《Immortal Domination : White Emperor》 -2 Power Level classification This is based on the power levels of "Age of Wushu MMO" School or ordinary clan inner skill ---- Jianghu inner Weak Body and mind - lvl 1-5 Lacking understanding-lvl 6-10. Lvl 1-4 First understanding- lvl11-15. Lvl 5-9 Untapped potential: lvl 16-20. Lvl 10-14 Realized potential lvl 21-25. Lvl 15-19 One with nature: lvl 26-30. Lvl 20-24 Martial intuition: lvl 31-35. Lvl 25-29 Flows with Chi lvl 36-40. Lvl 30-34 Spiritually balanced: lvl 41-45. Lvl 35-39 Mentally balanced :lvl 46-50. Lvl 40-44 Expert of self :lvl 51-55 lvl 45-49 Peak of power: lvl 56-60. Lvl 50-54 Enlightened virtuoso: lvl 61-65. Lvl 55-59 Infallible martial arts master:lvl 66-70. Lvl 60-64 Grandmaster: 71-75 lvl 65-69 Zion(matchless in kungfu): lvl 76-80. Lvl 70-74 Peerless (unrivaled): lvl 81-85. Lvl 75-80 Shock the world :lvl 86-90. Lvl 81-84 Shake the world :lvl 91-95. 85-89 Surpass the world: lvl 96-100. Lvl 90-94 Divine lvl 101-105. Lvl 95-99 Overawe the world lvl 106-110. Lvl 100-104 Unique: lvl 111-115. Lvl 105-109 God and man in harmony lvl 116-120. Lvl 110-114 Keep your own counsel: lvl 121-125. Lvl 115-119 God: lvl 126+. Lvl 120+ The leveling for both types inners are different Normal inner skills(cultivation or breathing techniques) such as the ones provided by schools or Clans are divided into tiers. That is tier 1-5 Respectively. Tier one= lvl1-36 Tier two=lvl 37-61 Tier three= lvl 62-90 Tier four =lvl 90- 120 Tier five=lvl 120 till as much as you could handle. But jianghu inner skills (cultivation or breathing techniques) are the ones used by secret factions, hidden sects or found in the wild. Some are the same with school inner skills while some are more powerful than the schools but they require double the efforts, even some need you to person some specific actions/activity to cultivate them. they are broken into basic, intermediate and advanced section, their level classification is on the extreme right above. 1 Prologue On the 3rd of march 2043, it rained heavily as if the very sky was sad. The sky was dark and gloomy with the constant rhythm of heavy raindrops, you could hear the sounds of Siren''s from a distance and a pungent smell of the refuse dump and smoke in the area. This was the very slums of London, where the worst of the worst fought for dominance with different ''businesses''. Drugs,illegal firearms, human trafficking, prostitution and so on. Meanwhile, In an alley in this very place there''s a body lying on the floor towered by two men in grey cover coats. "Tsk...John when people called you trash I didn''t first understand but seeing your display tonight I finally understand hahaha!" The blonde man on the left clicked his tongue before speaking to the man on the floor. The man on the floor was had dirty brown hair and pale green eyes that made it seem like he was dazed all the time. he''s body was injured all over with series of stab wounds while his face was swollen as he also has purplish marks on various vital spots on his body. Clearly while he was stabbed, they avoided his vitals just to torture him. "Hahaha Andre why waste our time with him?, its only fitting that he ends up in a dumpster don''t you think?...he''s almost dead anyway...remember Lucy is still waiting." Says the other man smiling in a lecherous manner as more men in black cover coats came out of the darkness John still looked dazed, staring at the night sky as he felt his body getting lifted from the floor with silent tears streaming down from his eyes. He had finally completed the software he had been working on for years, something that allowed him to cheat and siphoned cash from the gaming company that produced the present biggest vrmmorpg in the world, "Age Of Wushu". He had not even had the time to celebrate when the Districts Mafia Boss and a few of his men badged into his apartment asking for him to pay his debts. He pleaded for more time but was denied, Then the Boss seemed dazed for a bit before asking for his software and all his work and research which he refused because he knew the potential for this software would have to be more. After everything they found all they need except the primary pass code which he found odd, then they proceeded to torturing him till he confessed after they threatened his girlfriend. He couldn''t have her suffer because of his stubbornness, only now did he realise that he had been played all along!. " L..Lucy, Lucy! Lucy!" He begins to chant slowly in a crazed manner, that was his girlfriend and from what he had heard from Terry, Andre''s right hand man he knew she had betrayed him. Knowing this, something snapped as he used he''s last strength to struggle free from the hold on him, making him crash heavily on the ground. But he seemed not to notice nor feel anything else except the half broken bottles that appeared in his view. He Quickly equips both hand with two of them as he dashes towards Andre in full force "YOU!!! We''ll go to hell together!!!". He always found it odd how he Lucy met and how easily they ended up together three years ago, but he just shoved it aside and tagged it "love". Now that he thinks of it, it all fell into place! They met the day after he had just spoken with the old programming professor George before summoning courage to lend money from Terry only to find out later that he was connected to Mafia, he had to do different dirty jobs to pay it back as time went on. The more he thought about it the angrier he became till he went berserk!. He dashed towards Andre only for terry to pull out his gun making John halt for a second before tossing the bottle in his right hand straight at Terry making him dodge before diving onto Andre who was still smiling smugly. All this happened in only a few seconds that the two other men didn''t know how to act. He had stabbed Andre over a dozen times on his neck before he heard it!, Bang!Bang!Bang!. His actions came to a stop as he stares at his chest which had a bloody hole, then at the two other men who had the same looks on their faces as they both dropped dead. They both had bloody holes on their foreheads, as he also felt all strength leave his body while he struggles for breath. Then he looks at Terry who had a calm look but you could see the anger in his eyes!!. "Fuck! You fool!! How dare you foil my plans! Why didn''t you just die in peace?, you just had to kill him" he says while looking at Andre. Bang!Bang!...he shot at John''s legs and hands but the latter didn''t have the strength to scream, he just stared at Terry. Suddenly he realised that Andre couldn''t have planned all this,at least on his own as he was too stupid for that, only now did he know that it was this skinny chocolate skinned man all along. "Umph..." As if to wake him from his daze terry kicked him making him vomit more blood before laughing, "Hahahaha!! So this it" John laughed, the laughter was so bitter and desolate that it shocked Terry to silence. ''Now I know what it means to be played to death'' he thought as his surrounding became darker by the second, staring at his killer as if burning his image into his mind. "Hmph" Terry snorted. Bang! Was the last thing he heard as he saw Terry''s gun flash. System loading 1%...15%... 2 Chapter 1: A New Beginning In the city of chengdu in Yongheng continent,It was a grey afternoon with a dull sky threatening rain. A cloud, ominous and black, drifted over the mountain and released a sudden shower sending a few commoners into full sprint for shelter. In this gloomy atmosphere Only one person could be seen happy that it seemed as though She was glowing. In Southernmost wing of the Xu family manor you could see a beautiful Lady standing by the window looking like a celestial being. Long black hair, smooth eyebrows with Phoenix eyes, pale white skin as clear as jade and a smile that could move the heavens. She took a few steps towards the exquisite olive chair and sits while still staring out the window as she rubs her swollen tummy, Smiling in content. This woman was Jun zhenzhen. "Husband I feel our child will be coming in a few days" she says while turning towards the man at the other side of the room. Xu Tianchi, the third Brother to the Xu family head, he was the least talented of the three brothers but was known for his simple mindedness and bad temper. He was a man of burly build, black short hair and firm jaws, a sword scar by his lower left cheek making him look fierce as he donned a dark blue robe. "Really?!" He responds excitedly, almost jumping off his chair, "good..good..good hahaha" he laughed rushing towards Jun zhenzhen "Husband, have you thought of a name" she said as she quickly stopped him in an amused manner, looking at the man who seems to have blanked out,she begins to pout. Noticing this He quickly came up with something."Zhen ''er please don''t be angry, I have thought of one!!...I''ll name him Xu Yun!"(Author: Y¨²n as in cloud). "Hmph, what makes you think its a boy? What if its a girl??" Zhen ''er retorts, shaking her head at this husband of hers. "Hahaha that''s easy! That stupid old Taoist said its a girl then we can most definitely say its a boy" Xu Tianchi responds as if it was the most natural thing in the world, rendering Zhen''er speechless. Knock! Knock! "Speak!" Xu Tianchi calls out, clearly annoyed with the sudden interruption. "Third lord, the family head has invited you and the Lady to celebrate the return of young Master Xu Dun from the scholars sect examination tonight" a limpid voice replies from the other side of the door. immediately Veins could be seen Almost popping out of his head as heard this voice, obviously this was Xiao Yuan Di!. A servant from the main house whom everyone knew was hated by Xu Tianchi because of his feminine deposition. "Tell the Lord, We''ll be on our way over soon" Zhen''er interjected before Xu Tianchi says something bizarre. After which they could hear faint footsteps leaving. "Hmph..." Xu Tianchi snorted as imagined Xiao Yuan Di''s powdered face wearing a smug look. Zhen''er giggled after seeing this before saying softly "Husband, we should get ready, you can tell the family head what I just told you because I know you would be uncomfortable without saying it". Meanwhile... Merging with Host :23%...31%... "Ah..." Groaning,while trying to look around only to find that I was still in the pitch black space. It feels like I''ve been here for days if not months, swimming in some gluey substance. ''So this is what it feels like to be dead haah!'' Sighing while staring at the numbers floating in front of me. 44%...46%... "Lady Jun, have some tea with us...it has been a while since you graced us with your presence" The faint sounds reach my ears, even though they are obviously speaking an entirely different language, I still understand them somehow. Honestly this voices are of the many few reasons I''ve not lost my mind. "Forgive me second brother, it has not been easy for me to move about this days" a beautiful voice replied sounding flustered accompanied with a series of laughter. 51%...53%... For while now, that voice has been the only constant voice around here. ''I wonder what she looks like hmm'' as I was lost in my imagination, I suddenly felt a burning sensation all over my body making me Hiss!. WARNING! WARNING! Detecting Poison infection... preparing Emergency procedures for Host... "Poison?!" Shocked, I try to understand what was going on when I suddenly felt drowsy before losing consciousness. The next time I woke up the pain was gone and the surrounding seemed to have become colder. Looking at the numbers floating in front of me once again I was surprised... 96%...98%...99%.. 100%...initializing... System online... -checking for any anomaly in Host''s Brain waves 1%...5%...89%...100% -Status : Healthy "Hello?" I try to get its attention, hoping to get some answers. -Hello "Where am I?,am I dead?,what do you mean Healthy, What are you?" I couldn''t help myself as soon as I got a response. -World: Groton -Location : Yongheng Continent -City: Chengdu -Present point: Mother''s Womb "What?! Chengdu?!! What?! Hold on, did you say I''m in a womb?!!!" I was struck dumb by this new piece of information!. "Does this mean I''ve been reborn?" I asked, a bit warily . -Affirmative -Seconds before the last Gunshot, Host''s soul had been transferred here. "By whom or what?! How long have I been here?" -Your Comprehension too low for required information on who performed the transfer. -Host has been here for Nine months and Three days. "I...I see" still somewhat confused, I tried to ask more questions when suction force begins to pull me from this space. "Fuck!...This..." Speechless,as I watch as a new beginning opens up to me!. 3 Chapter 2 : Xu Yún Somewhere on Mount Yao, where the Xu family manor was located, you could see people moving back and forth in great haste. Presently in the family''s main Hall, all the important figures were seated. Some were wearing anxious looks on their faces while some had Stern and rigid looks but none looked as amused as the man seated on the main seat as he took light sips from his tea. " yunzao, your pacing is making me dizzy...have a seat, why can''t you be like Tianchi? After all his wife is in labor as well but you don''t see him so anxious! Besides Xiao Mei is the best Mid wife in all of chengdu ". The Man who had just spoken is Xu Yunzheng, he''s the present Xu family head known for being strict , fueled by his ambition to eradicate evil!. He had many accomplishments tied to his belt right from his youth. Taking the Xu family black ink ruler technique to a whole new level at the time. Though he had a scholarly air around him as well easy going expression on his face it does not make him all that approachable because of his strict nature. Donned in a sky blue attire on his middle aged body, holding his tea cup as he advised yunzao. " don''t worry, I''m sure we''ll hear some good news soon" he says, taking another sip from his tea he motions for yunzao to sit with his eyes. "Y...yes" yunzao bows courteously as he moved towards the chair beside Yunzheng, but no one noticed as an ominous glint flashed through his eyes. ''That''s not what I''m anxious about'' He thought as looks at his third brother, who in turn looks at him before nodding and returning to his inner thoughts. ''I don''t know why I was worried, the Soul grasping poison is untraceable not to mention more than enough to kill the child in Jun zhenzhen''s womb.'' Smiling at his deed, as Only his child will be competing with Yunzheng''s Son(Xu Dun). Xu yunzao is the second brother of Xu Yunzheng, he was known as ghost hands in his youth. As During that time he was the Best swordsman in chengdu known for his fast sword movements, he was the only brother who didn''t practice black ink ruler technique. but he succumbed to gluttony and Greed making his talent drop before his father''s eyes(Xu Dao). It was due to this reason that he couldn''t be the clan leader. Now he had added a lot of weight with his small eyes and big tummy making him look a bit comical. But no one dared laugh at him because even though his cultivation had declined, he was still a power house, a Bonafide infallible martial arts master not to be trifled with. Suddenly there was multiple cries of babies making Tianchi jolt from his sit before running in that direction, causing laughter to resonate in the Main Hall. Clearly everyone could see the relieved smile on each others faces. "Good Good good... Yunzao you don''t have to so shocked! come let''s go see My Nieces or Nephews" Yunzheng said between laughs as he Majestically stood up from his chair, waking his brother from his Daze. "Y...yes" Yunzao Quickly stood as he replied with an awkward laugh. One would see him and think he was embarrassed by the ongoing event but in actual fact his mind was in chaos. ''This shouldn''t be!! Why is his child still alive?! Why why why!!'' He thought while picking up his pace producing a comical sight of a meatball rushing towards Jun zhenzhen''s room and not he''s wife''s, but people were to preoccupied to make sense of his actions. On getting there he found a pale faced Jun zhenzhen hugging a beautiful baby. It had jade like skin like its mother and small white hair on it''s head, besides that it seemed perfectly fine. Instead the child actively looked at everyone in the room with intelligent eyes. Yunzao was shaken, even though he believed the child still couldn''t see yet but it felt it could see his soul. Tianchi kept laughing like a fool as he received congratulatory remarks from the elders and other clansmen. "Third Lord, your son has your strong eyes, just by looking at him you could tell he would be a dragon among men" an elder flattered, using the opportunity to get in Tianchi''s good graces. "Haha Third brother, congratulations... Now that I have seen this scene I cannot wait to go check on Su ling, forgive second brother for leaving so abruptly" Yunzao quickly states as he walked out of the room without waiting for a reply making others smile wryly as they followed behind him, leaving just Tianchi and Zhenzhen in their own little world. "Zhen er you''ve done well, hahaha..." Tianchi says while picking up the child from her arms. Lifting the child up and staring at him as the child stares back at him. "Husband, I guess you were right... So we''re naming him Xu y¨²n" Zhen er says with her face slightly paler than before in contrast to the bright smile she was wearing. "Yes...yes yes" He responded rather absent mindedly as he was still smiling sheepishly. "Ah You..." Zhen er was speechless and tried to come with a retort only to cough up black pungent blood as she grew even paler while gasping for breath. This drew Tianchi''s attention as he shouted "ANYONE!!". " My lord!" a skinny youth runs in immediately kneeling down. "Quickly get me Xiao Mei!! Tell her its urgent! Go!" He shouts rather hysterically. "Yes" the youth replied before dashing out once more. meanwhile Tianchi returned to Zhen er''s side still holding the baby, trying to find what to say. "H...husband it seems I can''t hold on much longer, I''ve been trying to suppress it with my cultivation but I...its too late for me" she says staring into Tianchi''s eyes."What?" Tianchi spat out, but zhenzhen said nothing. "I''m sorry...sorry... Sorry" this time she was talking to Her baby as tears flowed out of her eyes. Once more she vomited dark blood, losing strength in her arms. Her breath seeming more haggard as she still had more to say. "b...careful...yun" speaking up to this point, she seemed to have breathed her last as her eyes became vacant, and her arms abruptly drops to the bed making Xu Tianchi scream "NOOOOO!!"Shaking the whole manor with Chi causing those with lower cultivation to shiver while some fainted directly. It was only this time Xiao Mei arrived, rushing towards Jun zhenzhen''s corpse as Xu Tianchi glares at her before carrying the child out the room making Xiao Mei stiffen. Quickly news of Jun zhenzhen''s death circulated across the manor, making the formally joyous atmosphere turn into a gloomy one. At this time Tianchi had already arrived at his courtyard feeling Sad and dejected. He then lifted the child to face himself saying " Little one, father has disappointed