard something incredibly major, if these two were as close as they seemed, how come she had killed him nine times? For that matter, how had this old man seemingly managed to go through nine lifetimes? He still didn''t know what he was seeing, but he felt like it was highly unlikely that this was his descent into Naraka. As for the old man, he reacted strongly to the woman''s words, his sunken in eyes narrowing and turning sharp.


    "You haven''t killed me a single time, and don''t you dare ever say or think that. It was me, it was always me. I chose it full well knowing what end I would face should I fail, and I would choose it again if the opportunity arose. Because to me, you are worth the world and more, so please don''t speak like that about yourself, you are insulting the one I treasure above all else."


    The man reached out with his hand again after he finished speaking sternly, the woman once again guiding his palm to her cheek and leaning against his hand. The man silently enjoyed the sensation, his breathing eventually turning shallower and weaker. And in the end, just as he was about to reach the end, he raised his gaze as if he wanted to look through the ceiling, using his last breath to sigh and curse.


    "Ha~ah, nine is a good number, but curse you heavens for forbidding the tenth."


    The old man''s chest sank down one last time, a faint yet brilliant white light flashing through his pupils for a split second before that too was overcome by the lifelessness of death. Strangely enough, his body started to fall apart after he died, turning into ash-like particles that drifted through the air before vanishing.


    The woman looked at the vanishing particles with great sorrow, the unshed tears finally starting to run down her face. And then, it clicked for Li Yang. He had seen that pair of eyes before, they were identical to the eyes he saw when he closed his own eyes, they carried the exact same look and aura.


    But just as Li Yang reached this conclusion and was curious about what might happen next, another voice sounded out. The voice didn''t seem to be speaking to him, but as the woman didn''t react to the voice, it didn''t seem like she could hear it.


    "Nine lifetimes to conquer destruction, nine lifetimes of failure, all to birth the seed of creation during your descent. How about it, do you wish to make a deal?"


    From the contents, Li Yang guessed that the voice was actually talking to the old man who had just died, but he wasn''t able to completely understand what it was talking about. He also wasn''t able to hear the answer to the question, a strong sense of tiredness starting to swallow his consciousness.


    But this time, the tiredness brought it with a horrid sense of danger that rang every alarm bell in Li Yang''s head. He felt that there would be no undoing it if he let this tiredness swallow him, he would be doing something irreversible. So he fought back, he couldn''t feel his body but his constant martial arts training still made him acutely aware of where everything should be, as well as which muscles he should move to achieve the desired results.


    He pushed his concentration and mind to the utter limit to move the muscles in charge of his eyelids and right arm, uncertain if there was any effect as the tiredness grew stronger and stronger. But then, a dull pain rocked his consciousness and dispelled the tiredness, his eyes opening as he became able to feel his body again.


    He found himself still standing within the forest where the unusual sparring match with the World-rending Behemoth sect was taking place, so it seemed like he had escaped that vision. A dull pain from his cheek reminded him to pull back his right arm, quickly rubbing the cheek that he had just punched. What he didn''t notice as he rubbed his cheek was that the golden colour that had swarmed into his pupils had vanished, returning them to their normal crimson.


    He was still quite disoriented due to the strange vision and the realization that the woman he had seen carried the same eyes as the ones he saw when he closed his own. If anyone knew about the voices he heard then it would be her, she should be able to answer all the questions he had. But as Li Yang was focusing on that thought, some snivelling coming from his front brought him out of his disoriented state and returned him to reality.


    "Yo..You can''t! You can''t kill! If you kill me here, you''ll end up sharing my fate! They won''t let you go!"


    The brown-haired and black-eyed Ho Fei was currently crumpled on the ground a few steps away from Li Yang, dragging himself away with all his might. Both his legs had been broken, his knees bending back in a disturbing manner. Li Yang had no memory of doing any of this so it was clear to him that his body had continued to move while he was stuck in the vision, fighting using either latent instincts, or more disturbingly, someone else''s orders.


    Li Yang looked down at the slowly escaping Ho Fei, whose face was covered in a fearful expression wet with tears and snot. His own expression hardened seriously for a split second, the thought of his body moving on its own was not a comfortable one, it was his body and should be controlled by his thoughts alone. The actions of his body, they were probably tied to the vision, he felt that it was highly unlikely that the two were unrelated.


    He let out a long breath and relaxed his expression after a short moment, everything that had just happened had only raised more questions in his mind. But at the very least, he had gotten a very small clue, that woman and that wilderness, as well as the words the final voice had said, the seed of creation. Finding out anything about any of these topics would be a good starting point for him to find some answers. He had a starting point to dig into, but for now, he should deal with the situation in front of him, his usual cocky and provocative smile surfacing on his face.


    "Trust me, I have not the slightest intention of allowing a sad sack of shit like you to become the first person I ever kill. I mean, for pete''s sake, you''ve even gone and pissed your pants like a little baby, killing you would make me feel as if I just kicked a crippled puppy."


    Li Yang gestured towards the now damp lower section of Ho Fei''s robe, pinching his nose as if to signal that it smelled rancid. But with both his legs broken like that, how could Ho Fei possibly care about something as small as that? Li Yang didn''t give Ho Fei the chance to say anything, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out a small crystal bottle, pouring out one of the green pills stored within it. He tossed the pill to Ho Fei and then stored the bottle back into his interspatial ring, Ho Fei instinctually cathing the pill before looking at it in a dumbfounded manner.


    "Huh, wha?"


    Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders in a casual manner upon seeing how dumbfounded Ho Fei was, giving a very casual explanation.


    "Take it, it''ll help you heal your wounds, you might still stand a chance at acquiring a treasure or two here."


    Rather than clear up anything, the explanation only caused Ho Fei to become even more dumbfounded. He sniffed at the pill and saw that it was indeed a fairly strong medicinal pill, but he couldn''t for the life of him understand why Li Yang had given ti to him, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.


    "You beat me down like this, only to then give me something to heal myself? What is your agenda?"


    The Li Yang standing in front of him felt completely different from the Li Yang that had brutally shattered both his knees with a heavy stomp, the difference returning some of Ho Fei''s courage. Li Yang wasn''t bothered about Ho Fei''s suspicion, turning around with a light shrug of his shoulders and starting to walk away, placing his hands behind his head.


    "There''s no agenda. Simple truth is that I wouldn''t have bothered giving a sorry excuse for a person like you a pill like that if I were the one to hurt you like that. But... it wasn''t me..."


    He was Li Yang and this was his body, no matter what. Only he got to control it, and only he got to use it to fight his enemies, no one else had that right. Ho Fei looked at Li Yang''s back as he was departing, mustering up what little of his courage had returned to call out after him.


    "I still don''t accept you, you are not worthy of her and should abandon her so that she can be with someone who deserves her!"


    With how different the current Li Yang and the one that beat him down were, there was definitely something fishy going on. And with something this fishy surrounding him, Ho Fei had only become more convinced that Li Yang was not worthy of being around the goddess in his heart. But sadly for him, Li Yang didn''t care about him and his acceptance in the slightest.


    "I don''t need your acceptance, never have and never will. My answer remains the same, she is mine, and I don''t abandon what''s mine."

 16 Wilderness vision.

    Never before had Li Yang''s eyes felt so heavy and his mind so bleary, it felt as if his consciousness was trying to wade through a quagmire. Worse yet, the cacophony of noises only got worse and worse, practically hammering his consciousness deeper into darkness. And as his mind sank into the depths of the darkness, he saw a vision that felt like a dream.


    He seemed to have suddenly arrived above a vast wilderness, trees and majestic mountains stretching out as far as the eye could see, the occasional plain or lake interrupting the monotony. Li Yang saw the entire wilderness from above and could move his vision slightly, but he could only control the direction in which he looked, he wasn''t even able to feel his body much less move it.


    He was certain that he had never seen this wilderness before, but looking down upon it he felt a soft pang of pain and longing in his heart. Li Yang looked at the wilderness with some puzzlement, wondering exactly what was going on. It didn''t look like the descriptions of Svarga, so could it be that this was what the descent into Naraka looked like?


    But before his random musings could get anywhere close to an answer, his vision started moving. It descended into the wilderness at breakneck speed, guided by an unseen force as it rushed through the sea of trees. And then, as it reached the depth of the wilderness, a small two-story cottage entered his sight, a silent and depressing atmosphere surrounding the entire area.


    His vision shot forward again after stopping in front of the cottage for a bit, passing through the walls and ending up on the second floor. He arrived in a cosy room where the entire ceiling was covered in hanging vines sprouting with blue flowers, a silk-sheet covered bed large enough for two people serving as the centrepiece of the room.


    There were currently two people in the room, one lying on the bed while the other sat on a chair by the side of the bed, watching over the other with unshed tears. The one lying in the bed was an elderly man with skin so sickly pale it almost seemed to turn transparent, his sunken in golden eyes so dull and faded that he probably wasn''t even able to see anything. His head had a few patches of white hair left, but Li Yang couldn''t tell if the hair was white due to his current state or if it had always been white.