you and the heavens... But I will make it up to you Xu y¨²n". As if to acknowledge what he had said the child looks up to the sky making Xu Tianchi follow his gaze. The numerous clouds in the sky cleared away bringing the view of the rising Sun, etching this view into their minds. At this very moment. Two different people, child and man had different interpretations of this very scene but they both knew this was a new beginning as things will never be the same. 4 Chapter 3: Ice Elemental Chi It''s been a little over a year ever since that day, Everyday since I could walk I find myself standing at this window for hours, as I love to see the leaves of the swamp tree falling down on green grass of my courtyard. The leaves of this tree have started to turn into yellowish red colour of summer as autumn season slowly approaches. I can''t get my eyes of this tree because of its vibrant colour scheme,which makes me think if you put more energy in your life, then you can feel spring in autumn too just like every tree does when it gives its whole stress to its leaves to get a bright colour of autumn which seems fascinating to my eyes. Too bad no matter how much I try to lift my spirit, it never seems to work as every time I close my eyes I''m reminded of my experiences just before my death, up to the point of losing my new mother. It has haunted me like a broken record from that very day, I see the mockery in Terry''s eyes as he stares at me from a distance. Though I''ve grown numb to it, what really bothers me is the look my supposed mother had as she apologized in her dying breath. I feel like I had been the one who brought them the misfortune that had followed me from earth. ''Haaa'' Sighing as I climb back onto my bed with my child-like legs. So many things happened later that day, the man I had found out to be my eldest Uncle and the Elders arrived in the evening despite the heavy atmosphere, claiming they had come to extend their condolences as they also wished to find if I had the aptitude to practice Martial arts. My present father was enraged but was calmed by my eldest uncle, when all that was settled an Elder in grey robes came to probe with his chi but it was Quickly absorbed by the system. Weirdly, this was interpreted as me not having any Chance to practice Martial arts. My Father seemed to Age by over a decade as he fell back to his sit deflated, attracting looks of pity from those around him. After a few minutes, everyone silently left leaving only the two brothers in the Room. At this time, I seemed to have fallen asleep even though I didn''t want to. After which, father seems to apologise at every chance he gets. "Y¨²n er Father is useless" , "Yun er I''m sorry I''ve not found it" " Father will definitely get it okay? " "Ah, Yun er I lost the Chance this time as well". Every time he goes out, he comes back apologising making me sad that I couldn''t tell him to stop it. Its been two months since he came to see me, at first I felt he was too busy so he couldn''t show up but for over a week now, the number of people coming to take care of me has drastically reduced. Only Yao Yao still comes here to take care of me while carry her daughter on her back. It didn''t take long for me to understand as She would sometimes cry after staring at me for sometime in pity before leaving. ''Ah it happened again, Once again I''ve been made an orphan, Fate Must be toying with me!!!, But this time I won''t let what happened before repeat itself. Power!Power! I must grasp it within the tips of my fingers and crush whatever stands in my way!, I shall trample on those who Try to trample upon me!.'' He thought making his decision with a firm resolve as he clenched his teeth. -compilation Complete... -System update... -Detecting Host''s Goal!... - Generating missions and Sub Quests... -Main Mission : Reach Expert of self before age 15... Rewards: Demon heart chain skill set -Sub Mission one : change soul grasping poison hidden In Host''s meridians into Ice Elemental Chi... Rewards : Basic True Frigid Ice Chi inner skill... -Sub Mission Two : Reach One with nature within a month... Rewards: Tendon breaking pills... -Sub Mission Three: Find out what happened to Father Rewards: Walk on Water skill and wild Goose steps... "!!!!" Shocked, Xu y¨²n stopped his thoughts and concentrated on the information before him. " System, please clarify something for me!, based on this terms and skills you have stated, can I come to the conclusion that cultivation, in fact this world is similar if not the same as the Game I was playing before my death? ". He asked cautiously as though afraid to be disappointed. -Affirmative -Cultivation is the same besides the Extra permission allowing me to change soul energy into Experience, there by boosting your cultivation. " so I can interpret it as me increasing my level by killing or do I get Experience just by someone dying next to me" After calming down a bit he began to understand something. '' am I inside the game? Or Perhaps the game was made by someone from this world? Then if I could go back to that world just for revenge... No it makes no sense, one step at a time''. -You can only get Experience from those you kill or from the ones killed by those System had acknowledged as your teammate or subordinate. "Makes sense, Ice Chi huh...that''s a lot of Yin energy, System can you trace where the poison came from?" After getting an answer he immediately asked a question that had been bugging his mind. -No , The time Frame has expired as it has been separated from its owner for over a week. "I see... Then how do I convert it into Ice elemental Chi?" - By opening the first acupoint in your Dantian region there by activating the elemental veins. Suddenly feeling a headache as he rubbed his temples, which is quite funny seeing a one year perform this action " Don''t I need the First manual of core for that" . - No, due to the emergency procedure performed during the initial stages of contact with the poison, the acupoint is only blocked by a thin layer only needing a final push to complete the process. Pausing his actions, clearly stunned by this information, he began to laugh hysterically "hahahaha ...this...This...breaking the first acupoint so quickly!, imagine the look that would be on those old fogeys faces" pausing here, he looked around him before quickly getting on his bed. Sitting on a lotus posture, he began to Gather Chi from the air like its was done when playing wushu back on earth. It didn''t take long for it to happen as the clear crisp sound of broken glass resonated from within his body. Suddenly, he felt like he was sitting in a cold room as the temperature of the room dropped drastically but he was still fine. Within his body you could see white Chi circulating along his meridians, washing and cleansing them making his skin look much more fairer and whiter than before. After about fifteen minutes, he opened his mouth to spit out the dark blood washed out from his body system. He then opened his palm and circulated the Ice Chi in his body, this brought out a bone chilling smoke that danced at the palm of his hand complimenting his white grown hair as his eyes had a little glow in them. This gave others an eerie feeling as the temperature in the room dropped by three times more. -Sub mission one completed... Rewards: Basic True Frigid ice Chi inner manual deposited into Host''s inventory... "Hmm?...inventory? How do I access it" hearing another matter that piqued his interest, he quickly stopped playing with the Chi even though he was really enjoying the feeling of having supernatural powers on himself even though he knew there were people with different powers in the world of Wushu. He just wanted to Muse himself. -simply make a mental command "Oh!" With his mouth forming an O in a child-like manner. ''Inventory'' With a clicking sound a Holographic 15*10 chest box appeared before him in his mind, just like it would in the game. It had a single book inside which was emitting cold chi. This was called soul chest, it would be depicted differently as ones level increases. Stretching out his hand he picks up the book. -basic true frigid Ice Chi : would you like to learn ''YES'' OR ''NO'' "Yes". Immediately, the complete information on Basic True frigid Ice Chi flooded his head making a bit dizzy for a bit, but he recovered with big smile. " Status " He once again called out. - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 1year 2months 17days. Power level: Lacking Understanding Level: 1 HP: 50 MP : 80 STR: 20 AGI: 35 SPR: 40. WILL: 25 DEX: 30 CONST: 20 BRE :15 STA: 25 Martial Inner: Basic true frigid Ice Chi Martial arts skills: None Equipment: None Artifact: None Feelings: invigorated, perplexed, Stunned. Titles: None. Alcohol: small Alignment: Neutral Taels : 0 Quest completion points(QCP): 800 5 Chapter 4: Demon Soul chasing Blade - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 1year 2months 17days. Power level: Lacking Understanding Level: 1 HP: 50 MP : 80 STR: 20 AGI: 35 SPR: 40. WILL: 25 DEX: 30 CONST: 20 BRE :15 STA: 25 Martial Inner: Basic true frigid Ice Chi Martial arts skills: None Equipment: None Artifact: None Feelings: invigorated, perplexed, Stunned. Titles: None. Alcohol: small Alignment: Neutral Taels : 0 Quest completion points(QCP): 800 As he continued reading through he noticed some things that were never in the game, Such As WILL stat, Feelings, artifacts and This QCP. ''I can guess what the will stat signifies and artifacts but QCP?''.after a few seconds of pondering he decided to ask the System. "System, what are the uses of this Quest completion points?" -They are points gotten From completing Quest, Gaining an achievement or certain titles as well as perform actions deemed as extraordinary... -can be used to exchange for certain items, Skills, Artifact, Gear, pet and more... Listening intently in order not to miss any detail "so you''re saying its like a currency used in accessing something like an Item Shop" he finally spoke after a few minutes, controlling the budding excitement threatening to bounce off his chest. - Yes ''Item Shop!'' He thought immediately without any hesitation, as a different holographic image of the item list appeared. Holding items neatly under different Tables, Such as Skills, Gear, pills, Pets, Artifacts, Inner techniques, Tools etc. He ignored the rest and opened Skills first as he was likely to find something more useful there. - Skills Shallow Kung fu (basic 1-4) : 1240qcp. Wallowing Toad Kicks(basic 1-4) : 2100qcp Praying mantis fist (basic 1-4): 925qcp. Soaring Crane fists (basic 1-4): 1050qcp Heartless blade(basic 1-4): 4000qcp. Wind breaking sword (basic 1-4)- 900qcp Demon Soul chasing blade(basic 1-4): 600qcp. Yin yang sword (basic 1-4): 5000qcp ''Ah! It will make me dizzy if this continues'' Lamenting a bit at my predicament, I made a suggestion. "System, kindly bring up only skills I can purchase with present QCP" -Acknowledged -Demon Soul chasing blade (basic 1-4):600qcp. I remember this skill, its a skill that utilises throwing knives and depending on your inner chi you can use it in so many ways. Back on earth those that used this were mostly poison Chi inner users as well as Dark Chi inner user, its was rare to see an Ice inner Chi user that used this. But there was that one guy, ''Impaler'' that used this along with exquisite dice skill, boosting it with icy heart inner Chi. This caused devastating slow damage over time as he kites you while reducing your speed by 60%, even having 50%+ resistance to Ice only made up for so much as you would still be slowed by 30% , not to mention it has the possibility to stack. That''s how deadly the combo was. ''I wonder if this True frigid Ice Chi inner has the same effect, even if it doesn''t... It shouldn''t be far off''. finally coming to a decision. "System, I would like to exchange for Demon Soul chasing blade". With a light Ding! Sound -600qcp floated before his eye before disappearing, meanwhile lots of information flooded his brain once more as vivid images on how the skills worked, he felt reminiscent of his fights with ''Impaler''. - Acquired Demon Soul chasing blade basic 1-4 Consisting of only two skills... (Attack) Dark Spirit Remains Basic(1-4): Rapid Fire with throwing knives, increases attack speed with every successful hit. (Taunt) Heavenly Demon Returns To Earth(1-4): induces anger, making victim unable to do anything else except attack you. Duration depends on victims level. " hahahaha... No wonder impaler was always annoying " Suddenly in high spirits he remembered he still had about 200qcp to spend. ''Judging from this I can pretty much guess what''s on the other Tabs, I should just get some throwing knives and not bother with the rest for now''. "I wish to purchase some throwing knives". As soon as he said that the tabs flipped to the tools page, bringing up only throwing knives. - ordinary throwing knives: 10qcp per 1 5-10dmg -steel throwing knives: 20qcp per 1 10-20dmg -... " I wish to purchase 5 steel throwing knives " without hesitation he replied as he had already thought of it. Ding! -100qcp -acquired 5 steel throwing knives... Inputting Host''s soul energy into steel throwing knives 1%...30%...80%...100%...complete. "Phew...I thought I''d have to do that myself" letting out a breath of relief he closed the item shop and opened his inventory, picking up the Knives that now felt like they were a part of him. Ding! -for completing first Shop purchase, you''ve been awarded tendon breaking pills x3 "This... Isn''t this a little too good, hmm" after some time he retrieved the pills before swallowing them and going back onto a lotus posture. After a few seconds he felt his body heating up as he continued to circulate his ice Chi according to the true frigid Ice Chi technique. +1000 Level up Level up Level up +1000 +1000 Level up... After 15minutes of cultivation he had broken into the realms of first understanding, now it could be said he had stepped into the world of jian ghu. Now he would be able to use his Chi with much proficiency. ''Status'' - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 1year 2months 17days. Power level: First Understanding Level: 5 HP: 250 MP : 360 STR: 40 AGI: 65 SPR: 50 WILL: 40 DEX: 50 CONST: 30 BRE :30 STA: 40 Free stat points: 10 Martial Inner: Basic true frigid Ice Chi Martial arts skills: Demon Soul chasing blade (Attack) Dark Spirit Remains Basic(1-4): Rapid Fire with throwing knives, increases attack speed with every successful hit.(lvl 1) (Taunt) Heavenly Demon Returns To Earth(1-4): induces anger, making victim unable to do anything else except attack you. Duration depends on victims level.(lvl 1) Skill points: 4 Equipment: Steel throwing knives x5 Artifact: None Feelings: invigorated, Overjoyed Titles: None. Alcohol: small Alignment: Neutral Taels : 0 Quest completion points(QCP): 100 Exp(500/3000)lvl 6 Looking at his status once more Xu y¨²n couldn''t help but Grin like a Cheshire cat. "My Journey Has begun!!!" 6 Chapter 5: 11 Years Later At Edges of Mount Yao, you could see Shadows dashing through the Sea of Trees as the howls of resonated around the forest. Silently a pack of wolves Trailed after a young boy, in Blazing fury and flaming red eyes as they maneuvered the Forest despite the heavy snowfall. Sui!Sui!Sui! Small Knives flickered through the air, every time the dagger striked a Wolf dropped dead, dragging through the snow before coming to a halt. +352exp +305exp +324exp Level up! At this prompt, the young boy came to a stop as he got to a high ground. This made the wolves stop as well because they dare not take this human lightly. This Boy right here is Xu Y¨²n, donned in a White robe complimenting his smooth jade like skin, white long hair that had now grown to the length of his shoulder creating a beautiful picture standing on snow in the middle of the green and white forest. His piercing blue eyes glowing under the moon light as he stares intently at the alpha whom was standing at the very back of the pack. His stare was seen as a great disrespect to the alpha, Attracting a Growl from the latter. Stretching out his palm, he made a suction force with his Chi. Immediately all throwing knives from earlier lifted themselves up from their victims before rushing towards Xu Y¨²n''s palm like they had eyes. - +8 silver throwing knives! One of the wolves couldn''t help but yelp at the sight of the Knives earning a snarl from the Gray alpha. Getting into a stance, he taunts for the alpha to attack. Activating ''heavenly demon comes down to earth''. The alpha was enraged! Awooo!!!, its Howl causing vibrations on the ground beneath its feet. Acknowledging their alpha''s order the rest of the wolves Howled in response as their eyes became even more bloodshot. The first wolf tried to flank him from his left, he simply took a step back and gathering Ice Chi on his knives. As the wolf missed its target, it goes free falling onto another with a heavy Thud!. Sui! Sui! He strikes the two with his Knives but didn''t kill one, because he wanted the Ice Chi to rampage within it making it make pitiful whimpers. This sounds just enraged the others further, making their attacks, though more violent it became more sloppy and predictable. "Maybe I should use This time to perfect my ''Arhat Fist''''. He pondered as he killed the 5th wolf, As soon as the wolf dropped dead he charged at the wolves now instead of fighting passively. Gathering Ice Chi once more on his hands, he punched the Deep blue wolf in front of him right on its fore head where the monster core was, causing it to Explode into countless ice fragments and turning into an Ice sculpture. At this time he noticed the Alpha making a move from the corner of his eyes but pretended not to notice as he grabbed another wolf before flipping it and smashing it on the ground. By the time it touched the ground it had broken like Glass. Bang! +298exp +312exp! +368exp! + 279exp!... Peng! Peng! Peng! The fight went on as Xu y¨²n began to accumulate wounds and his robe got more raggedly. At this time the Alpha finally struck, pouncing towards Xu Y¨²n with a loud Bark. Unfortunately, Xu Y¨²n had been expecting this for Quite sometime as he simply jumped backwards and back flipped the moment his feet touched the ground thereby dodging the Alpha''s second attack right before completing his movement with a wild goose step landing gracefully. Using the slight pause the Alpha tried to use to regain its stamina after missing its skill, Xu Y¨²n dashed towards the Frozen lake towards the East. The Alpha had no choice but to Order his pack as they gave chase, further depleting its Stamina. But it didn''t care because this human had killed its mate right in front of him and his pack, this was the highest humiliation it had ever received since his birth. Xu Y¨²n ran until he stepped on the ice covering the river. despite the ice being a thin layer, it was like He didn''t step on it Due to one of the perks of having a level 3 wild goose step, but the wolves didn''t know that. They simply bounded after him blinded by their berserk state, towards the center of the river Xu Y¨²n took a huge leap above the river as he pulled up a massive amount of Chi before releasing the final move of ''Arhat Fist'' towards the ice surface. ''Touch of Heaven!'' A two meter tall palm made of Ice Chi appeared, pressing towards the ice surface instantly shattering it... BOOM!! Awooo!! Awoo... +320exp +201exp +410exp +389exp +254exp +4387exp Series of notices from the system formed an euphony to Xu Y¨²n as he silently landing on the water surface with his eyes closed creating a serene atmosphere, he had gotten a new understanding of the touch of heaven skill. Besides his now pale face and his raggedly clothes, it''s had to believe he just survived a life and death battle. The Forest was silent, the winds were raging and the river returned to its natural calm state. "I guess understanding them makes it easier to perform the skill" he mumbled, opening his after some minutes. He looked around him, Finally finding the way back to the Xu family manor before he began walking towards it. "I''d better use this Arhat Fists Skill'' as a Trump card, just as I thought it takes a huge toll on me hash!" Sighing as he contemplated on he should proceed. Its been 11years since he began cultivation, and also been that long since he started this night rendezvous. Tempering himself an increasing his chances to pass the scholars sect entrance examination coming up in the next few days. So Far only Aunt Yao Yao and little Lin her daughter still interact with him, other Xu family members have probably forgotten his existence by now. About three years ago he finally found out what happened to his father as Aunt Yao couldn''t help but ''pity'' me and tell me. Back then His father had gone to an Auction in Suzhou, the most prosperous business city in Wushu empire. At the time the Zi house got a tier 4 pill called the '' red bone elixir'' that had the possibility of increasing one''s aptitude. He had won the auction for the pills but he and his guards were ambushed along the way. This only made ''Sigh when heard this story, too bad he didn''t know his parents much but this completed his sub missions that was left hanging. Finally arriving at his courtyard, he noticed a small silhouette crouched by his door. The moment his eyes locked on to her, a holographic image popped up above her Head. -Yao Lin Lvl 17 Realized potential ''She must have fallen asleep while knocking'' He mumbled to himself while walking towards her. As though sensing a presence, she awakened and seemed lost for a few seconds before recognizing it was Xu Y¨²n. "Young...Big brother Xu Y¨²n, weren''t you inside the house?" She asked, before turning into a complete tomato. Luckily he changed before coming back Here. "No, little Lin I went for a walk" he quickly replied with a small smile on his face. ''This little Lass must have been worrying about me again haah!..'' Sighing internally, he continued "Little Lin you broke through again, I always knew you were amazing". " Ah??! How do you always know?? Its like your a ghost " She said pouting While folding her arms. Ah! Critical hit! So cute! Luckily I don''t have such weird tastes. "Big Brother Y¨²n, I''ll be enrolling for the scholars sect examination too so I''ll protect you!, what cultivation level are you now?" Immediately forgetting her earlier dissatisfaction, she probed. ''I''ll answer the same thing I always do'' "Ah Little Lin, after trying so much I''m still a step behind you" crying out in a pitiful manner. The room then became Quiet, after a few minutes Little Lin seems to have come to a conclusion as this has only strengthened her resolve to protect her big brother. Well Xu Y¨²n wasn''t even worried because he was way above the minimum requiment... "Yes yes yes we shall follow little Lin''s arrangement"" . 7 Xu Yúns Status ''Status'' - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 12years 5months 10days. Power level: Flows with Chi Level: 33 HP: 468/5268 MP : 670/9200 STR: 116AGI: 167 SPR: 80 WILL: 63 DEX: 102 CONST: 78 BRE :150 STA: 200 Free stat points: 6 Martial Inner: Basic true frigid Ice Chi Martial arts skills: Demon Soul chasing blade(throwing knives) (Attack) Dark Spirit Remains Basic(1-4): Rapid Fire with throwing knives, increases attack speed with every successful hit.(lvl 4) (Taunt) Heavenly Demon Returns To Earth(1-4): induces anger, making victim unable to do anything else except attack you. Duration depends on victims level.(lvl 4). Wild Goose steps: Uses heaviness to improve lightness as you borrow the power of the to move at a faster speed has 3 sub skills. -(Active) Triple tap: using 3 steps to move for a distance of 10meters creating an illusion of a flash of light. Gives speed buff of 40% for 3 seconds after use. CD:45secs.(lvl 2) -(Passive) light as a feather: gives user 45% lightness, increases by 5 percent for each level(lvl 3). -(Active)Fallen leaf: grants user invisibility for 20 secs. Bonus effect: can float in the direction of the wind leaving an illusion of floating leaves being drifted in the wind, 2% of being seen through by someone with a cultivation of three levels above user. CD:5 secs.(lvl 3). Arhat Fists(unarmed tier 3): A fist techniques derived from the mixture of the Shaolin Long Boxing and the wanderers Valley Bone Corrosion Palm. -consisting of attacks,interrupts and fake. -Blocks with this skill reduces damage from attacks. -internal strength boosts damage of specific element styles 16-20%. -inflicts internal damage and ignore defence. (Active)Pulling Fate from the heavens: Uses a 4 combo move of user''s choice to inflict numbness on every successful hit, Accumulates heavens blessings (stackable) x20(lvl 1) (Fake)joy of the Heavens: User performs a feint, if opponent falls for it he would get stun for 2 seconds as buddha chants linger in the air.CD: 55secs (lvl 1) (Interrupt/Counter) Heavens Mirror: has a 0.5 secs window to counter or interrupt opponents skill.(lvl 1)CD: 5Secs (Active/Rage)Touch of Heaven: when heaven''s Blessings reach max, it consumes 50% of Inner Chi (MP) and builds up a 2m tall hand, pressing towards a desired location. Size increases by 1m with each level increase.(Lvl 1) Equipment: Silver throwing knives x10 Artifact: None Titles: Exterminator Alcohol: small Alignment: Neutral Taels : 200 silver taels Quest completion points(QCP): 2386 Exp(12730/80000)lvl 34 8 Chapter 6: Chengdu city "Little Lin, I think its time you head back so that Aunt Yao wouldn''t worry" I persuaded Her for the third as it was almost midnight. "Okay then I''ll return home but Big brother Yun, you should really take a rest because you look very Pale" Yao Lin Asserted as She headed out of the Courtyard while I could only Straight forward Smile at the retreating figure. shaking my Head as I went into my home I did a few stretches before lying on my Bed. ''I need to head into the city Tomorrow for the Final thing i''ll be needing...based on the time frame. today is December 18th year 603, tomorrow is the day Beggar Li Yuqiang Shows up at the side of Chengdu main market square.'' thinking up to this point I couldn''t help but laugh as I remembered the face of that dirty old man. he would just lie on the floor next to the steps of Luolan''s Tea House entrance, Sulking and sometimes spew curses or spittle if you look at him for long. This has made many player angry and resulted in beating him up mercilessly which would make him even Curse louder. But no one knew this Man ''Li Yuqiang'' was an unfathomable expert, even at that time my character was already at the ''peerless'' cultivation stage. I didn''t know this till one day when I had left over ''Daughter''s Wine'' which I gave to him, and even then he simply squinted at his hands for a second before opening his eyes wide in amazement before gobbling down the whole contents of the Jug like his life depended on it. after that I simply smiled wryly before turning to leave as I had not expected anything from him, In Fact the wine was a Quest reward so I didn''t see as Precious. But who knew he would stop me and say "Little Fellow, This Old man won''t let you suffer any injustice". That had piqued My interest as I saw him searching through his ''rags'' and fetching out a Scroll before saying " this here is my Life''s work, take it! never had i thought that I''d be able to taste daughter''s wine once again". upon collecting the Pamphlet i was finally able to see his name above his head. -Elder ''Li Yuqiang ???(Unfathomable) I was shocked!, This situation only happened when there is a difference of over 3 cultivation realms and Each realm had 4-5 levels in them depending on your cultivation technique. Looking at the Scroll in My hands, it had a green outer layer and a few rough patches to show how old it was. unfurling the scroll, I saw the Name of the martial Skill boldly written at the top "Dragon Subduing Slaps", reading further I found out This old Beggar was actually an Elder for the beggars sect who had been expelled and was now serving penance. Well in Summary, that skill alone had change my wushu life as it took me to being one of the top 100 on the ranking list. It was use able between combos of other skills and it was compatible with what ever cultivation inner you used, what''s more it was unique to just me. Although I can exchange for it with QCP, the price is astronomical! and based on what system had said i could also get some of this skills by finding them personally. which brought the Idea of me heading to Chengdu tomorrow. "System Exchange One Daughter''s Wine for me" -Deducting 2000Qcp -Item has been deposited into Host''s inventory Once I get this, I can proceed to the Examinations. ''I''ve been suppressing myself to be at this level for so long just so that i can get the "against worldy evil" cultivation manual from the location it was found back then. I need to merge it with my True Frigid Ice Chi cultivation technique since its the only apex cultivation manual that can compliment my Yin elements, after all exchanging for it is about 2.3 million Qcp for the Basic part alone. After stretching once more, I started going through the Martial Skill page on the item shop till I drifted off to sleep. Waking up in the morning, Xu Yun quickly freshened up as he couldn''t help but feel excited to see the city. He wanted to confirm if this world was really like the game but he had been putting it off. after he was done with everything he stepped out of his courtyard only to notice the difference in the atmosphere. it was all Hustle and bustle at the Family Manor. there were Guards patrolling across the main family mansion and other houses, servants running around from directions to the other. from the look of it, it seemed as though they were expecting an important guest. even at this moment no one noticed the White haired Boy on Dark purple attire slowly walking out of the abandoned southern wing. in fact, it was like Xu Yun was invisible!. Curious, Xu Yun quickly stopped a servant in order to find out what was happening. "Hello, Can you please tell me what''s happening" saying this as his voice came out lower than intended. The servant was startled by the voice as he cautiously looked around before turning towards his back. with eyes open wide he stared at Xu Yun for about 2 seconds before recovering with a Slight blush " I''m S...Sorry Young Miss, I di...didn''t Notice you were there. Shen family member are coming over to see the Family Head, So...". At this time Xu Yun''s mouth was twitching, "Young Miss?". The servant tilted his head in confusion, He didn''t Understand this young lady''s behavior but still decided to apologize, So he took a deep breath to comport himself "young miss, forgive this lowly one for not understanding what your Question is, But I am...". As he kept on speaking, Xu Yun''s face became more Uglier. Finally not being able to take it anymore as he was rendered speechless, he simply snorted with a "hmph!" and walked away towards the manor gates leaving the servant dumbfounded on what to do. "I wonder which family''s Miss that was" the servant pondered for a bit before going about his duties. What Xu Yun didn''t know was that this behavior only further increased the misunderstanding as he could''ve simply explained himself but that is a story for another day. Upon reaching the family gates, he headed to straight for where the carriages were kept leaving the guards at the gate confused as they did not see him cross the gates when going in, but they simply looked at him strangely before looking at themselves. as though understanding each others thought, they simply went back to their positions pretending nothing ever happened. Meanwhile, Xu Yun had Just arrived at the Carriage stand as he went to the having a Crest matching Xu Tianchi''s Medallion. It''s Design was made up of a Python trying to Swallow the Sun, it was a merge between Xu Tianchi''s logo and the Xu family logo. it was the same for the other brothers, Yunzheng''s Crest was made up of a lion basking under the Sun while Yunzao''s Was a series of spider webs obscuring the Sun. As Xu Yun got closer to where the carriage drivers were chatting, their chatter slowly died down as they noticed him. They all noticed him and all began to wonder who he was. the One to recognize him was Xu Chong, the Driver to Tianchi''s Carriage. Shocked!, He quickly bowed "Xu Chong! greets Young Master!". """"YOUNG MASTER???!!!!""" There was an Uproar!, but not for the right reasons. they were surprised that this beautiful person was actually male, He had Delicate Smooth jade like skin with a bit of a round face and phoenix shaped eyes. he had translucent blue eyes and smooth white hair, attached with his dark purple robe over his black Hanfu. only now that they had looked closely at his clothes did they notice he was wearing a male Hanfu not the female hanfu that their minds made it out to be. seeing that they had been staring they bowed awkwardly. "Rise" Xu Yun face became dark and his mouth kept twitching as he couldn''t blame them, this was all the fault of true frigid ice chi inner cultivation and his mother''s overpowered genes. he had lamented about his appearance every time he looked at the mirror, he even imagined how popular he would be if he was back on earth. ending his inner musing and cursing the heavens he noticed Xu Chong tearing up. Confused by this situation, He could only ask "Uncle Chong, is there a problem?". "ah!...No problem, I was just thinking how proud the Madam must feel in the heavenly plains" Xu Chong replied as he tried to clean his tears. hearing this made Xu Yun purse his lips, before consoling more of himself than Xu Chong as he tried to change the Subject. "But Uncle Chong, how did you recognize me when i haven''t even shown you any identification?" "you have a great resemblance to the Madam and Third Master has always talked about you so I know you are the only one in Chengdu who has snow white hair". Xu Chong responded after calming down, then he straightened up with a smile. "where do you want to go to young master?". "right, I''m going to chengdu market to purchase something for eldest Uncle" Hearing Xu Yun''s response, he looked around Xu Yun like he was searching for something. "Eh young Master, you can rest assured I''ll get you there as quickly as 30 minutes" Xu Chong declared with confidence, Naturally our Young Master Xu Gun was overjoyed. He Quickly made his way into his branch family''s carriage ignoring the gossiping going on around him. "I thought they said Young Master Xu Yun was a cripple, that he couldn''t even walk" a bystander muttered, which made a few people nod. "What do you all know?, hmph I heard he''s a cursed child that''s why his hair turned white" a middle age man with puckered lips Declared loudly. "NONSENSE! how can someone blessed by the heavens with such beauty be cursed?it''s just too bad he can''t cultivate, if not I would have offered my daughter to him for marriage". A woman in a red shenyi with heavy make up and a wine bottle said while taking a sip from her wine. " What!!!? Cao Xin Shen!!! What daughter are you talking about?? You mean the little fat pig you''re training?? Only the heavens know who gave you that chi...thing!!!, do you have a conscience?? Matchmaking your daughter with our young Master " an enraged old man couldn''t stand the woman''s antics before harshly denouncing her. "YOU!!!" stunned, she could only look at him with bulging eyes. "Shameless!" Another man added. As many nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Our Young Master Yun was oblivious of the uproar he had caused by just stepping out of the southern part of the Xu Manor as he was staring once more at the walls of Chengdu. "Its Just as I remember except it being more real than it was in the game, So much for 94% realism!. 6% is not a Joke hahaha!". Xu Yun couldn''t help laughing. The Walls were about 1 meter taller than the game and about 3 times thicker. Even the Gates were imposing despite just being a business city, The guards have more life like expressions too. There was a queue for those who want to get into the city, many merchants of different shapes and sizes as well as surplus array of goods trooping in and out of the city. As the people he saw increased, he decided to shut the windows as the carriage made its way passed the Queue at the entrance. A city Guard wanted to stop them but kept shut after seeing the crest at the side of the carriage. Stop them? Nonsense, no one would save him if he incurs an outside Xu family member not to mention those from the main branches. Even the city lord would be all smiles if he was splashed water by the carriage, get angry? If he does he was simply courting death. So the city guard simply became much more busy as he never saw the carriage. "You there! What? Since when do you get to speak??" The guard went to find a victim to make himself feel better. "I never said a thing!!!" The victim protested. "You Dare!!!Calling me a liar!!!courting death!! I, your grandfather will teach you grandson a lesson" pouncing on the man, the guard began to make a scene as Xu Yun''s carriage grandly went through the Gates like nothing happened. Naturally all this were noticed by Xu Yun. "Power!" Smiling cruelly as he used to be like that victim back on earth, always ending up as a scapegoat or stepping stone. "I won''t let it happen this time!". 