    As for the one sitting at the side of the bed, she could be considered the exact opposite, a young woman in her late twenties who had an appearance that could only be described as ruinous. She had pitch-black eyes so deep that you could lose yourself in them and the silky hair that cascaded down her back like a waterfall was just as black as her eyes. She wore a simple brown linen robe, but that was far from enough to hide her curves and practically soul-stealing features, even her faintest movements enough to draw the attention of everyone who saw them.


    The old man raised his arm with stilted motions, his hand moving through the air for a few seconds before the woman reached out and took hold of it, placing his palm against her cheek. The old man seemed to somehow detect the unshed tears in the woman''s eyes, opening his mouth and speaking out in a voice so raspy that it sounded like his throat was completely shredded.


    "Ah, I made you cry again. Seems like just breaking my second promise wasn''t enough, I ended up breaking the first one too...Ghk!"


    The old man suddenly started coughing violently, blood spurting out from his mouth with each jerk of his body. The woman hurriedly leaned forward with a pained expression, but the old man waved his hand as if to show that he was fine. His chest and throat tensed, his coughing dying down so that the man could direct his blank gaze towards his now blood-covered hand and sheets, a weak laugh escaping him.


    "Haha, nine attempts and nine failures, it''s not even a tragedy anymore, just a very poorly written comedy. To the bottom of Naraka, the peaks of Svarga, the distant reaches of the Abyss, and yet, nothing to show for it. I really did not do justice by you."


    The lips of the old man curled up bitterly as he spoke, as if he couldn''t do anything but laugh in this situation. The old man didn''t even bother to wipe away the blood on his hand, or the blood running down his chin, he simply turned his head in the direction of the woman and smiled in a lonesome manner.


    "This is the last one, I''ve used up all nine lives and have done nothing but fail. I got to use all nine next to you, and while I regret that things will end like this, I will have to say myself content with the time I got with you. Should there ever come a day where you find ano...!"


    The woman''s hand shot forward before the old man could finish his sentence, gripping onto his cheeks while covering his mouth. The eyes of the woman had turned somewhat bloodshot, her outstretched arm trembling slightly.


    "Don''t you even dare say it, don''t you dare utter those words. I am yours, and yours alone, just like you were mine and mine alone. One day we will meet again at the bottom of Naraka, and at that time this accursed thing will not get to interfere."


    The woman looked directly into the eyes of the old man, whose pupils wavered slightly under her intense glare even if he wasn''t able to truly see it. He nodded his head in understanding, the woman removing her hand so that the old man could let out another weak laugh.


    "Haha, just like they said, you were really too good for a nobody like me."


    The man''s laughter caused his chest to convulse slightly, the woman quickly helping him lay down again before he fell into another violent coughing fit. She gently wiped away the blood around his mouth, speaking softly to raise his mood but receiving a swift and regretful chuckle as a response.


    "If you are a nobody, then no one else in this universe will ever amount to anything."


    "If I wasn''t a nobody, I would have found a way to get around that accursed thing. But I couldn''t, so I''m a nobody."


    The man continued to chuckle regretfully and weakly at himself for a few seconds before he stopped, his chest convulsing again. A short silence descended over the two people, who only silently gazed at each other, but the woman broke it with a faintly choked-up voice after a minute.


    "I don''t want this to be the end... You said you had to call yourself content with the time you got with me, but what about me? Will I have to call myself content being the monster who has had to kill you nine times?"


    Li Yang felt as if he had just heard something incredibly major, if these two were as close as they seemed, how come she had killed him nine times? For that matter, how had this old man seemingly managed to go through nine lifetimes? He still didn''t know what he was seeing, but he felt like it was highly unlikely that this was his descent into Naraka. As for the old man, he reacted strongly to the woman''s words, his sunken in eyes narrowing and turning sharp.


    "You haven''t killed me a single time, and don''t you dare ever say or think that. It was me, it was always me. I chose it full well knowing what end I would face should I fail, and I would choose it again if the opportunity arose. Because to me, you are worth the world and more, so please don''t speak like that about yourself, you are insulting the one I treasure above all else."


    The man reached out with his hand again after he finished speaking sternly, the woman once again guiding his palm to her cheek and leaning against his hand. The man silently enjoyed the sensation, his breathing eventually turning shallower and weaker. And in the end, just as he was about to reach the end, he raised his gaze as if he wanted to look through the ceiling, using his last breath to sigh and curse.


    "Ha~ah, nine is a good number, but curse you heavens for forbidding the tenth."


    The old man''s chest sank down one last time, a faint yet brilliant white light flashing through his pupils for a split second before that too was overcome by the lifelessness of death. Strangely enough, his body started to fall apart after he died, turning into ash-like particles that drifted through the air before vanishing.


    The woman looked at the vanishing particles with great sorrow, the unshed tears finally starting to run down her face. And then, it clicked for Li Yang. He had seen that pair of eyes before, they were identical to the eyes he saw when he closed his own eyes, they carried the exact same look and aura.


    But just as Li Yang reached this conclusion and was curious about what might happen next, another voice sounded out. The voice didn''t seem to be speaking to him, but as the woman didn''t react to the voice, it didn''t seem like she could hear it.


    "Nine lifetimes to conquer destruction, nine lifetimes of failure, all to birth the seed of creation during your descent. How about it, do you wish to make a deal?"


    From the contents, Li Yang guessed that the voice was actually talking to the old man who had just died, but he wasn''t able to completely understand what it was talking about. He also wasn''t able to hear the answer to the question, a strong sense of tiredness starting to swallow his consciousness.


    But this time, the tiredness brought it with a horrid sense of danger that rang every alarm bell in Li Yang''s head. He felt that there would be no undoing it if he let this tiredness swallow him, he would be doing something irreversible. So he fought back, he couldn''t feel his body but his constant martial arts training still made him acutely aware of where everything should be, as well as which muscles he should move to achieve the desired results.


    He pushed his concentration and mind to the utter limit to move the muscles in charge of his eyelids and right arm, uncertain if there was any effect as the tiredness grew stronger and stronger. But then, a dull pain rocked his consciousness and dispelled the tiredness, his eyes opening as he became able to feel his body again.


    He found himself still standing within the forest where the unusual sparring match with the World-rending Behemoth sect was taking place, so it seemed like he had escaped that vision. A dull pain from his cheek reminded him to pull back his right arm, quickly rubbing the cheek that he had just punched. What he didn''t notice as he rubbed his cheek was that the golden colour that had swarmed into his pupils had vanished, returning them to their normal crimson.


    He was still quite disoriented due to the strange vision and the realization that the woman he had seen carried the same eyes as the ones he saw when he closed his own. If anyone knew about the voices he heard then it would be her, she should be able to answer all the questions he had. But as Li Yang was focusing on that thought, some snivelling coming from his front brought him out of his disoriented state and returned him to reality.


    "Yo..You can''t! You can''t kill! If you kill me here, you''ll end up sharing my fate! They won''t let you go!"


    The brown-haired and black-eyed Ho Fei was currently crumpled on the ground a few steps away from Li Yang, dragging himself away with all his might. Both his legs had been broken, his knees bending back in a disturbing manner. Li Yang had no memory of doing any of this so it was clear to him that his body had continued to move while he was stuck in the vision, fighting using either latent instincts, or more disturbingly, someone else''s orders.


    Li Yang looked down at the slowly escaping Ho Fei, whose face was covered in a fearful expression wet with tears and snot. His own expression hardened seriously for a split second, the thought of his body moving on its own was not a comfortable one, it was his body and should be controlled by his thoughts alone. The actions of his body, they were probably tied to the vision, he felt that it was highly unlikely that the two were unrelated.


    He let out a long breath and relaxed his expression after a short moment, everything that had just happened had only raised more questions in his mind. But at the very least, he had gotten a very small clue, that woman and that wilderness, as well as the words the final voice had said, the seed of creation. Finding out anything about any of these topics would be a good starting point for him to find some answers. He had a starting point to dig into, but for now, he should deal with the situation in front of him, his usual cocky and provocative smile surfacing on his face.


    "Trust me, I have not the slightest intention of allowing a sad sack of shit like you to become the first person I ever kill. I mean, for pete''s sake, you''ve even gone and pissed your pants like a little baby, killing you would make me feel as if I just kicked a crippled puppy."


    Li Yang gestured towards the now damp lower section of Ho Fei''s robe, pinching his nose as if to signal that it smelled rancid. But with both his legs broken like that, how could Ho Fei possibly care about something as small as that? Li Yang didn''t give Ho Fei the chance to say anything, swiping his interspatial ring and taking out a small crystal bottle, pouring out one of the green pills stored within it. He tossed the pill to Ho Fei and then stored the bottle back into his interspatial ring, Ho Fei instinctually cathing the pill before looking at it in a dumbfounded manner.


    "Huh, wha?"


    Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulders in a casual manner upon seeing how dumbfounded Ho Fei was, giving a very casual explanation.


    "Take it, it''ll help you heal your wounds, you might still stand a chance at acquiring a treasure or two here."


    Rather than clear up anything, the explanation only caused Ho Fei to become even more dumbfounded. He sniffed at the pill and saw that it was indeed a fairly strong medicinal pill, but he couldn''t for the life of him understand why Li Yang had given ti to him, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.


    "You beat me down like this, only to then give me something to heal myself? What is your agenda?"


    The Li Yang standing in front of him felt completely different from the Li Yang that had brutally shattered both his knees with a heavy stomp, the difference returning some of Ho Fei''s courage. Li Yang wasn''t bothered about Ho Fei''s suspicion, turning around with a light shrug of his shoulders and starting to walk away, placing his hands behind his head.


    "There''s no agenda. Simple truth is that I wouldn''t have bothered giving a sorry excuse for a person like you a pill like that if I were the one to hurt you like that. But... it wasn''t me..."


    He was Li Yang and this was his body, no matter what. Only he got to control it, and only he got to use it to fight his enemies, no one else had that right. Ho Fei looked at Li Yang''s back as he was departing, mustering up what little of his courage had returned to call out after him.


    "I still don''t accept you, you are not worthy of her and should abandon her so that she can be with someone who deserves her!"


    With how different the current Li Yang and the one that beat him down were, there was definitely something fishy going on. And with something this fishy surrounding him, Ho Fei had only become more convinced that Li Yang was not worthy of being around the goddess in his heart. But sadly for him, Li Yang didn''t care about him and his acceptance in the slightest.


    "I don''t need your acceptance, never have and never will. My answer remains the same, she is mine, and I don''t abandon what''s mine."

 17 Haunted brats.

    Li Yang sauntered back to where Mei Kongxu should be dealing with the rabble that he had left behind for her, his hands resting behind his head in a casual manner. But while he radiated an air of carefreeness, he was actually keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings and focusing his various senses as much as he could. He had already fallen into Ho Fei''s trap once, he wasn''t interested in falling in another the moment he turned his back.


    He hadn''t gone far with Ho Fei, only around half a kilometre, so the trip back barely took him any time. He didn''t know how long he had been unconscious while he saw the vision, but Mei Kongxu had already knocked down the four other youths by the time he returned.


    He wasn''t sure if she did it to be theatrical or because she wanted to put the youths in their place, but she had placed the four youths into a pile which she had then sat down on. It seemed almost as if she was trying to emit a majestic and threatening aura, sending a very faint glare in Li Yang''s direction. But Li Yang acted as if he didn''t even detect the glare at all, walking right up to Mei Kongxu and running his scrutinizing gaze up and down her seated figure for a short second before the corner of his lip raised slightly.


    "Yeah, that regal appearance doesn''t work at all, it just looks like you''re trying too hard to be threatening and grand, kinda lessens the impact actually. You''re too pretty and delicate to fit the tyrant profile that you''re aiming for, a bloody fairy might work as a title for you, but you look a bit too clean for that, some dirt and blood might help on that front."


    The four men who were beaten down beneath Mei Kongxu were only able to groan, partly from the pain and partly due to the fact that Li Yang wasn''t even acknowledging their existence. As for Mei Kongxu, she maintained her chilly expression and faint glare, ignoring his fake attempt at giving her advice.


    "I am not a weak maiden, I don''t need you to fight my battles or take on my enemies, they are mine alone."


    Mei Kongxu straightforwardly mentioned the source of her dissatisfaction, making it abundantly clear that she did not enjoy being treated like a damsel in distress. But sadly for her, Li Yang had his own thoughts on the matter.


    "First off, I''d like to remind you that the one they came for was me, so they were technically my enemies and my fight. And secondly..."


    Li Yang''s sentence trailed off for a short second as he bent forward and brought his face closer to Mei Kongxu''s, leaving only a few centimetres between the two of them.


    "Your battles, your enemies, why should I give a shit about any of that? I didn''t like that sissy''s prissy boy face so I wanted to beat him up. I didn''t like him, so I beat him up, just as I''ll do to any others who I don''t like, no matter who they are, who they know, or where they come from. So I''m sorry, Fairy Sister, but I didn''t beat him up for you, it didn''t have a single thing to do with you."


    Since she was straightforward, so too was he, taking a small break from his usual teasing and light-hearted persona to show that even he could be serious at times. But sadly, he broke that serious moment after only a few seconds of silence, his expression returning to his usual carefree one as he straightened his back and changed the topic.


    "Back when we first met, one of the questions you asked me is what I would do if the mere presence of a close friend led to my slow and agonizing death, didn''t you? Why did you ask me that?"


    The question popped up in his mind as he walked back here while thinking about the vision he had seen. One of the last things the two people spoke of in the vision was how the woman had seemingly killed the man nine times, with the man responding that it was him who killed himself by making his choice.


    And since he also mentioned that he would do it again since she meant the world to him, that choice might very well have been to be with her, despite whatever accursed thing she apparently carried. The question Mei Kongxu asked him back then carried some similarity to that situation so Li Yang decided to pursue it, he might end up finding a hint or two if he was lucky. Of course, Mei Kongxu didn''t know about the vision he had so she could only assume that he asked the question for a different reason.


    "Ho Fei told you a thing or two, didn''t he?"


    Her expression sank somewhat as she stated the rhetorical question, causing one of Li Yang''s eyebrows to perk up somewhat. An ice fairy like her actually had some things she didn''t want others to know about? His curiosity was piqued somewhat, but rather than pursue this interest, he continued on with his original goal, leaning in a bit closer.


    "Not a damn thing that wasn''t a plead for his life, I''ve just found myself in a situation where I''ve grown a bit curious. So, why did you ask me that question, and does it have anything to do with a seemingly endless wilderness and a small cottage?"


    If her question was indeed related to his vision, then perhaps she had even seen the same vision, she might have seen the wilderness and the cottage. He was just randomly throwing it out with just a faint glimmer of hope, but Mei Kongxu''s reaction was far more drastic than he expected. Her eyes immediately shot open, staring at Li Yang in a shocked and intent manner as her cold facade shattered.


    "You''ve seen it!?"


    She stared at Li Yang as if she had found the light of hope, Li Yang''s own eyes narrowing slightly when he realized that there was indeed a connection. But he didn''t immediately answer her question, raising a finger and leaving her in suspense to enjoy her reactions for a bit longer.


    "You haven''t answered my question."


    Mei Kongxu''s eyebrow ticked up at Li Yang''s smirking remark, which even she could tell he had only made to drag out the suspense she was feeling. But she wanted answers, so after remaining silent for a short moment, she once again told the story she had stopped telling others several years ago.


    "...Whenever I close my eyes... I see things. Various scenes, places, events, people, an uncountable amount of different things. But there are some things that show up more often than others, an endless wilderness, a two-story wooden cottage, a woman with eyes and hair as black as the night, and a youthful man with eyes and hair that shine the same gold as the sun. I sometimes hear glimpses of their conversation, mentioning something known as the Thunder''s roar and the Howl of the Tyrant. The questions I asked you were all based on things I''ve heard and seen within those...visions. I want to know what they mean, and why they haunt me."


    Mei Kongxu had already lost track of the number of times she had told others this story when she was younger, hoping that someone would be able to give her an answer as to what the visions meant. But no one ever gave her an answer, they either thought she was making it up or that she was just plain crazy. Some of the children jealous of her even took this as a chance to spread a new mocking nickname for her, Haunted Fairy. But out of all the reactions she had expected, Li Yang''s casual snort was the furthest from what she thought was possible.


    "Heh, so you''re another haunted brat, are you?"


    Li Yang could only describe Mei Kongxu''s following expression with one word, dumbfounded. She seemed utterly unable to wrap her head around his casual response to what she considered a drastic revelation. After all, how many people were actually haunted by visions like this whenever they close their eyes? But Li Yang wasn''t just anyone, shrugging his shoulders and giving a casual explanation.


    "That''s what I''m called back in my sect, the haunted brat. Whenever I close my eyes, that woman''s eyes seem to haunt me, muddled voices drifting around like phantoms. The fighting style that you called familiar was based partly on things I''ve heard from those voices, but I''ve altered it over time to fit my own laws better."


    Li Yang hadn''t been shy about telling others about the voices he heard, he continued sharing it even after he got older and got teased for it. Why should he bother with the opinions of others? They were worthless and of no use to him, so they could spout as much shit as they wanted, it didn''t matter to him in the slightest.


    Of course, hearing that Mei Kongxu seemed to be experiencing an even stronger version of whatever haunted him, his interest was more than just roused. There was no way it was coincidental that they both experienced the same thing featuring what was likely the same people, there had to be a connection between their visions. And since there was a connection, there was a chance of finding more hints that could uncover the truth. And with those thoughts in mind, Li Yang stretched out his hand with a smirk.


    "So, I''m a haunted brat, and you''re a haunted brat. And just like you''re curious about the origin of those things, so too am I. So what do you say, want to work with me to find the truth?"


    Mei Kongxu moved her gaze between Li Yang''s smirk and his outstretched hand, a faint glimmer flashing through her eyes now that she had found something that could help her discover the truth behind her visions. So, she stretched out her own hand and grabbed Li Yang''s, the two shaking hands as they formed their little alliance.

 18 Earth-Furred Tiger.

    The alliance between Li Yang and Mei Kongxu was sealed with nothing more than a handshake, it didn''t even have any verbal confirmation or the like. But there was no need for something like that, their curiosity and desire for the truth pushed them together and it would be what kept them beside each other as they searched for any clues. Of course, the fact that neither actually disliked the other made the alliance all the more bearable.


    The handshake didn''t last for too long before both parties pulled their arms back, Li Yang clasping his hands and raising them above his head to stretch them. They had formed an alliance to learn of the origin behind the things they heard and saw, so Li Yang felt that it was only natural that they started working the moment they left this forest.


    "Guess we''ll have to head to the archives of the Deepsea King sect when we return, there''s nothing in your sect''s archives but who knows, maybe our sect has something that ties into what we''ve seen and heard."


    He spoke casually while lowering his arms again, already moving on to a different train of thought as he started to ponder over what to do next. But that train of thought was halted as he caught a glimpse of Mei Kongxu''s still calm and cold expression. There was a sliver of something else in her eyes now, an emotion that resembled awkward embarrassment. He nearly tilted his head, but then a thought struck him and he couldn''t help but question her with an incredulous voice.


    "You... You have checked the archives of your sect, right?"


    He didn''t think it possible that the seemingly rational and logical Mei Kongxu wouldn''t have scoured the archives of her sect seeing as she had acquired far more tangible clues than him. But his question caused the awkward emotion flitting through her pupils to fluctuate slightly, Li Yang realizing that he had hit the nail on the head and bursting out laughing.


    "HAHAHA, no fucking way?! You haven''t checked?! You got clue words and everything, even the appearances of several people, but you never checked?! HAHAHA, oh, you put on that cool and composed expression, but you''re a fucking dunce, aren''t you? That''s just rich."


    Mei Kongxu''s cool expression started to falter under Li Yang''s thunderous laughter, a very faint shade of red starting to spread on her cheeks. Thinking back, she couldn''t even remember the last time someone had just laughed at her straight to her face. But nonetheless, she quickly regained herself and fixed her expression with a dignified snort.


    "With how many people to question in the sect, as well as my own cultivation to care for, how could I possibly find the time to search throughout the entirety of my sect''s archives? Do you think that I''ve got as much free time to waste as you?"


    Mei Kongxu tried to maintain a dignified image while smoothly firing off an excuse and even tossing out a jab at Li Yang to defend her pride. But sadly for her, none of that would work on Li Yang, mainly because there was one glaring flaw in the excuse and jab she used.


    "Our cultivations are the exact same, so yeah, I do think that you''ve got that much time on your hands. Hence, you''re a dunce and just plain forgot to check the archives. So that dignified expression you''re trying to pull off? Yeah, might as well just ditch that."


    Both of them had the same cultivation, having carved 4 runes of two laws. In fact, if she hadn''t carved any runes for a third law as Li Yang had, then her cultivation would be considered somewhat lower than his. Mei Kongxu''s expression twitched momentarily before she regained her cool, gesturing towards the surrounding forest by sweeping out her arm.


    "Do you have a place you plan on going or can I just take the lead?"


    The conversation wasn''t exactly going her way so she decided to go for the best option available to her, change the topic and pretend as if nothing had happened. Li Yang snapped his fingers and formed finger-guns with both hands as he pointed at Mei Kongxu, nodding his head in an overly exaggerated manner.


    "Nice, real smooth transition, you nailed it. But yeah, if you can take me to the fastest Demonic beast around then I think we can really start the fun here."


    Since she wanted to change the topic then it was only fair that Li Yang acted like a gentleman and went along with it. Mei Kongxu had seen exactly what was inside the box that Li Yang was using to draw in everyone else so she knew exactly what this ''fun'' would be. And since she knew the truth, she couldn''t help but look at Li Yang while one of her eyebrows involuntarily rose.


    "You''re pretty messed up, you know that? Going through all that trouble just to piss off people by having them fight over that base thing. Do you have any idea what they''ll do to you once the truth comes out?"


    When the others found out what was really inside the box, while they would indeed look like utter fools, they would also be furious. And the target of their wrath would be right there in front of them, there was no telling how many of them would swarm Li Yang right there and then. But that was something Li Yang had been prepared for from the start, showing a bland smile that held the unmistakable flavour of arrogance.


    "They''re welcome to try, they wouldn''t be the first ones who end up on their asses, and they certainly won''t be the last. Besides, if they can''t even see the humour in something like that, then they''re too boring and dull for me to bother with what they think."


    A dragon would not concern itself with the opinion of a snake, it wouldn''t even care about the gratitude or anger of the snake, the snake simply wouldn''t register in its mind. Li Yang was no dragon, that was a fact that was extremely clear to him, but that didn''t stop part of a dragon''s mindset from surfacing within him.


    Mei Kongxu''s eyebrow rose a fraction higher as she looked at Li Yang''s bland smile, but she refrained from making any further comments and stood up, finally giving the people beneath her the chance to breathe easier. But she waved her hand just as they got to breathe properly, all four of the men getting swept up and flung away like sacks of potatoes.


    The act looked simple, but it actually caught Li Yang''s interest. She hadn''t just used a forceful gust of Qi to blow them away, she had designated a distant spot as the centre and then covered the entire area with her law of twisting and practically formed a small tornado by twisting the air. But the power was perfectly controlled and contained, only the four men getting caught up in it dragged along towards the centre of the law that she had designated earlier.


    She then drew back the law as they were dragged away, resulting in them getting flung away rather than getting twisted around the area she had designated. It was a utilization that Li Yang found rather clever, a few thoughts and ideas starting to pile up in his mind. But he didn''t start to play around with the ideas straight away since Mei Kongxu dusted off her hands and turned around, heading deeper into the forest without uttering another word.


    Her steps were quick and sure so Li Yang felt confident that she knew where to find the fastest Demonic beast around. She had probably spent a fair bit of time in this forest while training, it seemed like something that a person with her personality could do. They encountered the occasional Demonic beast as the hours passed, but none that could really halt their advance. That was, until Li Yang noticed something on the side of a tree and stopped, pointing towards a smaller mountain that was practically no more than an overgrown hill.


    "Wait, I''m gonna go make a detour over there quickly."


    Mei Kongxu followed Li Yang''s pointing finger, her eyes rolling for a second as she went through what she knew of the area. And Li Yang was right, she was in fact very knowledgeable about this forest due to having spent a fair bit of time here, so she didn''t even need to see the marks on the trees to know what he was gunning for.


    "You''ve got an interest in the Earth-Furred Tiger''s nest? Didn''t expect a weak Demonic beast like that to actually draw your attention. It doesn''t seem like it would be able to help with your...fun."


    The Earth-Furred Tiger was a fairly low ranked species of Demonic beast, they could never transcend the Human Rune realm unless they evolved to the next step. Of course, if it was an Earth-Furred Tiger at the peak of the Human Rune realm then it would still be able to endanger them greatly, but she knew that the one living over by that hill was among the weakest they had here, barely at the Mortal Rune stage of the Human Rune realm. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders at her statement, a mystifying smile emerging on his face.


    "It can''t, but this isn''t something that I''m trying to do for fun."


    Li Yang started to head towards the small mountain without saying anything else, Mei Kongxu''s somewhat curious gaze resting on him for a second before she followed along. They quickly made their way through the trees and reached the small mountain, which looked almost like a bloated dome covered in patches of earth and stone outcroppings.


    They made their way around the mountain and reached the nest of the Earth-Furred Tiger, a cave dug into the base of the mountain. The occupant was evidently home and had noticed their arrival, a low and warning growling coming from within the cave while the beast moved forward and revealed itself.


    The Earth-Furred Tiger was just that, a tiger with brown fur whose stripes were just a darker shade of brown. But what was special about this beast was its paws, which were covered in fur so thick that it looked as if it was sculpted from earth. This was the unique feature of the Earth-Furred Tiger, reinforced paws that it could use to either crush or cut up its enemies.


    And as it evolved, this reinforced fur would strengthen and spread over the rest of its body. When it had evolved three times and become an Iron Tiger, the fur would have turned silvery-grey and cover its entire body, providing it with a tremendously powerful defensive ability.


    But the two-metre-long Earth-Furred Tiger in front of him was far from that level, if it was to be compared with a human then it would only be equal to a person who had carved 3 runes. It wasn''t even worthy of being considered a threat to Mei Kongxu and Li Yang, the latter of which was muttering to himself while stretching out his right arm.