9 Chapter 7 : Beggar Li Watching the Guards behavior, people began to curse him. "What''s wrong with him?, this is a clear case of fearing the strong and bullying the weak!" A merchant couldn''t stand the scene and berated the Guard. """ Yes!""" The crowd agreed in unison. "Pui! Coward" this time it was a lady who spat towards the floor before dishing out an insult as well. At this time, the Xu family carriage suddenly slowed down. This startled the Guard, so he decided to show off a bit as he thought whoever was in the carriage must have been angered by the crowds utterances. "What?! You all must be tired of living!! Who Dares!!I dare you to utter a word". He began to shout at the top of his lungs. Sui!!!...Crash!!! A wine keg suddenly flew across the air before shattering on the Guard''s heard, sending him flying by over 6 meters. " Tch!...So noisy!!!" A groggy voice sounded out from a huge pile of haystack, as what looked like a corpse crawled out of the pile. with wide open eyes the crowd look at this elderly man who was tired of living as though to register his figure into their mind. "Fuck!...can''t this old man slee...hmm?", only now did this person notice the scene and was stunned at the crowd. "Ah! its already morning!!!" He Exclaimed, this statement made people shake their heads for him, mourning his demise as the guards would never let him be. Meanwhile, within the carriage Xu Yun''s eyes were glowing!! "Beggar Li!". "koof!! koff!! koff! w...WHO!!!" The fallen Guard suddenly screamed, the crowd only just remembered the one who had been sent flying. He was bleeding from the back of his head with dust all over his body and his upper part of his attire besides his armor were in tatters from the friction with the ground, in fact he looked really pitiful. this made people wonder just how much force were on the wine keg!!, but the guard didn''t think of that. instead he was angered to the point he had coughed blood. just when he wanted to prove himself to the Xu family member, he was turned to this by a beggar no less!!, utter HUMILIATION!!! a Slap in the face. As a cultivator with the cultivation level of spiritually balanced he refused to believe a beggar was more powerful than him!!he won''t believe it. after all won''t that mean he was no better than a beggar?. ''I''m sure it''s because I was caught off guard, yes! yes! that must have been it'' Enthralled in his own illusion that he was powerful, basically as he was the Guard''s captain for the western gate of Chengdu, he was the strongest here so he couldn''t afford to lose more face!. "ah! were you the one that was being so noisy? I''m sorry, My mistake as i had used too much force just now. I may have had too much to drink so please forgive this old man this once eh?...why are looking at me like I killed your mother. This old man''s hand only slipped a little *cough cough* as you can see, I''m just a lowly beggar " The beggar said shamelessly with an air of righteousness as he walked towards the spot the Guard had been ranting before to pick up his wine keg like nothing happened creating a very weird sight making the people speechless, even Young Master Xu who knew him, as players always complained about him was still caught unprepared that his mouth began to twitch once more. Enraged the Guard Cursed "if I your father Lang Zhihao doesn''t kill you by a thousand cuts today, I shall right my name backwards in the city registry." Saying this he closed the distance of 5m with a single step trying to catch the beggar off Guard since he still had a degree of weariness towards this old man. The beggar seemed not to have noticed any changes as he opened the keg to take a sip but somehow dodged the fist. It seemed like a coincidence rather than an actual Dodge but Xu Yun knew better, he had seen this skill before. ''Drunken fist'', a player ''oneinchtothegrave'' had gotten this skill set in the beggars sect school early game but he had used only this skill to occupy the 7th position in the overall ranking ever since. Everyone knew he got it from a Quest but no one knew the details as he refused to disclose any information regarding it. The only downside was that you had to be in the drunken status to use it, hence oneinch was always drunk with his toon. As Xu Yun was having his thoughts the fight went as Lang Zhihao kept throwing out punches in a frenzied manner. But the beggar kept on being lucky that even the normal people began to notice something was wrong. He would trip, sway ,act like he was trying not to lose a drop of wine and so on till Lang Zhihao began to breathe heavily before drawing his sword from his waist. "Die!!" He bellowed with blood shut eyes, but the beggar seemed like he was startled and also started running around raining Curses and spittle. At this point the crowd burst out laughing. "what''s wrong with you??!! I said I was sorry!!" "Aaaargh!!!" "How come I''m not understanding what your saying?? Was your mother a Dog in her past life??" "AAARrrgh!!!" "Huh?? You dare chase your grandfather with a Stick?? Haha you unfilial thing! Oh My!! its really a sword!! You!!you!! Are you trying to kill your mother''s first lover??" " Kooff!!" Lang Zhihao coughed up blood once more before looking at his colleagues, "you fools what are you doing standing there??!!!!help me catch this fiend!!!'' This woke the others from their stupor before proceeding to chase the beggar. Even at that none of them even scratched his rags. " wow!! L...hiccup! Look I found a copper coin".more laughter arose within the crowd. All this continued for a few minutes before the beggar headed into the city with the Guards hot on his tail. The crowd cheered before flooding into the Gates, but no one dared block the carriages route. "Uncle Chong let''s go to the market" Xu yun finally said after some thinking. 11 Chapter 8: Beggar Li Pt 2 It was an hour passed two in the afternoon, As the streets of Chengdu were still as busy as every other day. Carts moving back and forth on the wide roads as commoners moved on the sidewalk, people of different shapes and sizes, classes as well as their products they held being of different Origins. Merchants advertising their wears and human pulled rickshaws of different colors to show the difference in status bustling about. a washed up white for commoners while the wealthy had a variety of colors. at this time, there was a commotion! the guards were chasing what looked like a Mad man Running through alleys and maneuvering through the sea of people. In fact the crazy old beggar tossed merchant goods around in order to create obstacles for the guards who kept on tripping and falling, looking utterly pathetic. the old man was all laughs but the words coming out of his mouth would make you hide away in shame. This went on till the crazy old beggar made a turn into an alley and disappeared, making the Guards collapse on the ground in frustration. In about 13 minutes, a dark figure came out of a dark alley next to the market entrance. it looked around for a bit before slowly walking out of the darkness. As it stepped out, it revealed the Beggar from earlier but this time there was no sign of being drunk or being crazy. "haaah!, I really need to start minding my own business" sighing, he pull out his wine keg and brought it to his mouth but nothing came. "No!!!my spirit wine!!" screaming out of the blue and scaring a few bystanders, but he didn''t even bother with them as he inspected his keg. "Ah! it''s leaking!...tch what kind of head does that grandson have??is he by chance one of those stupid monks?", shrugging his shoulders before tossing his now broken keg away. after taking a few steps into the market. "!!!" He came to a halt as if struck by lightning. "It can''t be!! Daughter''s Wine!!!" sniffing through the air for a bit, he began to run towards a corner of the market. Meanwhile, the intriguer of the scene was sitting at a spot by a fountain as he held a small teacup. Xu Yun had arrived at the spot where he remember beggar Li usually laid down but didn''t find him and was beginning to get anxious, oblivious to the fact that him sitting there created a scene for many teenage boy to blush and dream about having a wife like ''him''. Perhaps if he knew he would have smashed his face on a wall!. "could it be that he was caught after what happened earlier?, impossible no one in chengdu should have reached such a level to be able to apprehend that Madman except the Xu , Shen, Nangong, Huanhua family old monsters hiding behind the scene and maybe the secret faction on Xiangyang slope." Remembering the ''Red hand'' on Xiangyang Slope, he couldn''t help but frown. It was only Mid game they were heard of and at that time it was found out the City lord was the Man behind the curtains. As he was lost in thought, he suddenly noticed a clouds of dust running towards him in full speed. Immediately, Xu Yun looked surprised and scared. ''Of course he knew who was coming, its just that he had to look the part for his age. He didn''t take long for beggar Li to arrive with a face full of smiles, with the wrinkles and somewhat black skin color which made his smile look ghastly. As Xu Yun was observed him curiously with a lost and confused child like look on his face, Beggar Li was observing at him as well and he couldn''t get anything till he used his cultivation to probe the kid''s body, only to find out the child was a boy. Surprised but no changes came to his face, besides his gender he also noticed that Chi around the boy just seem to float towards him and disappeared but he clearly had no cultivation which was even more confusing. One thing was certain though, this child wasn''t ordinary. "He he, little brother! Who came with you today?" He immediately asked making Xu Yun open his eyes wide before replying. "Answering to senior, I only came to look for an item exchange, this wine for my Eldest Uncle but no one seems to want to trade with me. Which makes me confused as my father made me believe that was super rare when he was alive" with a dejected look as though he was about to cry, but he was laughing in his mind but too bad beggar Li couldn''t read minds. At this point Beggar Li had put on a shocked look before crying out in indignation "outrageous!!" As he looked around suspiciously before he continued "Little brother, he he I don''t know if I can have a fast of the wine to be sure of what type it is, maybe I might be able to help you." As soon as he said the last word a huge cup mysteriously appeared in his hand and he began serving himself like it was the natural thing in the world to do without waiting for our young Master''s response. But Young Master Xu wasn''t really bothered by this, in fact it''s what he wanted. This way he would easily hook him with the bait. As he served himself the wine, the aroma made him feel how valuable this wine was. It must have been fermented for at least a hundred years!. Bringing the cup to his mouth with shaking hand, he took a sip and shamelessly moaned with pleasure that our young Master Xu had to blush in shame on his behalf. "300years!...its been 300 years!!since I last got to taste this" Beggar Li said in content manner, with His eyes closed as though reminiscent of the old days. He then dug his hands into his ''clothes'' fetching out a Ring and stretching it towards Xu Yun. "Here Little brother, for fulfilling one of my life long wishes thank you". Upon receiving the ring, he asked system to analyze it for him while inwardly screaming on how the script had changed!!! In his mind. -Analyzing... 1%...6%..98%...done. -grade 2 artifact : Child of the Night (Active)Shields user with dark Chi while erasing his presence and gives him a 5 secs invincibility upon activation. (Passive) Erases user''s presence when in an idle state. Young Master Xu''s face began to twitch once more, Beggar Li saw this as him being unsatisfied so he quickly said " Kid, if you give me the Whole keg I''ll give you something good ". Surprise flashed through Xu Yun''s eyes before he nodded. Dipping his hands into his ''clothing'' once more and bringing out a scroll before passing it to Young Master Xu... This was what Xu Yun had been looking for!!! His face face couldn''t help but flush in excitement. -Detecting skill book, would you like to learn? Y or N? ''Yes'' Ding! -Host has learnt ''Dragon subduing Slaps''(unarmed) Hearing this, Xu Yun wanted to dance with joy but still calmed down. He opened the scroll and pretended to look through a bit before returning it to Beggar Li making him surprised. " Senior, Forgive me but I will gift this keg to you but I only ask that you owe me a favor!" Xu Yun finally said after a few moments of ''hesitation''. "Hahaha, Good good good... Smart boy, how long has it been since I, Li yuqiang owed anyone a favor... Hahaha" after being shocked for a second he burst out laughing. At this Young Master Xu Yun joined in on the laughter but each person was laughing for entirely different reasons. 12 Chapter 9 : There is a hidden message in every waterfall It was evening and the merchants who came to buy some goods in chengdu were leaving in quick steps and some left after Going to the Changfeng escort agency to hire Guards in order to protect their goods as they head to their respective cities. the escort agency were highly respected and known for their exquisite service, with branches in all major cities is Wushu empire. A few Miles away from the western gate, just after the end of the Marble road signifying the entrance to the mountains and forest. There were a few hooded figures in black attires hidden in the bushes as they seemed to be waiting for something. "old fifth, you said the white haired thrash of Xu family really came out with any Guards today?" a gruff voice sounded out from one of the hooded figures, from the way they were positioned he seemed to be their leader. "I''m positive, I saw him by the fountain in Chengdu market." Old fifth replied, while rubbing his palms together. "good, we can finally finish our mission of those years ago. i thought the child would never leave the manor." The Leader spoke once more making the others nod in agreement. Meanwhile, Young Master Xu Yun was having a great day, he got an artifact, the perfect auxiliary Martial skill, an he got a power House to owe him a favor. So he was smiling like a Cheshire cat, but his joy was short lived as he noticed a few red dots on the radar of the right side of his screen. This made his face suddenly go dark as they got about 420m close to the red dots, he could now check their status. -Name:??? Title: Serpent''s Branch member , Lefty Cultivation: peak of power. -Name:??? Title: serpent''s branch member, Third Cultivation: Flows with Chi -Name:??? Title: Serpent''s Branch member, hawk eye Cultivation: Mentally Balanced. -Name:??? Title: Tang Sect outer disciple, Spy, Poison Master Cultivation: Martial intuition (Expert of self). -Name:??? Title: Serpent''s Branch leader Cultivation: peak of power. After looking at their status his face got even more darker, this was not normal!! Why were Serpents passing off as bandits?! It makes no sense unless they were to assassinate someone and it was a case of being at the right place at the wrong time. But he just couldn''t write out the possibility they were here for him either!. Serpents was a mysterious organisation that dealt with only assassination missions, they were all over the continent. No one knew anything about them except that they never fail a mission, no matter how long it takes. The more he thought the more cold sweat ran down his body, "Uncle Chong, quickly turn the ca..." He suddenly realized that even if they turned back now, they were quite a distance from the city and with their cultivation, the carriage won''t even go far before their horses were dead. "!!!" Once again was shocked to find he was perspiring and his hands were shaking, after which he laughed in self mockery of how he claimed he would never be a victim and how he would change but look at him now. Still the same old City slum John, when faced with even the slightest danger or threat becomes a vegetable. He felt he had arrived facing mindless monsters but in the face of a real threat, his subconscious became all about running without even knowledge on if they were actually here for him. "Young Master, you were saying something... Young.." Xu Yun only just noticed that the carriage driver was speaking to him. "Uncle Chong, please take the carriage back to the manor after I leave" As he said this, the red dots began moving towards them with great speed, after all he had wasted too much time. "What??!! Young Master!!its too..." Xu Chong protested immediately but too bad they fell on fell on deaf ears. ''Time to find out if if I''m the one they are after'' gathering his thoughts he quickly activated wild goose steps before dashing for the forest through the window. Not long after the red dots went after him in full sprint. Now that he was sure they were after him, he became confused as he doesn''t remember offending anyone related to the serpent. As he was thinking he kept moving, thanking the heavens none of them went after Uncle Chong. Hearing the sound of a waterfall, he ran in that direction and naturally the dots followed him. On getting there, he was mesmerized, the rocks were glowing pale blue, as the waterfall raged on despite the snow at the edges of the rocks and its surroundings but the waterfall was unaffected. Standing at the shore and looking absent minded as the rising Moon reflected on the water surface, as a faint moon glow showed on his hair. He''s suddenly reminded of a poem back on earth, as he said it out loud more to himself than anyone else. "There is a hidden message in every waterfall. It says, if you are flexible, falling will not hurt you!". This best described how he was feeling right now. " hahaha, to think young Master Xu would Spot us from so far away. You''re indeed great " the man who seemed to be the serpent branch leader finally spoke up. Still maintaining his silence, Xu Yun looked at all five of them as his heart kept beating wildly but outwardly he looked calm. "I''m Guessing you''re the ''bandits'' that killed my father." Xu Yun asked in a shaky voice but the waterfall covered up the trembling. "Interesting perception you have there Young Master Xu but what makes you think that??" The man once again spoke up. But Xu Yun kept silent once again as he sized them up before he said once more. Responding In a Placid Voice "But I wonder, do serpents never fail a mission?" . 13 Chapter 10: The thin Line between Life or Death. At the Shores of a Lake, surrounded by the sounds of a raging waterfall as its very floor were covered in snow. the moon high in the sky and a light breeze flowed as it caressed the cheek of 12 year old boy, as he stood there like a mountain with clenched fists, Clad in dark purple robes creating an ethereal picture with the surroundings as he was watched by the 5 men in the vicinity. "But I wonder, Do serpents really never fail missions?" The Boy asks with so much calmness, coupled with the icy look on his face. ''Why do I have to be so scared??it''s not like I''ve not Died before. Besides as the saying goes "A warrior is worthless unless he rises above others and stands strong in the midst of a storm." If I can''t survive this then It''s better i died anyways''. "Brat!!how do you know that name "Serpents"?!!" The Group leader spat out venom as his hold body was leaking with killing intent!, disrupting Xu Yun''s thoughts. "Oh, I wonder? How about we make a trade? You tell me who placed a red marker on me and I''ll tell you how I...!!" As he tried to stall for more time a dagger abruptly came close to slashing his neck but he side stepped giving a counter attack of own. Pai!!! A clear crisp slap rang out in the air as the flows with Chi (lefty) fell to the ground never to stand up ever again. A few seconds later his body turned to ice before disintegrating. -+2830exp Without even looking at his victim he knew he was dead because of the system''s prompt, He just continued to stare at the group with all the concentration he could muster as he rotated his frigid ice Chi to the fullest!. "Ice Chi!!!, Brat you really hid it well! But what could you do with a cultivation of martial intuition??" He was right, Mentioning this made the other Serpents relax once more. ''Yes what could I do? But one thing is sure!! If I''m going down, I''m going down with all of you...System exchange Blood throat evil poison and apply on all throwing knives " coming up with a plan, Xu Yun ordered the system. -300Qcp!! -poison applied and ready for use. At the same time the group leader gave a signal for them to attack together, filled with rage at how easily and disgracefully their brother had died. They usually don''t have any problems with dying as it was a normal thing in their line of work, the problem was how they died. Even as assassins they still valued honor. And so the battle began without the two peak of power leveled serpents, the other two attacked together. One with a dagger and the other with a claw, trying to do a pincer attack. The claw the first to arrive, aiming for his chest but unfortunately Xu Yun stepped back before taking 2 steps forward and sending a slap to the assailants chest, pushing Chi into it causing his heart to freeze. Seeing his partner''s death, the Martial intuition who seemed to be hiding his cultivation held his dagger in a reverse grip creating a feint like he was going to slash Xu Yun''s neck but suddenly Twirled around before a series clashing sounds were head as both party were pushed backwards . the first to recover was Xu Yun as he activated triple tap appearing as a flash of light, dashing towards his assailant but his opponent quickly wrapped his internal organs with Chi right before Xu Yun struck him twice with two palm strikes pushing back once more. Xu Yun frowned, he couldn''t tell why this person was holding back at this time. Recovering from Xu Yun''s strike as cold sweat ran down his or her face before going into stance. "You won''t stand a chance if you keep holding back!!" Xu Yun probed, making the opponent stare at him with wide eyes. Xu Yun''s words seemed to have aroused the suspicion of the two on the side, it seems this person was new to the group. Naturally Xu Yun saw all this, so he couldn''t help but let out a smile. At the same time His opponent charged at him, covering 5m in a single step as he brought his centre of gravity lower before flicking his arm and sending a black smokey needle flying towards Xu Yun. Xu Yun tried dodging but found his body sluggish, during that time he was feeling good about his new finding, he had let his guard down for a split second. This allowed the second in command to shadow step behind him and attack from his blind spot with a punch as Chi was wrapped around his fist, it sent Xu Yun flying by over 10m. Puu! Xu Yun coughed up blood, His internal organs were a mess. If he didn''t wear the silver vest from the Systems reward, he would have already left this world. It was just at this time he noticed the trajectory of the needle earlier wasn''t him but the one behind. "Aaargh!!!you!!! Puu!! You poisoned me!!!" The man let out a piercing Cry as he stared at his companion, slowly dropping to his knees as he cried blood!. "You should never had touched my sister!" An Icy cold voice was heard as the one who threw the needle took off the mask to reveal a stunning beauty. Raven black hair with almond coloured eyes and a face that looked between 16-17. She was a member of the Tang sect, when she was out on an assignment for the sect 3 years ago. her sister was sent to spy on one of the Emei sect sacred grounds. Her team was then suddenly ambushed on their way back to the sect. After a series of investigations, she found out it was the serpents who had eliminated her along with their intended target in order not to leave any witnesses. Upon getting this information, She went through different trials just to get into the amethyst serpent branch and has been waiting for an opportunity to strike but it seems they held lots of suspicion towards her. "Hundred victory poison!! Who are you?? And how did you get your hands on this poison" The leader''s frosty voice sounded out as he released his full peak of power aura. "Don''t even think of leaving here alive, without giving me an explanation!!" He continued. At the time he saw his partner was beyond saving because of the potency of the poison. "Leave?? Explanation?? Surely you jest!! I Ding wu had never let such thought cross my mind!!" Ding wu laughed icily as she finally released her full Aura out as well. -Name: Ding wu Title:Tang sect outer disciple, Spy ,poison Master Cultivation: Expert of self. "Hahaha, you dare say such words when you''re a realm lower than me and there are no sneak attacks for you to exploit" The man mocked. "I don''t need to" Ding wu simply said before charging at his direction... BOOM!! Kii!! Kaing!! Kaing!!... Sparks filled everywhere as both parties exchanged series of blows with both their dagger and short sword. Jumping off the floor and using the momentum to hit the man with a knee which was also blocked by him but not without pushing him off balance a bit as she flicked her hands releasing another needle while still in the air. This time Xu Yun recognized the skill, "flick a tongue": it stuns you for 2 seconds, its from the tang sect tier 2 skill " golden snake sting". As the man was off balanced, he couldn''t block the needle on time so he was hit. Despite not being poisoned, he was stunned, allowing her to activate "following madness" which grants you a 45% attack buff for 8 secs. Seeing this, Xu Yun could already imagine what comes next. "Swallow the whale" (rage skill) Ding wu''s dagger glowed a faint green light before she released the full 15 hit combo towards the man with so much speed Which he used all his focus to block the attack, sadly he got a few stabs on his side, chest and upper left arm. ''Chance!'' Xu Yun thought as he sent one of his throwing knives, grazing the Man''s cheek because it was thrown while he was injured and was lying down. Still he was happy, as he had succeeded in poisoning him smoothly. As if on cue, the man suddenly stopped as he couldn''t breathe properly anymore but Ding wu simply increased her assault forcing him to move more vigorously so that his blood would circulate the poison faster. At this time, Xu Yun crawled his way to the lake when he felt he was about to lose consciousness, he''d rather put his fate in the hands of the lake than this Ding wu!!, After all he still has a bounty on his head. ''Ah pathetic'' he thought as he fell into the water, that strike had temporally blocked his Chi passages and he was out of points to even exchange for drugs. ''In the end The battle over flesh and blood cannot compare to the battle for the heart.'' 14 Chapter 11: The Cavern Back in Xu Manor, Lanterns were lit as there was joy and merriment . people going about, socialising with drinks and food as the elders joked about old times. The Shen family had arrived for the feast with the Xu, bearing gifts and praises. Shen family were known for their medical practices, as their cultivation method and Battle style could be used to heal as well. The Shen Family Castle is located in the Eastern suburbs of Chengdu. The family members and Disciples practice the Gold Needle Healing Skill and are skillful healers. The Gold Needle can disarm foes from a distance when aimed at the acupoints. In fact, some say their offensive skills rival those of the Tangmen in ranged combat but no one really knows. Recently, clan leader Shen Canghai worked to repair the organization''s reputation; which suffered after former leader Shen Jingfeng, his father was killed by bandits. Although the Xu family had tried many methods to rope them in as Allies, they had still chosen to remain neutral. This time they simply came to congratulate Xu yunzheng on his breakthrough into the peak of the grandmaster realm, only a step away from the Matchless in Kungfu realm!! But yunzheng seemed to have other plans. In the Study just behind the main meeting Hall, Xu yunzheng could be seen sitting on the main seat as he spoke with a man that looked like he was around the age of 45-50 years old but the White highlights on his head was a give away that he was older, he had firm eye brows and slim build. he had his eyes closed as he calmly waited for yunzheng to speak.. "Shen Canghai, I would like to propose marriage between both our families" Finally breaking the silence Yunzheng went straight to the point. Opening his eyes with raised eyebrows he looked at yunzheng before saying coolly "is that so? But do you remember, my daughter is only 9". " hahaha Canghai, you know I don''t mean now" yunzheng stated, making Canghai turn towards him. "Then we can only wait till she''s 15 , for her to..." His voice was cut short when a knock came to the door, Making yunzheng utterly dissatisfied. "Speak!!!" Yunzheng bellowed . "Master, Xu Chong had just run over stating that Young Master Xu Yun had been chased into the forest by some hooded men, so he requests that we kindly send reinforcement to their family''s Young Master Yun". " What!!!?" Such news were not to be discussed in front of outsiders, so Canghai stood up to leave as he gave yunzheng a short nod before stepping out of the room which yunzheng''s mind was too preoccupied to notice as he imagined the worst. "What are you still standing there like a statue for??!Quickly send Xu Pi and some others to find Xu Yun!!!"noticing the servants presence was still there, he snapped. " y...Yes!!!"shocked by the sudden outburst from yunzheng as blood slowly fell from the side of his lips, he Quickly replied, dashing out as he recovered a bit. Seeing the servant leave, he scowled as he collected his thoughts before stating through clenched teeth. "Even after purposely not showing him any love, he was still targeted!! Perhaps I should go find him myself". Saying this, he disappeared from the study. Somewhere in the forest, within a space of impenetrable blackness, I stretched my arm only for it to dissolve into the surrounding darkness. It was dank and the only sound was the dripping water. I struggled to get up as pain shot throughout my body making me wonder what I experienced after I fell into the mysterious water. - New Sub mission Investigate the Cavern. Reward: Golden Snake Sword skill. Qcp: 12000. Only now did I realize I was actually in a cavern, the only sound that met my straining ears was my own echoing footsteps. As I reached out my hand once more to feel my way, I couldn''t even see it in front of my face. ''System, exchange a fire torch for 10qcp'' -10qcp Pulling up the torch I could finally see my surrounding, In here was a forest of stalactites and stalagmites, one more step and I would have been falling on this unforgiving rocky floor. Now looking at my body''s condition, I could only sigh. There were cuts and bruises everywhere With a bleeding head but its seems to have stopped, My only luck was there were no broken bones. ''Status'' - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 12years. Power level: Martial intuition Level: 33 HP: 3808/5268 MP : 9200/9200 STR: 116 AGI: 167 SPR: 80 WILL: 63 DEX: 102 CONST: 78 BRE :150 STA: 200 Free stat points: 6 Martial Inner: Basic true frigid Ice Chi Equipment: Silver throwing knives x9 Artifact: Child of the Night Titles: Exterminator, Murderer, Fool Alcohol: small Alignment: Neutral Taels : 200 silver taels Quest completion points(QCP): 46 Exp(20730/80000)lvl 34. Noticing the little differences, his Exp increased and he had 2 more titles. ''Muderer'': killed for the first time. Grants user the skill blood lust ( killing intent): allows user use an Aura to pressure enemies of the same level of cultivation or lower. There By applying a slow effect on them . Has 0.5% chance of killing opponents of a lower level. Aura can be added into attacks to boost damage by 10%. ''Fool'' : you could have made better choices. Seeing the description for the ''Fool'' title he could only shake his head, after all the description wasn''t wrong but there weren''t many other Choices he could have made either. Looking away from the status screen to look at the Quest, affirmed his belief that this place wasn''t that simple and looking at how rich the rewards were just showed how dangerous it must be. Golden Snake Sword skill, A cunning and vicious technique filled with what seemed to be openings but actually a lure, feints that can interchange into attacks at anytime and vice versa. Being on guard makes you dizzier the longer you fight, the only way to beat it was to finish the battle immediately or if you have comprehended the state of emptiness, where you could fight without thinking as your body only moves on instinct. If I remember correctly, the only way to get this skill was to fight and grind in the sky ladder arena through blood and teeth. Tssss....!TSssss! "!!!" Turning around quickly, he found snakes!! Lots of them as they seemed to be running from something, totally ignoring him. Cold sweat dropped from his fore head, seeing their sheer numbers. And what worried him more was that they were running from the direction he was meant to ''investigate''. F**K!. 15 Chapter 12: instance As the night went on, Yunzheng arrived on his massive eagle beast mount at the location the battle took place and was shocked by the scene he saw. Dead bodies of strange men and humanly shaped particles of ice, blood splattered everywhere on the Snow. Frowning, he brought out a talisman before pouring a drop of blood on it and making a series hand gestures. When he was done, golden footprints appeared depicting what seemed to be Xu yun''s footsteps. ''Looking at the foot movements, He must have been fighting them'' Shocked by this development, Of course he was aware that Xu Yun was cultivating but chose not to speak of it till he knows who the snake in their midst was. Why he was surprised was because he had no idea he had gotten to the point he could hold his own against a peak of power. After sometime the footprints got to a point where there was bloodstain causing the frozen blood to turn golden, This showed that Xu yun had been injured. He followed the golden blood towards the flowing river to continue his search, leaving behind markings for the others who were on their way. Meanwhile back at the cavern, Xu Yun proceeded further into the cavern with nothing but a torch in hand as he moved through a never ending maze like tunnel. After what seemed like forever, he finally got to a different scene, this space was golden in color due to the the gold colored crystal hanging on the roof of the area like Bulbs as fireflies flew around in the air making the view look magical. Taking a step forward, he received a system prompt. -Discovered Golden hollow Instance! +2300exp -Gained title "Explorer(1)" Grants 2% stamina and Night vision lvl 1. Hearing this only made him even more uneasy!!, Instances were like separate dimensions. instance is a special area, basically a dungeon, that generates a separate copy of the location for each group, or for a certain number of players, that enters the area. So it simply means even if someone wants to find him here or was standing in front of him right now they wouldn''t be able to even notice his existence until he either dies or conquers the Instance. -Sub Quest update Find out what the inscription means Rewards: Golden snake Sword skill 12000Qcp. At the same time, the temperature of the room became warm making him feel more refreshed. Looking around cautiously, found out that there were series of large holes on the walls, along with what seemed like shredded snake skin at the edges of some holes. Cobwebs littered in the area as you could almost smell how ancient and old this place was. At the centre of the room laid a platform made with an igneous Rock, it stood there with a myriad of letters and inscription were found on it. Walking closer, the room suddenly became a little bit darker as shadows and voices began to move. It took quite sometime before he could make out what was happening. "WU XUN!!!!hand over the star Vortex Manual!!!" A bulky shadow in the midst of a crowd shouted at a lone shadow that seemed to be wearing a bamboo hat. "!!!!, Star Vortex?? Is this where it was found in the game??" With wide eyes, Star Vortex is a Jianghu Ultimate inner. In order to obtain the inner you need to first obtain a Black Wood Order in order to be able to get the full effects even without it, it''s strength is tremendous. If this instance is able to grant Star Vortex and the wood order, He won''t need to wait anymore as this is the ultimate of all ultimate cultivation manual. But the Question is if he can conquer the Instance in the first place. after all from his memory, Expert of self was the minimum requirement. "Haaa, I''ll just stake it all then! it''s not time to be conservative".Finally coming to a decision. ''System, how much stored up cultivation points do I have?''. -Exactly 21.3 million. ''Inject it all into true frigid Ice Chi'' -Advising Host to find a suitable space to relax as injection comes with SLIGHT pain. Cultivation points were experience stored up for future purposes, such as inner leveling or skill leveling. Hearing this sentence for some reason made Him feel a shiver down his spine as he pictured the system as a woman wearing a sadistic smile and looking at him like prey. He approached a corner by the entrance before he tore off his shirt, exposing his delicate upper body. Biting onto the shirt just in case before giving system a mental Go ahead. ''Begin'' -Acknowledged... Initiating sequence...3...2...1. 