    "Was it something like...this?"


    His Qi surged and gathered around his outstretched fist, forming an invisible dome that covered the area around him and the tiger. Gravity within the area suddenly changed, his fist becoming the new centre of gravity. The pull of gravity wasn''t so strong that it tore up the earth or the trees that were deeply rooted into it, but as for the grass, loose rocks, various bugs, and Earth-Furred Tiger, they were all involuntarily dragged towards the new centre of gravity.


    The sudden pull caught the Earth-Furred Tiger completely off guard so it wasn''t able to dig its claws into the earth before it was yanked towards Li Yang. As for Li Yang, he drew back his arm and then smashed it forward again, his fist crashing into the skull of the approaching tiger. A soft cracking sound rang out, followed by a pained howl from the tiger, but Li Yang didn''t intend to give it the time to form any sort of resistance.


    He undid the changed gravity so that it returned to normal, after which he promptly increased its strength so that the beast was forced down into a lying position. He raised his foot and then brought it down in a heavy manner, taking advantage of the increased gravity to fully shatter the beast''s neck and reaping its life.


    The beast was weaker than him so the process was quick and easy, not even spilling a single drop of blood. But Mei Kongxu, who was standing and watching from the side, raised an eyebrow after having noticed something peculiar with Li Yang''s actions.


    "You''re copying me again?"


    The way he utilized his law of gravity just now was extremely similar to how she had just used her law of twisting earlier. It reminded her of their earlier battles, where Li Yang had utilized his law of gravity in a manner that was exceedingly similar to the law of twisting she had used on him. Li Yang didn''t deny it, flashing a bashful smile while giving his hand a few shakes.


    "What can I say, when a Fairy Sister shows off the goods, I can''t help but get itchy."


    Mei Kongxu''s expression nearly cracked when she heard the suggestive way Li Yang spoke about it, but she had gotten somewhat used to him now so she managed to maintain her cool expression. Li Yang smirked faintly at the sight, his gaze quickly drifting towards the dead tiger in front of him.


    He crouched down and drew a dagger from his interspatial ring, slitting open the neck of the tiger and causing its blood to spill forth. He quickly dipped his finger into the warm blood and started to use it like paint, drawing interconnecting lines on the earth. The crimson lines slowly started to surround the corpse of the tiger and Li Yang, forming an intricate net of watermelon-sized runes. It didn''t take long for Mei Kongxu to realize what Li Yang was doing, a surprised expression flashing past her face.


    "This... You''re actually able to use arrays? Now that''s a surprise, you certainly don''t seem like the kind of guy who has the patience to study something like that."


    He was clearly using the blood of the tiger to draw up a very simple array, one so simple that the only ingredient it needed was the blood of a Demonic beast. But even then, an array was not something that just anyone could draw up, each line used to form the various runes needed to be put in the proper place and had to be basically flawless, it required extensive studying and talent. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders and continued to draw up the array, his face carrying a rare serious expression.


    "What can I say, I''m a bag of surprises. Well, even then, I can only use this Blood-Transferring Array, the supportive Wind Dancer Array, and the defensive Gale Shield Array. I''m a far cry from being proficient with them yet, much less other arrays, I still have much to learn."


    The sudden humbleness caught Mei Kongxu completely off guard, she had expected Li Yang to brag to high heaven about his skills. But from the looks of things, it seemed like arrays were actually one of the things he viewed rather seriously. Personally, she found that it made for a nice change of pace compared to his usual personality. Li Yang continued to draw up the array, voluntarily taking the lead in talking.


    "I like arrays, they''re very similar to my martial arts. I focus on fast-paced close combat, every move I make has to count and achieve something, whether that is luring in the enemy, preparing my defence, or setting up for my next attack. Every un-planned movement is an opening, every wasted movement is one step closer to Naraka."


    When you fought your enemy using just your own body, you couldn''t afford to be careless, every move had to be thought through if you wanted to live to make your next move. It was tense and thrilling, a constant race to come up with the perfect plan for the situation. And just as his fighting style was like that, so too were arrays like that.


    "And arrays are just the same, each line used to form the various runes has a purpose and achieves something, whether it be controlling the energy, altering its property, connecting it with the creator, or even just smoothening the flow of energy. Every line that is wasted or not perfected is a weakness, a glaring spot that the enemy can take advantage of. So when it comes to arrays or combat, it''s like a puzzle, each piece has to slide into place perfectly to create the final, grander picture."


    The bigger or stronger the array, the more lines and runes were required to complete it, the less room there was for error. The same was true for combat, the stronger the opponent, the more moves were needed to bring them down, the more thought needed to be put into every move. Mei Kongxu didn''t comment on Li Yang''s comparison, nodding her head somewhat appreciatively while making her comment, receiving a swift grin from Li Yang as a response.


    "Huh, look at that, even you can actually be serious when you want to."


    "Nothing wrong with being serious, you just can''t let it turn you dull and boring like everyone else. My father and mother are serious, but I still respect them, I also respect many of the other elders, even if I make fun of them when I get the chance."


    Li Yang finished the array as he grinned, using up almost all the blood within the tiger''s body. He straightened his body again after he finished drawing up the array, using the dagger he had brought out to slice open both of his wrists. His blood immediately spilt forth and stained the array, which started glowing to life as his blood touched it.


    As the array activated, both his own blood and the remaining blood within the tiger''s corpse started to float upwards like small bubbles. The bubbles formed by his own blood just moved aimlessly through the air, but the bubbles formed by the tiger''s blood rose up and sank into the cuts on his wrist, entering his body and causing his veins to writhe violently.


    His muscles tensed up as every vein on his body bulged out, a reddish colour surfacing on his face as even the veins in his eyes started to throb. He grit his teeth to endure the soul-wrenching pain that made it feel as if each of his veins were on fire, more and more of the tiger''s blood rising up and entering his body.


    Slowly, even the blood that was used to draw the array started to rise up and enter his body. The array shrank little by little, Li Yang''s veins bulging as he grit his teeth for nearly two hours. The last of the array vanished, Li Yang quickly taking out some medicinal paste from his interspatial ring and smearing it onto his wrists.


    The paste immediately solidified and covered up the wounds, preventing him from bleeding out right there and then. He let out a long and drawn out breath once the process was over, just as the records had written, it was a process that was far from pleasant. A cold and wet towel smacked into his face just as he finished exhaling, the voice of Mei Kongxu questioning him somewhat curiously.


    "So why did you settle on this one?"


    Li Yang used the wet towel to wipe the sweat on his face, removing his shirt and then wiping his chest and back as well. He finished up by wiping away the blood on his wrists and the blood that had splashed on his feet, shrugging his shoulders while giving a casual explanation.


    "Usefulness. You should know about the special property of this lineage of Demonic beasts, after all, your mother has the bloodline of an evolved one of these guys. It''s perfect for me, and I can just upgrade it in the future, start small but aim for the sky. If you want to, I can transplant a bloodline into you."


    The array he had just used had one single purpose, to transfer a Demonic beast bloodline into a human body, giving that human the ability to use the power of that bloodline. As for the property of the Earth-Furred Tiger, that would be the reinforcement of one''s hands and feet, the reinforcement spreading to the rest of the body as you improve the grade of the bloodline.


    The Earth-Furred Tiger was a very weak Demonic beast, but by adding its special property onto Li Yang''s already strengthened hands and feet he would be able to unleash even greater powers. And since his hands and feet were his main weapons, having them become even stronger would also prevent them from getting injuries should he use them to block an opponent''s weapon.


    The bloodline would be too weak to be suitable when he was stronger, but that was an issue that was easily fixed by improving the bloodline by adding new bloodlines to it as he cultivated. It was certainly far easier than it was to change one''s body cultivation technique, which in some instances would require you to abandon your entire body cultivation base to avoid having conflicting methods interrupting each other.


    Mei Kongxu nodded her head understandingly upon hearing Li Yang''s explanation, that reinforcement was indeed very suitable to the way he used his hands and feet in battle. But she shook her head in response to his offer, she was keenly aware of just what sort of Demonic beasts her sect reared.


    "True, it does seem rather suited to you. And no thanks, I''ve already checked, the sect has no Demonic beast whose bloodline would be suited to me, we mostly have elemental ones, nothing that can supplement my laws."


    Her laws were a bit specific so there was no Demonic beast in the sect that could supplement them, nor were there any beasts in the sect that could supplement her fighting style should she acquire their blood. Li Yang shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner, leaving it up to Mei Kongxu.


    "Alright, you know what you''ve got better than I do. Anyway, I''m done here so we can move on unless you''ve got somewhere else to be."


    She shook her head, the two resuming their journey as the first day came to an end. The dawn of the second day had just arrived when Mei Kongxu indicated that they had reached their target, a particularly thick tree that had several one-metre wide holes dug into its trunk.