1%...3%...5%... Mmmmarghhhh!!!!!!! A muffled scream spread throughout the cavern as the voice kept playing on like a broken record. Level up! Level up! Level up! Level up! Level up! This continued for hours until... -Unable to proceed further due to Maxed out cultivation method Please proceed to either get higher versions or find higher tiered inner. Remaining cultivation points :2347890 at this point Xu Yun had lost his voice as he sat in a black pungent pool of impurities. He was without strength in his body, cursing himself for being stupid enough to store up 11years worth Cultivation point, of course there would have been a catch. He cursed the system in his mind, Vowing never to use that option as even the thought of him needing to experience this once more for the 2.3million left. He tried to stand up, only to fall down again so he decided to lay there and rest after getting out of the pool. ''Status'' - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 12years. Power level: Enlightened Virtouso(mid) Level: 65 HP: 10468 MP : 21000 STR: 316 AGI: 458 SPR: 222 WILL: 280 DEX: 302 CONST: 241 BRE :298 STA: 401 Free stat points: 473 Martial Inner: true frigid Ice Chi(Max) Equipment: Silver throwing knives x9 Artifact: Child of the Night Titles: Exterminator, Murderer, Fool,Explorer Alcohol: small Alignment: Neutral Taels : 200 silver taels Quest completion points(QCP): 46 Exp(0/0)lvl 66. "I think its time I start exchanging for Gear" he sighed. Meanwhile the voices finally started from the beginning once more, so Xu Yun decided to listen completely this time. "WU XUN!!!!, Hand over the star Vortex manual" The same bulky shadow bellowed once more at the slim shadow in a bamboo hat. "Hmph ye jie, you finally showed your true colors!! You even went as far as colluding with demons!!!" It retorted. "Cut the small talk and hand it over, you should shared it with him from the beginning if you really saw him as a brother" a short Shadow with a horn protruding from the side of his head spoke this time, clearly he was one of the demons in the group. Hearing this, the Shadow with a bamboo hat began to laugh coldly causing silence to fill the area before he said with so much arrogance and a domineering stance like he held them at the tip of his stretched out fingers, creating so much pressure that Xu Yun couldn''t breathe, even his eyes turned red as he tried to struggle against the pressure that was pressing him to the ground. despite it only being a Shadow it could still do this. "If you have the ability, come and take it from this Wu Xun''s hands". Watching this scene made our young master''s blood boil." This is who I want to be, this is the realm I wish to surpass!! Where my name would make gods cower in fear, where I shall stand at the top of all worlds and look down at them knowing that I control their very essence, this is The power and control I sort after!!! ". With every word he struggled against the pressure, his bones creaking like they wanted to shatter, veins swelling like countless snakes were moving around his thin body. The More he struggled, the more twist his child-like face became till saliva began to spill through his clenched teeth until there was a Snap!!! Sound in his head. The pressure disappeared like it was a dream and his blue eyes suddenly became cold pools, something you would never see in a child. His skin returned to their original pale color and his hair despite being disheveled added a different charm to him. He coldly stared at the platform at the center, before making his way towards it, as his killing intent kept building up with every step. 16 Chapter 13: Primordial Vortex Part 1 As He got closer to the platform, He could finally feel its presence! That thing that caused extra pressure with it''s aura. Taking a deep breath he called out with unbridled fury "Are you going to come out or do you need me to force???". But all he got as a reply was a soft chuckle along with a Sultry voice as though trying to tease him "kikikiki you sure are interesting Tssss". After the voice came something like an illusory water veil effect which fell from behind the platform exposing a massive white Snake with glossy white scales and a furry veil just below its Head as it covered its neck. Only one thought crossed his mind if he hadn''t experienced what he Just did would be ''Beautiful!''. Right now all he felt was just anger Although He knew that he would have been dead if it wasn''t that it wanted to test him. - Bai He(Injured) ?????????????? Unfathomable Xu Yun wasn''t surprised by the sight of its status, after all he had already experienced its mental pressure but he was wondering why it was injured though. An uncomfortable silence remained between the both of them as it stared at Xu Yun thinking, ''he''s a good seed! perfect! i''ll finally be able to leave here''. it waited for Xu Yun to calm down before proceeding with her next question which rendered him speechless. "aren''t you going to thank me? I just helped you break through your Tianzhu accupoint, this would make you cultivate faster, it also gives you a perfect memory, it keeps you in a calm state! " its sultry voice was once again sounded out said smugly, sounding as proud as can be, hoping to be praised but all it received was silence. "What do you want?" Xu Yun asked, but his question only made the Snakes eyes go wide before it also replied the Question with another Question. "The real question is what do YOU want??" Tilting its head to the side as it had what would seem to be a quizzical expression, as though it was human. Xu Yun''s eyes narrowed into slits, He seriously doesn''t know how to go about this Creature but he continued his steps towards the platform to read out the inscription. "Human do you even know what that is?" The snake inquired after it saw Xu Yun''s actions before slithering backwards in order to make way for him. Upon Hearing this He stopped his footsteps and stared at the snake, as he was clearly getting annoyed with this Snake. "What is this place??" Xu Yun couldn''t help but ask. "Here?, uhm... It was once known as the Sphere! But last I remember it became the golden hollow" the sultry voice sounded out once more as the snake laid down lazily. "Its a testing ground for the star Vortex legatee and all of Golden hollow''s treasures, what do you think child? Do you have confidence" Right now, the snakes head was right in front of Xu Yun''s face with a look that seemed to be taunting him. "I dare not say I am confident but I can say I''m going to take either way" Looking at the now cold pools that were Xu Yun''s eyes, She was reminded of someone in the past. her voice had gained a resonance of Respect, no longer were they laced with seductive air "I see...just So you know, failure means death". She stared intently at him, Her violet flashed in resonance with her words before she closed as though she wouldn''t bother with him anymore. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Yun finally made it to the platform as he focused on the inscriptions only to find that, they were written in Latin. He became overjoyed because this was one subject he had to take back in his high school days, its either this, French or German And at the end he picked Latin. Besides he wasn''t that worried, after all it would have taken system a few minutes to translate it if he didn''t. Taking a deep breath, he followed the instruction on the platform by using one of his throwing knives to cut his palm and let his blood drop on it as He called out the words on it. "heri et ostendit lumen purpureo sanguine elui" (translate: let the night sky be bathed in blood as the crimson star shows its brilliance). With a Whooshing! Sound he felt his soul leave his body before taking over another body. This body was brimming with power, till it was overflowing, A Violet Aura leaking from his body like it would touch the very sky. Space cracked around him, even the very floor he stood churned like it couldn''t hold him anymore. There were burns and cuts cover his skin, black long hair with a little bit of white highlights floated in the air, He looked around as Bodies were littered on the floor in thousands formed different pools of blood. ''i might as well call this a battlefield'' he thought, what surprised him the most was that he didn''t feel sick looking at the bodies. In fact, He relished this scene, ''This is war and it is tailor made exactly for Me'' with a wide grin he scanned the area for opponents. As soon as he took over this body, it was like his soul merged with this body, every memory on this body''s battle techniques were infused with him. He looked around him, wondering where or what the test was. "WU XUN!!!!!I WILL KILL YOU!!!" A short grey skinned man with horns sticking out of his Left side of his head suddenly appeared with a sword in his hand, pointed at him with so much anger. The short man released his blood red Aura that was shaped like massive flames!!!. This made Xu Yun raise an eyebrow, So this body was Wu xun''s body. As he was pondering More Auras began to appear in the area all glaring at Xu Yun(Wuxun). "Kill!!!!!!!" The short demon ROARED!, As he and his men charged towards our young master, All hungry and eager for blood. Several of them joined their Auras into one attack as it struck towards Xu Yun. The Aura surrounding Xu Yun''s body suddenly began to Stir as it charged at the incoming Aura, "BOOOM!!" An explosion rang out as a force field was created by the impact, sending a few of the weaker ones backwards by over 20 meters, some were never able to get up again as they had died from shock. He immediately felt a new influx of power as his Aura forcefully pulled back with it a chunk of the enemy''s Aura and at the same time he raised his hand to the sky, To a sky which shorn Red light as crackling sounds were heard and Violet lighting began forming a spear on his palm as his eyes began to shine in violet color. When it was done forming, he went into stance before he threw it into the midst of his enemies, causing another explosion that killed a few more hundreds as the Violet color in his eyes grew even more brighter and the sky redder. Feeling as the death of this people empowering him. Xu Yun Roared with a Wide grin on his face " THIS IS CHAOS!!!" Just before both parties finally collided. Boom!!! Dust was scattered everywhere as the earth shook, and the very floor cracked!!!. 17 Chapter 14: Primordial Vortex part 2 The Sky was as red as blood, The smell of iron filled the air and the floor was now a river of blood as the bodies kept on increasing. Sounds of weapons clashing and angry Roars filled the air, Xu Yun was getting frustrated with this Battle as the enemies just seemed to be never ending . "Kings Domain!!!." He Called out as Violet lighting spread throughout an area of 300x300m with him as the centre making gravity press down on his opponents. there were more wounds, each one more severe than the other, he was bleeding continuously as his breathing became more haggard. Even up till this moment, he had thought the test was to just defeat all of the enemies before him but thinking about it now made him realise that he doesn''t really know what or how to pass this test. He has been fighting for days, struggling to survive as he gradually grew tired and it seems the enemies also knew this. In fact, it looks like it had been their plan all along as their numbers kept on increasing with no fear of injuries or death, blinded by Greed. This made him feel a myriad of emotions. If he could get a hold on that short imp all this would have ended, as his presence seems to empower his allies. Sadly whenever he got close to him, the incubi would bolt while having his men intercept him. the closest Xu Yun had ever been ended in a miss where the cowardly demon only managed to Dodge with sheer luck, resulting in the loss of its horn instead. On the bright side, the loss of its horn reduced their momentum. "Wu Xun!! just hand it over and all this would end, You might be powerful but you are but ONE man." The short demon said, but his broken horn and his almost depleted Aura made it hard for anyone to take him seriously. Xu Yun found out his name was Jin Fen and he was from the Demon Jin clan, it was very cunning and slippery as a loach. His words made Xu Yun frown, his experience for the past few days made him see this flaw. while he was thinking the body he was using spoke once more "Hahaha Jin Fen, that might be true but know this, you''re not worthy to even get the star Vortex manual from even my dead body!!!." Xu Yun wasn''t surprised anymore as this wasn''t the first time the body has done this, it''s as if Xu Yun controls the action while the body spoke. but what surprised him now was the next words and action it performed. "besides, I have never been alone" Wu Xun had a smile on his face but it did not hide the sadness in his eyes. He performed some fast hand gestures making a fissure appear in the space behind him as a figure came out. a beauty of Raven black hair that flowed down to her waist, pale White skin, thin eyebrows along with red full lips that she was currently biting on, clearly angry about something. her Violet pupils scanned her surrounding, She had a violet mark on the centre of her forehead which looked like a crystal was hanging on there, Her White robe that hugged her perfect body had a tinge of purple on its sides. Jin Fen looked like he had lost his soul at this point. he clenched his teeth as he told himself that he could not fail today. "you really have a lot of guts to hurt this Bai he''s Master, if I don''t peel off your skins and refine your blood as supplements I won''t be satisfied" She screamed out with her face all red due to anger, after seeing Wu Xun''s injured body She almost went Crazy. "Damn Snake, don''t even think about it after all when Wu Xun dies I''ll be showing you, all pleasures of this world so don''t you think you should try and get on my good side now?." Jin Fen smiled lecherously. this only served to anger Bai he more as she wanted to charge at him. """"" Hahahahakakahahaka""" his men all released a series of raucous laughter, since everyone knows Jin Fen was an incubi. "Aaargh!!!. " Hearing this her eyes went bloodshot as she gave a War cry and charged directly at Jin fen, wanting to rip him to shreds with her claws. "Haha haha... in the end your just a beast!!...Kill her!!!" he Laughed, very pleased as he succeeded in separating her from Wu Xun. He then roared at his men to kill Bai he while watching Wu Xun(Xu Yun) for any reactions but the latter simply stood there looking at him expressionlessly. Once Bai he noticed the obstacles that were blocking her from her prey, She became even more enraged as she went berserk with her whole body turning into a streak of lightning before colliding with them. She struck them viscously, sounds of bones snapping or breaking, each move took down one person. Xu Yun had been about to help felt his consciousness suddenly pulled back as he lost control of the body. he now felt completely like a third wheel only capable of watching. Meanwhile, Wu Xun was quiet and sullen. he looked at Jin Fen from time to time, then back at the fight. He then looked down at his body once more, others might not have noticed but he knew that his body was on the verge of breaking down. Noticing that Jin Fen had concentrated all his men towards Bai he began to move forward as he thought about his life up till this moment. Images flashed through his mind as each of his steps felt heavy as some parts of the Blood river was beginning to clot. on getting to the body of his last victim, smiling bitterly. He looked at Bai he once more ''how sad my life has been, No friends or Family, Just you and ye jie...Sadly at the end he betrayed me, because of Greed. despite me trying to protect you. haaa I can''t let Bai he suffer the same fate as us because of our stupidity. "My legatee, you are the first to have made it this far... Do you think I''m weak??" he asked, but there was silence. Xu Yun''s mind was in confusion, If he called him weak what would he call himself. "I''ll just say this. in your path to greatness, don''t lose yourself in being power drunk, if possible find companions ,people, anything that would keep you from losing your mind or the star Vortex technique would devour your soul,Mind and body. in Chaos there should be A balance or else..." "let me Show you the ultimate move of the Star Vortex". After saying this, He pulled out the sword from his old victim and wiped the blood clinging to his sword by swinging it with his right hand. steeling himself for his final onslaught as his looked at the bloodied sky, laughing maniacally like he always did. " Hahaha even till the very end, I shall choose the way I die. Not even the heaven''s have a say in it!!!!." hearing his words made Jin Fen frown, His demon heart felt cold as he had a foreshadowing. It was time to get serious, Lucky for him, Wu Xun was wounded so he should be able to deal the finishing blow. Wu Xun dashed towards Jin Fen and swung his sword, blocking Jin Fen''s right sword swing. During the first blows, both parties were pushed backwards by 5 metres as their feet dug into the ground the further they went. From this exchange he found out that Jin Fen hadn''t been using his complete strength at their previous battles. But that didn''t matter anymore as he pushed his aching body as he charged out once more. Ching!! kiank!! Clank!!! the sounds of their clashing weapons sounded out as Wu Xun concentrated on defense and let his muscles settle into the rhythm of the battle. among all weapons, the sword was the one he was most proficient in since he had practiced all his life. After several minutes of attempting to get past Wu Xun''s defenses, Jin Fen lost his temper and began to batter at him with raw strength as if to pound him into the ground using the full advantages of his less wounded body. He had expected to have defeated Wu Xun Quickly so he could humiliate him before Bai he, not expecting him to still have so much will. Wu Xun evaded a thrust only for Jin fen to use Chi in stomping on the floor, sending Blood into the air like a wave forcing Wu Xun to retreat in a flash while Violet Chi rotated around him to protect himself from sneak attacks. The crowd that were fighting as they tried to over power the lone woman became completely silent, and the air rang with the tintinnabulation of the singing blades and the hoarse rasp of both fighters'' breathes. Wu Xun continued to wait for the opportunity to get this cunning fox off guard. Jin Fen''s weapon suddenly vibrated as series of massive red Chi spiraled through the air slipping past Wu Xun''s defenses and slashed toward his throat. Wu Xun laughed loudly, "You Lose!." upon hearing this Jin Fen Quickly pulled back his sword in an attempt to cocoon himself with his Chi but it was too late, Wu Xun thrust his blade vertically as his left hand directly sucked in Jin Fen''s attack. "Rejoice!! Legatee as You''re the First to experience this through my very eyes and it''s yours to perfect." Wu Xun laughed as he flickered for a second and appeared behind Jin Fen as his weapon was swung down towards the ground, neither fast nor slow but the pressure prevented Jin Fen from moving while his left hand made a pulling motion towards Jin fen''s people, then a suction force pulled them toward the Two. Jin Fen screamed as he gathered all the Chi he could, "What are you doing?" "you wanted the star Vortex right? I''m simply showing you what its capable of... what do you think??" Wu Xun said with a smile as the suction force continued to drag people but somehow excluded Bai he who was now in her snake form. Wu Xun glanced at Her, her white scales riddled with scars as her eyes stared in worry. "Don''t...." She said as her words were cut short, feeling their soul link get servered. "Noooo....." She screamed before losing consciousness. "PRIMORDIAL VORTEX!!!!!!" Almost immediately after, Lightning began to show itself in the sky looking like the apocalypse and a massive Vortex appeared behind Wu Xun, looking like a black Hole surrounded by violet lightning elements. the sound of thunder overshadowed the various screams as Jin Fen tried using More Chi but found out, they were all flowing into the Vortex. as it grew stronger. "Legatee, I trust you know what to do now...this move is imperfect. never use unless you perfect it as it could be so much more. if you use before understanding it...it would devour you as it has me". He said sternly, as his body was lifted up and dragged towards the Vortex. " take care of Bai he for me" his Voice echoed out as Xu Yun felt everything go dark. 18 Chapter 15: Inheritance 1 day ago, Bai he''s POV: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snow blew down into the cavern as the Array which guarded the Entrance got weaker by the day. As I turn towards the centre of the golden hollow, at the Lone white haired figure surrounded by the Violet Chi flowing out from the platform below his hands. "It''s been 2 