    A one-metre-long dark brown fox peeked out from one of the holes, baring its fangs at Li Yang and Mei Kongxu before it jumped out from the tree, its fur bristling as a warning. Mei Kongxu gestured towards the fox, her expression remaining the same as always as she tilted her head slightly.


    "So, what are you planning now?"


    Li Yang simply smiled mystifyingly at her, bringing out the burnt wooden box and holding it as if it was an extremely precious weapon. He then started to slowly approach the fox, his Qi surging forth in a threatening and intimidating manner. The fox immediately started to falter somewhat when faced with Li Yang''s aura, which now contained a hint of a tiger''s ferocity.


    Its gaze flickered towards the box, a crafty light flashing through his beady pupils as it dashed forward. The fox was indeed fast, Li Yang guessing that he would need to rely on his law of speed if he wanted to catch up to the beast. The fox bit down on the box as it dashed past him, Li Yang pretending to lose his grip as the beast snatched the box. The fox dashed away, Li Yang drawing in a breath before bellowing out in the loudest voice he could muster.


    "OY, DON''T YOU RUN OFF WITH THAT BOX, YOU FUCKING FOX!"


    He infused his voice with Qi so that it boomed out like thunder, rustling the leaves of the closest trees and echoing far out into the distance. Faint rushing sounds immediately reached his ears as the people closest to them started to run through the forest, the loud shout from someone who spotted the fox reaching him shortly after. The shout and rushing sounds were like music to his ears, the corners of his mouth starting to curl up as he turned to Mei Kongxu.


    "That''ll draw a nice bit of attention don''t you think? Now we''ll have a nice little chase on our hands, culminating in one big scuffle to serve as the grand end. Can you imagine their expressions when they see the reward they get after going through all that work?"

 19 Only I.

    Li Yang''s words were quickly proven correct, the entire forest bursting alive with activity. The cultivators chased the fox carrying the box, rousing up the Demonic beasts lurking in the area and resulting in them chasing after the tasty meals that were the cultivators. As for the poor fox, the only thing it had going for it was its excellent speed, everyone else of its specs was average or below average. As a result, the poor beast didn''t even get the chance to take a break to gather its thoughts, otherwise, it might have realized that it should drop the box it was carrying.


    The more cultivators chased the beast, the more Demonic beasts were alerted, resulting in even more cultivators realizing the situation and joining in on the chase. The situation grew and grew without end, only stopping when the chaos had wrapped up all but the strongest Demonic beasts in the forest. They were more pre-occupied with defending and maintaining their territories, and they knew that the bigshots of the sect were paying attention to the area thanks to all this ruckus so charging forth would be unwise.


    As the spark that lit this inferno, there was no way that Li Yang would miss it, dragging an icy Mei Kongxu with him as he followed the fox and quietly observed the people chasing it. Some of the cultivators settled on taking out some of the stronger Demonic beasts that joined the fray, realizing that their chances of getting the box were slim they instead chose to go for the tangible rewards.


    But while there were some who made the reasonable choice, there were more than went after the box with ever-increasing fervour. At first, they went after it because of how Li Yang''s father had reacted when Li Yang brought it out, but their thoughts slowly warped as the chase dragged on. There were so many people going after this box, surely it must contain something extremely valuable, right?


    It was a simple train of thought that was easily spawned in a situation like this, it even affected some of the more intelligent Demonic beasts. But this train of thought only fueled the situation and made it harder for some people to extract themselves from the chase, especially when they started to think that they had already spent all this time chasing it, leaving empty-handed now would be a shame.


    And so, the hours passed without end, cultivators stuffing pills or various herbs they had found into their mouths to keep their energy up as hours turned to days. But the chase couldn''t continue without end, no matter how fun it was for Li Yang to see all these people rush after the small fox with almost no regard for anything else. The chase had easily taken up most of the time they had in this forest and the time for them to leave was drawing closer and closer, it was time to push the ongoing chaos into the final stages and reveal the fun for all to see.


    "You just wait here for a second."


    Li Yang left behind Mei Kongxu for a second as he increased his speed to the peak, catching up to the fox after only a short moment. He put on the expression as if he was chasing it using all his power, stretching out his arm and using his law of gravity to dramatically slow the speed of the beast. But just as he was about to grab the box, he created a field of gravity where the centre was located a few tens of metres to his left, resulting in the box and beast getting yanked away as if someone had intervened at the last second.


    The box flew out of the fox''s mouth and was quickly snatched by a cultivator, who immediately turned tail and ran for the exit of the forest. The others could rob him as long as he was in the forest, but the moment he left then things would be different, they wouldn''t be able to steal it as brazenly as he was doing right now. The target of the chase immediately changed to the male cultivator, Li Yang smirking to himself as his gaze followed the fleeing man.


    The people chasing him cut a path clean through the forest, desperately hounding him for a reward that they hadn''t even seen yet, much less knew anything about. They acted so idiotically that he could only find it funny, so few of them taking even a single moment to think things through. Mei Kongxu caught up with him as he was smirking to himself, still wearing her icy and distant expression. But Li Yang could see the truth in her eyes, nonchalantly stretching his body as he walked over.


    "Don''t look at me like that, it might be a tad childish, but it''s all just fun."


    Mei Kongxu didn''t voice any opinion in response to Li Yang realizing that she thought of his actions as somewhat childish, her eyes only flashing with a tinge of curiosity. He clearly disdained seriousness, at least sustained seriousness, but she had also seen him be serious on several occasions before, so she was ever so slightly curious exactly where he drew the line. But she wasn''t so curious that she would ask, Li Yang walking past her while his expression once again gained a shade of seriousness.


    "This world and its people are far too serious at all times, I mean, just look at the lot of them, running around with eyes that are basically exuding a desire to kill just because they saw something that may or may not be valuable. If you mean to tell me that the world is just naturally like that, then I will tell you that the world is wrong, such constant and rigid seriousness is the bane of life."


    Mei Kongxu turned her head slightly, tracing Li Yang''s figure while her eyes narrowed faintly. His statement this time was different from how he spoke in the past, it felt less carefree and more personal. Could it be that he wasn''t just rebelling against seriousness for fun but actually had a reason for it? But Li Yang didn''t provide an answer to the thought that had just popped up in Mei Kongxu''s mind, turning his head slightly and revealing that his standard cocky smile had appeared on his face once again.


    "Shall we go? The grand finale is about to start."


    He stretched out his arm and presented his hand, but rather than accept his hand, Mei Kongxu steppe forward and placed her hand on his shoulder. He could only shrug his shoulder in response and unleash his law of speed, supporting Mei Kongxu with it so that she could run at his pace as he followed after the horde of cultivators and beasts.


    They quickly caught up to the other cultivators, the box having already changed hands in the short time that had passed. The one who previously held the box had a large bruise covering half his face, but he still joined in on the pursuit, determined to once again snatch back the item he had been so close as to holding just recently. The chase and ensuing battles only got fiercer as they got closer to the exit of the forest, the box changing hands time and time again.


    And eventually, as the swarm reached the outskirts of the forest, a black-haired and silver-eyed woman who had stayed in the centre of the horde of pursuers burst forward. She unleashed more power than she had been using up until now, revealing that she had already carved her 8th rune and had entered the late stage of the Human Rune realm.


    She snatched the box and charged away from the pursuers, taking advantage of this newfound distance to open the box and remove the green jade disk within it. She sank part of her mind into the jade disk to glean whatever she could from it in case someone managed to close the distance and steal it from her, but her steps halted the moment her mind entered the disk.


    The screeching halt she suddenly performed caught the cultivators completely unaware, the Demonic beasts not daring to charge forward after they realized what part of the forest they had arrived in. The beasts quietly snuck away before the sect experts became displeased and killed them, but the woman who grasped the jade disk started to tremble while holding it, her fingers twitching incessantly. Shortly after she started to tremble, a deep blush spread across her face, a furious bellow erupting from her.


    "Li Yang, you fucking narcissistic pig!"


    The woman spun around and searched for Li Yang''s figure in the crowd, throwing the jade disk to the ground and shattering it while doing so. And when the jade disk shattered, it released several motes of light that gathered together to showcase the contents of the disk.


    There wasn''t any cultivation technique within the disk, nor were there images showing off a rare martial art. No, what appeared in front of the gazes of the stunned onlookers was pictures of Li Yang, some where he was barely clad in his underwear and others where he was stark naked and just barely covering up his more private parts, seemingly looking embarrassed.


    He had originally taken these pictures to mess with Ting Miu as thanks for the help she gave him while he cultivated the Heavenly Queen''s 1st Star, but he changed his plans when he saw the people that were joining him to the World-Rending Behemoth sect. The gazes of all the people present quickly riveted onto Li Yang, who was smirking as he saw all their dumbfounded expressions.


    Some were quick to realize that he had been playing with them from the very start, his sole aim being to have as much fun as he could on their expense. And upon realizing this, and realizing that they had played along from the very start and ended up wasting all the time they had in this forest, they couldn''t help but tremble with fury. Even those from the Deepsea King sect weren''t completely unaffected, some sighing in exasperation when they realized that Li Yang had just taken his pranks to a greater stage.