days already and he''s still in there. I find myself worrying for him, perhaps its because he reminds me a lot of my late master. lost In my thoughts I moved closer to him, coiling myself around the platform and resting my head close to his small figure in an attempt to block the incoming cold from meeting him. The Test itself places so much stress on one''s Chi reserves and also takes a lot from the golden hollow itself. I think this will be the last chance before everything disappears completely from the world. having this thoughts made a wave of melancholy wash over me at the thought. but at least, maybe i''d be able to see him again once this was all over. the crystals around us both lost their color by the minutes, she tried now and then to get a look at the scenic wonder of Violet Chi rushing into his small form as it cleansed his body of impurities and tries to alter his bloodline. but the problem has always been how the bodies of people reject it immediately after the test, or die during the final stages. Now the entrance of the this area has already gotten Snow covered floors, The dark, foaming, Snow-shored river was probably frozen at the moment. the snow began to fall hurriedly and with the strong winds too, it seems there''s a snow storm outside. in a soft universal diffusion more confusing than the gusts and eddies of the morning. "haaa, I wonder what its like outside this days, it''s been over a thousand years since I sustained this injury on my soul and my cultivation has been dropping despite me using the cavern as a medium to keep myself present to keep watch over this place" muttering to herself between sighs before turning to look at a direction in the distance, only to find some humans searching for something. As time went on, The white haired boy''s body began to shake as it no longer had Chi in his body. His body began drying up at a very fast rate. "I guess I''ll help him a bit" Saying it a bit hurriedly As I began to channel Chi into his body made me realise I already care for the child. And this continued Until the fourth day, the Chi in Cavern was almost nonexistent as the surrounding had already lost its golden lustre. This very action had made Bai he lose a lot of her remaining cultivation, but it did not hide the happiness she felt. The boy had succeeded and Although She had no idea what would happen next, she was ready for whatever it is that comes her way. Suddenly, The whole cavern began to vibrate like it was about to collapse since there was no longer any Chi holding it together. Shocked by the new development, Bai he used her entire body to wrap around him in order to protect him just before everything collapsed to the ground. Crash!!! Krukuuku!!! Rocks crumbling everywhere with a sound so loud it was heard by everyone 2 kilometers. different Martial artists in the area began moving towards that direction in a haste. Meanwhile, the moment Bai he recovered and the rocks stopped falling, She picked up Xu Yun and left the area in a mad rush because she knew that sound would have attracted the attention of many jianghu experts. On the other hand, Our Young Master was having a good time. -Acquired Star Vortex cultivation manual. Main Quest complete. -Acquired Demon heart Chain Skill. -+40000Qcp. Sub quest complete -Golden Snake Sword skill +12000Qcp -Acquired +1 Black wood order. -+1 Gold grade Sword -+1 wind rider. -+Bamboo Hat -Assimilation of the White tiger bloodline (celestial) complete. -Acquired Lighting elements. -Merging True frigid Ice Chi into Star Vortex... Sending Host into Semi Comatose state... 1%...3%...5%...% - Host''s body grade has improved to A+, System eligible for upgrade into Stage 2. -beginning Upgrade : 1%...3%...5%... -Merging of True frigid Ice Chi into star Vortex cultivation manual completed. Alignment Changed: Evil (Nefarious) -System Upgrade complete. Unlocked faction system Unlocked Ancient Martial skills Improved AI Unlocked Jade Gear in Item shop Unlocked Cash shop sets Unlocked Companion System Item shop upgrade Unlocked Lottery System. -Establishing Soul Link with Winter Jade Python (Grade : S+). - Warning Pet cannot exceed Owner By More than One Cultivation Realm. [Name: Bai he Alignment: Evil Cultivation: Infallible Martial arts Master/Shake the world(Sealed). Elements: Ice, Water]. When Xu Yun woke Up, it took a while for him to recover from his dizzy state. He then proceeded to look around him before looking at the mini map. He wasn''t to far from that Lake, perhaps it was Bai He who was trying to take him somewhere. Right now he was in the midst of Bamboo trees enough to make a bamboo forest. and looking at the time below the Mini Map, he found out it was just half passed 4pm. He Sat up feeling sore all over, the evening breeze blew passed the bamboo forest making him feel peace of mind. Taking in a few breaths before he called up status. ''Status'' - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 12years. Power level: Enlightened Virtuoso(Advanced) Grade: A+ Bloodline: Celestial White tiger. Level: 65 HP: 20228 MP : 28000 STR: 412 AGI: 458 SPR: 222 WILL: 338 DEX: 401 CONST: 426 BRE :340 STA: 453 Free stat points: 473 Martial Inner: Star Vortex Equipment: Silver throwing knives x9 Artifact: Child of the Night Titles: Exterminator, Murderer, Fool,Explorer Alcohol: small Alignment: Nefarious Evil Taels : 200 silver taels Quest completion points(QCP): 52046 Exp(0/6000000)lvl 66.(infallible martial arts Master). 19 Chapter 16: Home Status'' - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 12years. Power level: Enlightened Virtuoso(Advanced) Grade : A+ Level: 65 Bloodline: celestial white tiger, Xu. HP: 20228 MP : 28000 STR: 412 AGI: 458 SPR: 222 WILL: 338 DEX: 401 CONST: 426 BRE :340 STA: 453 Free stat points: 473 Martial Inner: Star Vortex Equipment: Silver throwing knives x9 Artifact: Child of the Night. Titles: Exterminator, Murderer, Fool, Explorer Alcohol: Small Alignment: Nefarious Evil Taels : 200 silver Taels Quest completion points(QCP): 52046 Exp(0/6000000)lvl 66.(infallible martial arts Master). As Xu Yun looked at his Status he couldn''t help but grin "that''s an Ultimate cultivation manual for you, It practically doubled My Hp and Stats but it seems I''ll have to Open more meridians and Activate Acupoints because the Tianzhu acupoint that was opened recently also had it''s benefits, as it helped my stats. " Looking on He expanded Star Vortex cultivation technique. -Star Vortex: A Jianghu Ultimate Inner (Taichi). +20% damage with any Taichi Skill and 16% when using either Yang/Yin Skills. + 2510 HP for each level up, + 705 MP for each level up, + 1760 max parry endurance, +60 Internal defense. Special effects: In every attack, there is a certain Chance that it will make Target''s inner breath to swell for a period of time so that it would cause a Constant outflow of Chi and cultivation points, While reducing their movement speed by 40%. Demented Star Vortex: Absorbs the cultivation points and Chi dispersed by the target and convert to own Max Limit as well as HP Or MP during combat. immunity to all movement restrictions for a specific period of time. effects comes randomly. Negative effects: immunity once triggered, only stops when out of Chi. Looking at the Effects he couldn''t help but laugh in Glee [Hahaha, Isn''t this a little bit overpowered?.] he then turned his attention towards the bloodline Tab, he couldn''t help but be confused. ''System, how did this Tab come to be?? and how did I get this celestial White tiger''s. '' -This Bloodline was triggered by the imperial Star Chi, Cleansing your body and blood. ''Triggered??, you mean I''ve always had it in My Blood Line?'' He Inquired because from the way system sounded, its like he had always had it with him. - Yes, Analyzing Blood line origins...1%...3%...100% Xu: Xu Tianchi(Xu Family) Celestial White tiger: Hu Zhen Zhen(Hu Clan). This piece of information, Surprised Xu Yun. From looks of it, There must be more to the story behind his parents. ''Thinking like this won''t help,I think its time to speak with 1st uncle .'' Thinking up to this point he decided to continue with the remaining of his status page, which was when he thought about his stats. There were still some free points to use. Calling to system once more, he said [Hmm System, Add a hundred points to Strength, agility, Dexterity and Breath respectively. fifty points to Stamina.] -Completed... - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 12years. Power level: Enlightened Virtuoso(Advanced) Grade : A+ Level: 65 Bloodline: celestial white tiger, Xu. HP: 24228 MP : 30000 STR: 512 AGI: 558 SPR: 222 WILL: 338 DEX: 501 CONST: 426 BRE :440 STA: 503 Free stat points: 23 after System completed the task, He looked at his choice and nodded repeatedly before thinking aloud like he was talking to himself. [increasing certain stats boosts either HP ,MP . let''s not even mention the hidden stats like internal defense, External defense points, Parry points etc.]. He then concluded by closing his status page and took a look at his inventory. - Black wood order *1. - Drunken willow (Gold grade Sword). -wind rider* 1. -Bamboo Hat. -Golden snake sword skill *1 -Demon heart chain skill*1. -Lottery tickets*4 this were the Items that were new in his inventory. He was about to expand on it when he noticed several white, red Dots entering into the range of the mini map . [it seems, something must have attracted several people into the forest. its best I leave now before someone disturbs me] while he muttered this, he checked the system''s map for the safest route to the Xu family manor before he headed in that direction. After about 15 minutes, he was able to arrive at the gates just before one of the Guards noticed him and ran directly into the Manor while abandoning his companion, who stood there with a slightly pale face. [we...welcome bac...k b...back, Young master] the guard stuttered throughout his entire greeting, afraid that the young master held a grudge against them for not greeting earlier the other day when he came out and they had not sent out guards to follow him. A few days ago, The Xu family head had called them to the Study. He had Questioned them on why they had let him leave without guards, since ordinary branch members had at least 2 guards when heading out. not to mention he was a member of their direct bloodline which made him able to go out with at least 6 guards of the spiritually balanced realm. They had tried to explain themselves, that they had thought he was a Shen family member. but this only infuriated the family head!. only then did they realize how stupid their excuse was, as they just clearly admitted they didn''t even know what their young master looked like. But no one would blame them as most of the family has only heard of him but haven''t actually seen him, in fact the third young master had somehow become an urban legend in the Manor. Meanwhile, Xu Yun simply nodded as a reply. He wanted to hurry to his own personal building, so he could continue going through his received rewards and make plans for the future. When he got to his courtyard, he felt nostalgia hit him like he hasn''t been home for years. Memories of his time here with his aunt Yao and Little Lin were one of the few things that made him smile. when he was done reminiscing he Quickened his Pace as he said with a smile. [This is My Home]. 20 Xu Yuns full status - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 12years. Power level: Enlightened Virtuoso(Advanced) Grade : A+ Level: 65 Bloodline: celestial white tiger, Xu. HP: 24228 MP : 30000 STR: 512 AGI: 558 SPR: 222 WILL: 338 DEX: 501 CONST: 426 BRE :440 STA: 503 Free stat points: 23 Martial Inner: Star Vortex Equipment: Silver throwing knives x9 Artifact: Child of the Night. Titles: Exterminator, Murderer, Fool, Explorer Alcohol: Small Alignment: Nefarious Evil Taels : 200 silver Taels Quest completion points(QCP): 52046 Exp(0/6000000)lvl 66.(infallible martial arts Master). Accumulated Cultivation points: 2,309,682 Martial arts skills: Demon Soul chasing blade(throwing knives). (Attack) Dark Spirit Remains Basic(1-4): Rapid Fire with throwing knives, increases attack speed with every successful hit.(lvl 4) (Taunt) Heavenly Demon Returns To Earth(1-4): induces anger, making victim unable to do anything else except attack you. Duration depends on victims level.(lvl 4). Wild Goose steps: Uses heaviness to improve lightness as you borrow the power of the to move at a faster speed has 3 sub skills. -(Active) Triple tap: using 3 steps to move for a distance of 10meters creating an illusion of a flash of light. Gives speed buff of 40% for 3 seconds after use. CD:45secs.(lvl 2) -(Passive) light as a feather: gives user 45% lightness, increases by 5 percent for each level(lvl 3). -(Active)Fallen leaf: grants user invisibility for 20 secs. Bonus effect: can float in the direction of the wind leaving an illusion of floating leaves being drifted in the wind, 2% of being seen through by someone with a cultivation of three levels above user. CD:5 secs.(lvl 3). Arhat Fists(unarmed tier 3): A fist techniques derived from the mixture of the Shaolin Long Boxing and the wanderers Valley Bone Corrosion Palm. -consisting of attacks,interrupts and fake. -Blocks with this skill reduces damage from attacks. -internal strength boosts damage of specific element styles 16-20%. -inflicts internal damage and ignore defence. (Active)Pulling Fate from the heavens: Uses a 4 combo move of user''s choice to inflict numbness on every successful hit, Accumulates heavens blessings (stackable) x20(lvl 1) (Fake)joy of the Heavens: User performs a feint, if opponent falls for it he would get stun for 2 seconds as buddha chants linger in the air.CD: 55secs (lvl 1) (Interrupt/Counter) Heavens Mirror: has a 0.5 secs window to counter or interrupt opponents skill.(lvl 1)CD: 5Secs (Active/Rage)Touch of Heaven: when heaven''s Blessings reach max, it consumes 50% of Inner Chi (MP) and builds up a 2m tall hand, pressing towards a desired location. Size increases by 1m with each level increase.(Lvl 1) Dragon subduing Palms/Slaps : Age of Wushu special martial art for slapping, kills all your respect! The history of Wushu skills span thousands of years, with the fist and kicks being the most common among all the skills. The Dragon Subduing 18 Palms is considered one of the best in advanced Wushu skills. It concentrates all your internal energy within the palms and attacks the enemy''s self-respect. It''s a great set of skills for revenge and challenging against the factions. The history of the Subduing Palms goes back to the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The acting Leader of beggars sect at the time, Li yuqiang battled against Emei Leader Abbess Miejue . After several rounds, Zhang Wuji was thinking off how to sneak attack Abbess Miejue and he decided to use the now famous skill. It made Abbess Miejue so mad, she hurt herself internally. Dragon Slap(Active) : Strike the target, inflicting damage. The target will be marked with Dragon''s Footprint : Decreases Internal and External Accuracy, this effect can be stacked 2 times. Target is under the Add Insult to Injury effect for 20 seconds, the target is taunted whenever seriously injured. Dragon Cuff(Active) : Hit the target''s face to inflict damage repeatedly. If the target is still under the effect of Dragon''s Footprint , it will also fall under the effect of The Cuff, which disrupts their sense of direction and coordination for 6 seconds. (The duration can be stacked with the stack count of Dragon''s Footprint effect.). Blind Dragon (feint): Turn a slap in the face into a poke in the eye, inflicting damage. When parry is broken, the target falls under the effect of Eye-Stab , and vision is blurred for 3 seconds. Stumbling Dragon (Defense): While successfully parrying , enemies with Dragon''s Footprint have a chance to be stunned!. Dragon''s Confusion (active): Charge toward the target to inflict damage .This skill can be charged. When fully charged for 1.5 seconds, enemies are knocked back. Dragon''s Regret (Active)Knock your enemy off his feet then pelt his face with eggs, resulting in damage.(doesn''t necessarily mean you need eggs). Equipment: Silver throwing knives*9 -Silver vest(damaged) -Black wood order. - Gold grade Sword -wind rider. -Bamboo Hat. 21 Chapter 17 : Plans When he arrived in his room, its been a little over 8 days since he left but it felt like forever. [haaa...feels so good to be back] he exclaimed while diving into his bed before getting comfy. Now sitting in the lotus position, He decided to open the system interface in order to decide what next. Going to the page for meridians, he recalled how the effects of opening up acupuncture point was mysterious and unusual but over all amazing. Accessing and cultivating these meridian channels allow the player to boost character''s abilities even more than Internal and Combat skills'' cultivation. Activating and mastering more meridians can not only boost abilities, but also change the way players set up skills altogether. Because of the added bonuses that players can gain from the cultivation of Meridians, they can prove to be a mighty vantage in a battle with someone of slightly stronger basic skills. Although he had decided to open all, he has to focus on the one that would improve his body stats for the present skills he had, anything that would increase his breath, spirit and strength. You cannot begin to imagine the amount of damage he could dish out with both boundless breath and boundless spirit. Through this system, more players would be encouraged to do Script stealing event, as it would allow them to have a chance to gain access to another school''s internal skills. By having that access, the player is able to train another Meridian to gain extra stat boosts that are not available through his/her own school''s Meridian. Meridians hold some great power, but take a lot of practice to harness it. Fighting and focus on one''s skills can lead on the path to an even more powerful and faster Martial Arts Master. There''s also the set of people constantly leaving their sect in disguise to go find a way to get the desired cultivation inner, which was harder to get the needed requirements or the desperate ones who betray their sects to be named vagrants before joining another sect but you lose all cultivation, only upside is you still have the meridian open. Eventually, an NPC appeared and promised returning 60% of lost cultivation. however, this increased the number of betrayals from players. after all having 60% is better than returning to nothing but the mortal realm(weak body and mind). The entire Jianghu players was in an Uproar later when they found out this was a prelude before the demons and the demon cultivators (humans who accepted being possessed or took their path) invaded. it happened when majority of the player population had been in a recuperation period, trying to grind back their levels. Another method was to use Manual of Core, gotten from exchanges with the treasure of Chao heng or the gluttonous hero Somewhere in Chengdu. each meridian had 5 Acupoints and each need a certain amount of cultivation points. completing first Acupoint allows you to lvl up meridian to Lv 36, the 2nd - lv 72 the 3rd -Lv 108 the 4th- Lv144 5th -Lv 180 6th - Lv 216 Meanwhile, the Cultivation points needed go as follows : 1st acupoints : 500000 cultivation points. 