    The woman who had been the first to discover the truth took half a step forward while trembling, her fingers still twitching incessantly due to the rage bubbling around within her. Mei Kongxu''s gaze narrowed faintly as she too took a step forward, eliciting a sneer from the silver-eyed woman.


    "Already stepping forward to protect your man, Junior Sister Kongxu? Did you not see the truth just now? That boy is just another swine from the Deepsea King sect, a little child who can''t take anything seriously and thus just ruins things for others to amuse himself. Just look at the expressions of his fellow sect mates, do they look surprised or shocked? The lice were probably in on it from the start, even his father probably played along just to humiliate us. I guess that''s about all you can expect from those underwater wastes of space, degenerates the whole lot."


    The woman spoke without pause in her fiery rage, so furious at having been toyed with and losing such a valuable chance that she even drew the Deepsea King sect into it. Mei Kongxu''s expression turned slightly complicated as she listened to the girl, Yue Hongye''s, tirade. This had nothing to do with protecting her man and everything with protecting the only clue she had to finding out the truth about the visions she saw.


    But she didn''t get the chance to voice that, Li Yang''s hand landing on her shoulder as he stepped forward, his mouth smiling but his eyes showing a sharp seriousness.


    "Now, I really don''t mind it if you insult me, that can be considered your right after getting toyed with like a mindless idiot. But let me tell you this, only I get to make fun of the Deepsea King sect and my father, no one else is allowed to humiliate them or tarnish their pride, only I."

 20 Return to the sect.

    It wasn''t just the silver-eyed and black-haired Yue Hongye that looked at Li Yang with slightly narrowed and dumbfounded eyes as he stepped forward. Only he was allowed to play with the pride of the Deepsea King sect, only he could humiliate it? Exactly who did he think he was, that the pride of such a massive entity was supposedly his to play with?


    Li Yang did as he always did, he ignored the stares of the onlookers and stepped forward, cracking his neck and shoulders before stopping a few steps away from Yue Hongye. He stretched out his right arm and beckoned Yue Hongye over with a challenging gesture, the faint curve of his lips not masking the faint chill surrounding him.


    "Come then, I''ll be stepping on your head for insulting something that you aren''t anywhere near worthy enough to insult."


    Yue Hongye''s eyes narrow sharply as Li Yang uttered his remark, which only served to fan the flames that he lit by playing them all for fools with his prank. First, he played them all like fools and then he looked down on all of them, it was a staggering display of arrogance and disregard, one that Yue Hongye hadn''t even seen in her sect''s elders before. And faced with such disdainful arrogance, the flames burning in her chest turned into a full-blown inferno.


    "I will show you who will be stepping on who''s head."


    Yue Hongye kicked off of the earth while still speaking, a violent burst of flames erupting from her soles and launching her forward like a cannonball. Li Yang''s gaze remained calm as the girl barreled towards him, his crimson pupils temporarily drifting over to the flames still stuck to her feet. Did she cultivate the law of flames since it suited her personality or had she lost control over herself while cultivating and gotten affected by her laws?


    The question popped up in his mind but he squashed it the moment it showed up, this was a fight where he wouldn''t play around for fun like he usually did. His gaze locked onto the approaching target, his blood starting to seethe and roil as a layer of fur that looked like it was made from earth appeared on his hands and feet.


    These last few days he had been fully engrossed in chasing after the fox and enjoying the chaos that the other cultivators unleashed so he had yet to actually use his new bloodline in a proper fight. And now that he was going to partake in a serious fight for once, how could he possibly leave it out? He didn''t leave out the first tail either, energy surging up from the depths of his soul as the tail appeared behind.


    But the appearance of the tail had changed compared to earlier, it was no longer a bushy white tail but rather a sturdy brown tail that looked like it had been ripped straight from an Earth-Furred Tiger. Coupled with the fur on his hands and feet it looked as if the tail was just another effect of him activating his bloodline, no one knowing that it increased his power by about 10%. And as he entered his strongest state, he clenched his right fist and smashed it forward, meeting Yue Hongye head-on.


    Yue Hongye sent her own fist forward and collided with Li Yang, a dull and rumbling thud echoing through the area due to their collision. Fiery and violent energy barged into Li Yang''s body through Yue Hongye''s fist, threatening to send him soaring backwards. But he gathered his law of gravity in his fist and turned it into the new centre of gravity for the surrounding area, pulling himself toward it so that he didn''t fly away while also pulling Yue Hongye closer while she wasn''t expecting it.


    And just as she was yanked forward unexpectedly, Li Yang made his move. He stomped the ground with his right foot, creating a small crater as the force of the collision travelled up his body. The rising force was quickly amplified by his own law of force, eventually surrounding the violent force that was barraging through his body after Yue Hongye''s attack.


    All the forces were merged into a single vicious one that was brought over to Li Yang''s left fist, which was currently rising towards Yue Hongye''s exposed chin. But she wasn''t someone who would just let herself get hit, she opened her mouth and exhaled a gust of blazing flames directly at Li Yang.


    But just as the flames reached Li Yang and turned his shirt to ash, the centre of gravity he had created in his fist changed location, moving behind Yue Hongye. She was yanked back unexpectedly, Li Yang ignoring the searing pain as he stepped through her flames and slightly altered the angle of his punch. Her chin was pulled back so he smashed his fist into her abdomen instead, unleashing the vicious force he had created and causing her body to bend around his fist, almost resembling a shrimp.


    The impact made her spit out a mouthful of blood that splattered Li Yang''s face, the pain making her unable to control her own body for a second. And in a serious fight where he wasn''t planning on playing around, a single second of unguardedness was all Li Yang would need.


    His feet lightly kicked off the ground as he unleashed his law of speed, reversing his own gravity to further increase his speed. He practically vanished from sight as he dashed to Yue Hongye''s side, whose feet hadn''t even started approaching the ground again after his punch forced her body up into the air.


    A sudden influx of increased gravity brought her descending down, Li Yang''s knee rising up and smashing into her abdomen, once again forcing her up into the air. He placed his left hand on her back for a second while raising his clenched right fist, his left hand gathering up the force his attack had just created.


    The force was amplified by his law of force and gathered into his right fist, which was then unceremoniously smashed into the back of her head. Yue Hongye was smashed into the ground, sputtering out blood while her now broken nose was pouring out enough blood to stain the earth beneath her. Li Yang raised his foot and placed it on Yue Hongye''s head, looking down at her with cold eyes.


    Swift, brutal, and merciless, that was the only way the onlookers could describe the fight that had taken place. Li Yang had willingly allowed Yue Hongye''s flames to burn his chest, all to create an opening he could use to utterly shatter her. And not once did he flinch, not even when she spewed blood onto his face. Right now, he looked nothing like the clown of the Deepsea King sect, he looked more like a tyrant who truly had the right to spew as much arrogance as he wanted.


    Li Yang heard some heavy grunts and the sound of clothes rustling, his blood-stained eyes rising and sweeping over the onlookers. A few of them had stepped forward angrily to get revenge for Yue Hongye, beautiful girls would have plenty of followers wherever they went after all. Mei Kongxu''s own eyes narrowed ever so faintly when she saw the scene, but a thunderous voice stopped everyone in their tracks before another fight could break out.


    "That''s enough!"


    The thunderous voice was followed by an oppressive energy that prevented everyone in the area from moving, Mei Cuixue and Li Tian descending from the sky. The two elders didn''t show too much emotion, but Li Yang and Mei Kongxu could tell that there were a few faint grooves between their eyebrows so the entire situation had clearly caused them at least a little headache. The aura radiating from the two of them doused all the flames of rage that had sparked up, Mei Cuixue swept her black eyes over the World-rending Behemoth sect disciples that had stepped forward, her eyebrows sinking slightly.


    "How disgraceful. Not only have you wasted all the time you got in here but now you''re also trying to gang up on a disciple from our allied sect? Is that all the pride of our sect means to you? Have you no dignity?"


    Mei Cuixue''s stern scolding made the youths lower their heads in shame, none of them daring to speak up in front of the elder. Mei Cuixue then swept her eyes over all the other disciples, her gaze eventually lingering on Li Yang and Mei Kongxu for a second. The only ones that had acquired any sort of decent harvest here were these two, one acquiring a bloodline and a beast corpse while the other had snatched up a few slightly rare herbs while they followed the fox.


    They had played everyone else for a fool and made them waste their time here, resulting in precious few actually acquiring anything. Granted, Li Yang was the main culprit, but Mei Kongxu hadn''t done anything to stop him so in the eyes of everyone else she could not escape the label of an accomplice.


    But as neither Li Yang nor Mei Kongxu had ever actually pushed people to chase after the box, no one could say anything about the events that unfolded, they could only blame themselves for being so easily goaded. Mei Cuixue knew this well, sweeping out her arm and beckoning for everyone to leave the forest.


    "Go, the allotted time is basically up and you''ve all made enough fools of yourself, it''s time to bring this to an end so that we can prepare for the funeral."


    The disciples could only nod their heads reluctantly, simmering with anger that their chance had been wasted just like that. But as they were starting to make their way out of the forest, some of the quicker ones caught onto what Mei Cuixue had said. Prepare for the funeral? Not a wedding? Mei Cuixue could see the question popping up on their faces, snorting coldly.


    "Disciple Ho Fei overestimated his own capabilities after he finished healing his wounds. He engaged a Demonic beast in single combat and was almost instantly slain, had I not acted quickly then we would not even have a body to bury."


    Mei Cuixue''s expression was somewhat sunken as she explained, clearly rather furious at the fact that a disciple from her sect had died like that. She hadn''t even noticed the battle straight away due to everyone chasing the fox, so she was unable to save him as he died, all she could do was kill the beast that slew him and then pick up his body.


    The name of the youth that died wasn''t entirely unfamiliar to Li Yang, Ho Fei was the one that had challenged him shortly after they entered the forest. He was the youth who got violently beaten while Li Yang was busy seeing the vision. But seeing as Mei Cuixue said that he died after healing his wounds, it seemed like his death was a result of his overconfidence rather than Li Yang''s violent beating leaving him wounded.


    Mei Cuixue glanced sideways at Li Tian as they and the disciples left the forest, Li Yang''s father nodding his head calmly. The two seemed to have come to an agreement over the last five days, Mei Cuixue turning her gaze onto Li Yang and Mei Kongxu.


    "Mei Kongxu will stay here in the sect for another week to take care of her remaining affairs, but we''ll send her over to your Deepsea King sect after that. Don''t leave us waiting for too long with the marriage."


    Mei Cuixue spoke about it without too much emotion, Mei Kongxu was her 33rd daughter so she was in the same boat as Li Yang, they had plenty of siblings and thus weren''t all that important to their parents. This was a fact that both of them knew very well so they simply nodded their heads without displaying too much emotion. Neither of them spoke about the bet they had made when they entered the forest, but Li Yang hadn''t forgotten about it, this just wasn''t the time to bring it up.


    With everyone leaving the forest, the ''sparring'' match could be said to have come to an end, the horde of disciples splitting into groups consisting of people from their respective sects. The disciples from the World-rending Behemoth sect returned to their own duties while the disciples of the Deepsea King sect headed for the spatial array that would take them back to their sect. Li Tian glanced sideways at his son as they approached the array, giving him a word of advice.


    "Constant seriousness is indeed detrimental, but so too is your mocking and careless nature, balance is needed for perfection."


    His advice made it clear that he had been keeping an eye on Li Yang while he was in the forest, he had probably observed every step he took. Li Yang didn''t change his expression in the face of his father''s words, nodding his head politely.


    "This one will keep your advice in mind, Third Elder."


    He was respectful and polite, but his words were still enough to make Li Tian''s brows furrow slightly. But he didn''t end up saying anything about it, nodding his head calmly before turning his gaze forward again. The disciples of the Deepsea King sect reached the array and returned to their own sect, a momentary peace descending over both sects as the disciples spread out to handle their own affairs.


    --


    Li Tian didn''t return to his own office after dismissing the returning disciples, some work had probably piled up but he could save that for later. He vanished in a puff of mist and shortly after re-appeared in front of a two-story wooden cabin standing next to a lake lined with weeping willows.


    Li Tian pushed open the door to the building and entered it, quickly making his way to the bedroom with the window so large that it nearly covered the wall. Looking at the blue-haired and green-eyed woman lying in the bed located in the room, his usually stern and calm expression gave way for a gentle smile as he sat down on the chair by the bed and grabbed hold of her hand.


    "How are you feeling, Fang''er?"


    Li Fang''s hand looked incredibly small in Li Tian''s own, it looked like the lightest squeeze could disintegrate her hand. Li Fang smiled warmly at Li Tian, stretching out her other hand and cupping his cheek gently.


    "The same as always, you log head. You must have just returned from the World-ending Behemoth sect, right? How did things go with you and Yang''er?"


    Li Tian''s expression distorted slightly as Li Fang questioned him, his mouth curling somewhat bitterly as he chewed his words for a few seconds.


    "He... respects me."


    That was the best way Li Tian could describe it, Li Yang respected him and his deeds, but didn''t feel anywhere close to the love that one would normally feel for their father. Li Yang didn''t appear too shocked by it, shaking her head somewhat helplessly.


    "So still no improvements. I can''t say I''m terribly surprised, he has somehow managed to acquire your stubbornness."


    She knew her husband all too well, he was rigid to the point of being overly stiff, he also had a hard time adapting to changes so he was almost a perfect fit for the saying that you couldn''t teach an old dog new tricks. Li Tian couldn''t say much to Li Fang''s answer, once again chewing his words for a few seconds before forming his sentence.


    "It is... hard to close the gap that has formed. If he was unjustly blaming me then I could maybe do something, but he is justified in his resentment, had I been a bit more relaxed then things would not have ended as they did back then."


    Those past events would forever be Li Tian''s greatest regret, one that would stain him forever with no way of washing it away. And he knew that it was those past events that had warped the personality of Li Yang, pushing him to his carefree state that disdained the serious world. He felt nothing but guilt about it, but Li Fang could smile a bit more casually in the face of it.


    "Those things are all in the past, it''s pointless to feel guilty about it now, you did the best you could. And who knows, he became so cheerful and carefree thanks to it so maybe it was worth it in the end."


    She pinched his cheek as she spoke, forcing his sinking smile to rise up somewhat. Li Tian looked at her quietly for a few moments before speaking out in a somewhat hushed tone.


    "...His hair and eyes returned to normal for a bit while we were out."


    He had indeed been observing Li Yang''s every step inside the forest, so he saw the moment his hair and eyes turned completely golden while he saw the vision. Not even Li Yang had noticed that his hair turned golden, but Li Tian had noticed it the moment the first strand of golden hair appeared. His words had a great effect on Li Fang, whose eyes sprang open in panic.


    "Did anyone see?!"


    Li Fang hurriedly raised her torso, looking as if she wanted to jump out of the bed. But Li Tian placed a gentle hand on her shoulder so that she didn''t overexert herself, shaking his head assuredly.


    "Only one person, but he''s already been dealt with so there won''t be anything to worry about."


    No one could be allowed to know about the change in Li Yang''s hair and eyes, at least not yet, the truth had to stay buried for as long as possible. Li Fang let out a slightly rushed breath after Li Tian shook his head, muttering repeatedly.


    "That''s good, that''s good..."


    Silence once again descended over the two as Li Fang leaned back, neither of them quite certain which topic to talk about next. But in the end, it became Li Fang that spoke up, her hand leaving Li Tian''s check and softly tracing the lower parts of her abdomen.


    "They ached again yesterday, heavily this time. If my guess is correct, it shouldn''t be too long before he manages to track me down, probably only two years or so."


    Li Tian''s gaze hardened in response to Li Fang''s words. Their encounter with the elder from the Star-Scorched Valley sect was an eternal nightmare, even now he didn''t feel a single shred of confidence that he could protect Li Fang from that man should he find her again. Li Fang could see Li Tian''s thoughts, a soft smile appearing on her face.


    "Don''t look so saddened, even if he finds me at that time, there will be nothing left for him to claim."


    She spoke about it casually and peacefully, but Li Tian knew the truth, he knew why there would be nothing left for that elder to claim should he find her again in two years. And it was because he knew the truth that he couldn''t help but ask her once more.


    "Do you really not want to tell him?"


    If it was up to Li Tian, this was a piece of information that should not be hidden from Li Yang, it was information he had a right to know. But Li Fang''s gaze hardened in response to the question, firmly rejecting the notion.


    "No, Yang''er cannot know! I want him to smile for as long as possible, and I should still have about a year before the arrays stop helping. If everything goes well, he''ll be participating in Stars Ascension competition by the time they give out, he won''t learn about it until after the competition has ended. It is... unfair, but I want him to keep smiling, that''s all I want for him."


    As his mother, she only wanted for Li Yang to be happy, even if that meant lying to him about how long the arrays maintaining her vital functions would continue to help her. It was unfair to keep it from him, and it would hit him hard to be greeted by an empty bed when he returned from the competition, but his wings would have already started hardening after that competition so she was confident that he would overcome. But even though she was confident in him, there were still things that Li Fang had to entrust to Li Tian.


    "Even without me, you must make sure to protect him, you cannot let that man get his hands on him, he has no right to."


    This was the one thing she would never allow, she would never let that man lay a single hand on her son, she would never let him take away her greatest treasure. Li Tian solemnly nodded his head, putting a bit more force into his hand as he repeated his vow.


    "Don''t worry. For as long as I draw breath, he will be MY son, no one else''s, no matter what."