2nd acupoint : 1000000 cultivation points 3rd acupoint : 1500000 cultivation points 4th Acupoint : 2000000 cultivation points 5th Acupoint : 2500000 cultivation points. There are two types of meridians, the normal ones used by sects and there''s the reverse meridians/Hidden meridians used by the hidden sects and factions. the hidden meridians tend to have stronger boosts and effects, that''s why they are harder to get since its only gotten by joining a faction or a fortuitous encounter. [Luckily I fall under the latter, System use Qcp to unlock first Acupoint for Wudang, Beggar, and wanderers valley meridians. also use from the left over experience to level them to 36, Along with my recently acquired tianzhu ] -6000 Qcp {first Acupoints unlocked... Injecting 500000 cultivation points each... Meridian Max limit... proceed to unlock 2nd level??} After few minutes came system''s reply. Surprised as this was the first time System made a personal suggestion. after nodding his head repeatedly, he looked at the exchange rate for a level 2 manual of core and wasn''t surprised. He simply sighed before giving a reply [haa... 6000Qcp for level two, triple the original price...going by this logic level three would be 18000Qcp!!. Please only exchange level Two for the Tianzhu meridian and please show me the added benefits so I can be sure]. -6000 Qcp {Loading... Compiling information} -Yin Link Vessel : + 103 inner hit rate +89 external hit rate ignore inner defense +243 Crit damage reduction +8% + 5% Mp Wanderers valley meridians : Crit Resist + 43 Inner Hit Rate + 19 Ignore Inner Def + 72 Ignore Inner Dissolution + 9 HP + 692 MP + 185 Inner Crit Damage + 7%. Beggars sect meridian: Inner Hit Rate + 76 Inner Crit Rate + 29 Arm Strength + 6 Inner Dissolution + 9 HP + 738 MP + 154 Received Crit Damage Reduction + 4% Wudang sect :Phyical Crit Rate + 29 Inner Crit Rate +29 Inner Strength +17 Sturdiness + 17 HP +749 MP +147 Inner Dissolution +4 Satisfied, He opened his storage and chose to learn both Golden snake skill and Demon heart chain skill. He didn''t need to look through them as he knew their effects. Next was his lottery tickets, This one got him curious because he hadn''t gotten the time to test it after he programmed it back then. The main reason he was curious was because he wanted to know just how much the System had changed from his original invention. after calming down his excitement, He tapped the blinking lottery tab that had just been recently unlocked. Looking at the familiar spin the bottle format he had made back then, he looked the pie Chart in the background and the Bottle at the center. on the chart, there were 16 sectors that each represent a particular item and looking at it only 4 things interested him on this page. and missing one make the page refresh with new items, So he couldn''t get more than one. Hopefully, it would be anyone of the four which were a Jade grade boot, Manual of Core for Shaolin meridian, Jade armor and a Lore outfit. The rest were just pills or paper fragments or things he didn''t remember ever adding. Looking once more he just shrugged and left it to luck before giving the Command [Spin!]. Then with a Ding! it began to spin till even our young master began to feel dizzy, Till he could only grit his teeth and say [STOP!!!]. Which with a clink! clink! it finally stopped on a section with a group of black shadow were on the picture making Xu Yun disappointed. But not for long as he tossed the card into his inventory for later and Chose the Try again option without hesitation. This time only Two things caught his attention, the first one was a recommendation token that allowed him choose any sect of his choice without any test. he remembers this was the only item that allowed people get back into a sect even after betrayal of his or her previous school, and from his memories you only get it after an unbearably long chain Quest. This Token was a must for him as he didn''t need to go to the scholar sect anymore, he didn''t need yin manuals for now. besides his alignment had changed to Evil thanks to cultivating Star Vortex. Alignment apparently don''t only change due to your deeds, but also your manual and how you are perceived by others, Pets too can add to your Evil points too. Bai he is already at ''Lunatic''(Evil) added to cultivating star Vortex, making it turn into ''Nefarious''(Evil). He personally, had no evil points Not that it bothered him. But looking at the glowing Purple Skull above his head, he couldn''t help but smile wryly because this was his original alignment in the game anyways. the main point is if he joined a sect with a good Alignment and they noticed him, chances are he might be called a spy not to mention if he was unlucky and got spotted by any of those old monsters, he''d be in a bind. The 2nd item was Heartless Seven Skills set ''This is a brutal blade skill, if I could add it to his arsenal kikikiki '' Xu Yun couldn''t help but laugh impishly. the skills in the set were : Your Love Ends Here - damage increased - now applies a 7 sec debuff on enemy , reducing his /her external defense by 15%. Crossing One '' s Heart - damage increased - no longer consume " Break Love " to deal bonus damage - will now apply max stacks of " Break Love " on enemy if successfully break enemy '' s parry Bloodlust - damage increased - no longer consume " Break Love " to deal bonus damage - last hit will now apply 5 stacks of " Break Love " on enemy. Once again he gave the Command [Spin!], Which it proceeded to spin before he stopped it once again, Only this time it showed no mercy and gave him a single pill. Disappointed once more, he started the next one with a black face but cheered up when he saw a Cash shop set from the game :Mozi Sword set and a hundred transformation fragment. but once again luck played a joke on him as this time when he was done spinning, he got another card but with a single Shadow and a Question Mark at the center making it look strange. He still had one more chance, with a sight he thought ''I might as well get it over with.'' [Spin] clink! clink! + 1 recommendation coin token. With raised eye brows, Xu Yun was pleasantly surprised as he began to laugh like a fool. [I got it!!!, Hahaha good good good, This is great!!!]. Once again opening his inventory, He began laughing. [System I could kiss you right now!!!!] Xu Yun shouted in an exuberant manner. {...} {I believe that to be impossible...} [yes , yes, yes , Hahahaha ] Still Happy about the situation in general. [I finally have a direction, The best place to go to is the Wanderer''s Valley!! as they are a sect on the Evil side of the great sects. But the main reason for choosing here is because they share a border with the Beast Men which was close to the warzone and on the opposite side of the sect, leads to the road headed towards the Sanguine borders. even the Great Forest was accessible from this sect!!! and there aren''t much restrictions...So I can level Up anywhere, all I have to do is pick anytime!!!]. {Congratulations Master...} System. He kept on rolling and laughing till he eventually calmed down, thinking of a way to leave the Manor peacefully. He needs to give the token to the Mysterious coach master for him to take him to his selected school. But what if he isn''t there and its a different way to use the token. thinking up to this point, he decided to take it one step at a time. Tomorrow he''ll go confirm if he can find the man then he''ll know what to do, now he just needs to see what this cards are. ¡­ ¡­ in an old Study, a chubby middle aged man completely soaked in his sweat as he kept thrusting into a young Girl, who looked to be in her seventeens, Lay listlessly on the wooden oak table as tears rolled down her cheek. the middle aged man continued to move more vigorously as he close to his climax when he suddenly felt a chill piercing to his very bones. He was alerted as the list disappeared from his eyes immediately. But when he noticed who it was he relax once more, before continuing his previous activity. this Man was Xu yunzao, He still remained expressionless as a shadow drew closer and closer. He could clearly see the severe expression on the shadows face as well as the sharp, incisive stare with a tinge of disgust which he thought was hidden. But in this life Who cared what he thought, After he is bound by his Martial hearts oath to serve Yunzao. Yunzao''s heart was serene as he saw the same look everyday, it was nothing new. He thought of how the was watching and increased the speed of his thrusts as the sound of his deed and the tiny moans from the poor girl resonated in the study. Smiling Lecherously he spoke, [Xu fei, care to join us as you give your report?] Although it was only a small amount of Hope, he still felt he should give it a shot. But he was disappointed as he rejected, But he could only be disappointed. After all he couldn''t force her so he went for the next best thing, [State your business] was all he said as he returned his focus to the poor maid. Pa! Pa!Pa! [The Child returned alive] this time it was the Shadow who spoke as silence suddenly dominated the room. it gave a deep sigh, before calling out once more, [And I believe the family head is harbouring suspicions but he has no suspects yet.] No one answered. [What did you say???] Yunzao spoke with a low tone, his voice sounding more menacing with each word and sounds of the young maid gasping for air in the background. [didn''t those fools claim to be good!!!AND THEY COULDN''T TAKE CARE OF A CHILD WITHOUT CULTIVATION!!] Yunzao''s Voice continued to rise the more he spoke with his anger building up as he walk towards the Shadow, Tossing the maids naked body to the side like a sac of potatoes. Meanwhile, the Shadow had no reaction as it simply stared back at him. [Fix... It] this time, Yunzao spoke through clenched teeth as he said each word slowly and Immediately he Grabbed the clone before Crushing its neck as it turned to dust. a few minutes later mad laughter filled the air. On a distant hill A beautiful woman in black was sitting in a lotus position looking serene and peaceful when she abruptly opened her eyes [fool] as she gave a cold snort. She was already fed up with Xu yunzao. 22 Chapter 18: Shadows It was night time and the bright crescent gave off clear and pure moonlight. The moonlight''s tender hands, lightly stroked over the Xu family manor. Along the way as the marble floor reflected the moonlight like jade. The night breeze blew slowly as it spread all over, Meanwhile through a window in the southern part of the Manor we could see our young master Xu Yun as he went about his business, not minding the rest of the world. Under the moonlight his hair glowed Bright as he kept smiling like a Cheshire cat , He was done spending his lottery tickets and had calmed down from his initial joy of being able to get the recommendation token. Now he was staring at the cards he had won, this was one of the things he doesn''t remember programming. [System what are these??] After looking at them he couldn''t help but ask, one card had a Shadow with unknown features with golden edges but had a huge Question Mark at the center while the other had multiple smaller shadows. there were No indications nor description, Not even the method of use. {Analyzing...} after a few seconds, The System gave him an answer that shocked him. {they appear to be Summoning tools, it Activates by just dropping a drop of blood on it.} with wide eyes, He inquired further but only got a ''its a surprise response from the System'' this made him frown, the system is sounding less like a machine and more like an aunt that loves to tease him. After some thought he simply associated it to the recent upgrade while he proceeded to place a drop of his blood on the card with multiple shadows in order to see its effect. The moment the Blood touched the card, it left his hands and began to float in front of him as dense Violet Chi wrapped around it making him feel Dizzy as he felt all his energy leave him. Quickly looking at his Mp bar, He was Shocked as this completely took all of his Mp leaving about 320 or So left of his Mana pool. Popping a Mana replenishing pill into his mouth to restore his Mana as the dizziness slowly disappeared without trace. Ten Minutes later He became confused, he was still staring at the floating cards as it Just remained there in the air with the Chi surrounding it. So he decided to ask the System [System, How long is this supposed to take??]. {Time left : 1 hour 39 minutes} The system replied immediately. [Can you make You make it, Invisible to others?.]Just as his voice came out The Cards disappeared like a lie, while a purple coloured icon that looked like a box appeared Just beside his HP bar along with the timer below it. Satisfied, He looked towards the Night Sky with a smile on His face as he pulled out the black wood order in order to start Cultivating his inner. immediately, it vibrated as a large amount of Chi began to gather around Xu Yun. In the room, the candles had long since gone off, But a bright Shining violet light remained in a corner of the room while the far corners of the walls were dark. The Violet light radiated on Xu Yun''s face as he was already immersed himself in cultivating the Star Vortex as he closed his eyes, gathering all his focus onto controlling the violet Chi, guiding it according to the method stated on the manual. A Huge stream of the Violet coloured Aura that resembled raging Violet Flames suddenly emitted out from Xu Yun''s whole body, Before a series of cracking sounds came from within his body as the gathered Chi from the surrounding banded together as they rushing into the Black wood order and firmly Slammed into Xu Yun''s body. Time slipped away quietly. As the Violet flames became smaller and the light grew dimmer. The crescent outside the window had also slowly gone down as a new day Slowly arrived. The morning light squeezed through the window and shone into the room. Xu Yun opened his eyes and looked at the Black wood order in his hands. This was the first time he tried cultivation with the methods of this world and honestly he couldn''t say he liked it but it beats sleeping and wasting precious time. - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 12years. Power level: Enlightened Virtuoso(Advanced) Grade : A+ Level: 65 Bloodline: celestial white tiger, Xu. HP: 24228 MP : 30000 STR: 512 AGI: 558 SPR: 222 WILL: 338 DEX: 501 CONST: 426 BRE :440 STA: 503 Free stat points: 23 Martial Inner: Star Vortex Equipment: Silver throwing knives x9 Artifact: Child of the Night. Titles: Exterminator, Murderer, Fool, Explorer Alcohol: Small Alignment: Nefarious Evil Taels : 200 silver Taels Quest completion points(QCP): 40046 Exp(501380/6000000)lvl 66.(infallible martial arts Master). Accumulated Cultivation points: 0 This was the result of his effort after half a night. However it wasn''t so bad, he got 500k+ exp without doing a thing and he was pretty much well rested. When Xu Yun''s eyes came to focus, his face suddenly turned grave. Five people were in his room, 3 men and 2 women. All bowing and staring at him in awe and utmost respect. One of the men had a burly build, looked to be in his late 20''s with a sun tanned skin, Short White hair and a ferocious air around him as a huge Saber laid on his back in its sheathe. wearing an all black apparel. The second man could be called a teenager of about 17/18 years, He Had a slightly longer white hair and a skinny build with eagle like eyes as well as a sharp Nose, looking quite handsome. A sharp contrast with his looks was his weapon, he had a Giant blade that had the height of a man and a chain on its hilt laid horizontally behind him. He had bandages wrapped around his forearms and an armless Tang suit, adding a savage Look to his deposition. Meanwhile, The Third Guy didn''t have any special features as it seemed like he wasn''t even there to begin with. The youth had an ordinary look except for his long white hair flowing down his back, a gentle smile playing on his lips with his eyes closed. he looked harmless with the white hand Fan in his hands and his black tang suit but Xu Yun felt like he was looking at a hidden dagger. The Ladies looked like twins of the age fifteen, both had white long hair of the same length and blue eyes. but you could differentiate them with the braids on the left and right side of their hair respectively. they wore a tight body suit that hugged their Bodies, as their daggers hung on their waist. Looking at them Together, they gave Xu Yun a weird vibe. Luckily he had broken through to the 2nd level of his tianzhu meridian if not he would lost his shit. Thinking That he should probably thank Bai he later when she awakens. When he saw their names were all Blue which indicates Ally, He decided to ask the system if this was as result of the card. {Yes, that card grants you shadows... Followers that live to serve you, the number you get is proportional to the number of shadows on the card. you get 50% experience of their kills, the other 50% will be used for their own cultivation. Their initial cultivation realm are random, their cultivation speed are dependent on their activities} As the System explained, he wanted to complain at first but he suddenly remembered what Jin Fen had said to Wu Xun back then [you''re powerful but you are but one man]. That sentence had been on his Mind besides there wasn''t really any reason to complain after all this would help in making him level faster. He was musing when this thought came to his mind, ''what if they are lower leveled, After all System said it was random!. Immediately he called up their information. He first checked the burly mans information -Name: None Age: 29 Bloodline: Xu and the celestial white tiger. Level: 67 (infallible Martial arts Master) Equipment: Crying Flame Saber innate abilities: Shadow walk (a passive that allows user to Move through or hide in the shadows indefinitely when outside combat but when in combat can only be used to hide once every 5). -Brute strength (a passive that grants user unnatural strength). ____________________________ Looking through this Man''s status made Xu Yun sigh in relief as he nodded repeatedly, after all one of them is of decent strength. and based on the bloodline, that must be because it was his blood that brought them up to be. Then He proceeded to the teenager''s status __________________________________ -Name: None Age: 18 Bloodline: Xu, celestial white tiger Level: 63 (Enlightened virtuoso) Equipment: Samsara''s Great Blade Innate abilities: Shadow walk (a passive that allows user to Move through or hide in the shadows indefinitely when outside combat but when in combat can only be used to hide once every 5) -Blood rage (an Active skill that gives 100% stats increase for 2 minutes before entering a weak state) - Life Steal ( An Active skill that grants 20% life steal for 30seconds) ______________________________ Looking at this person''s status, he could not help but glance at the shadow repeatedly as one word kept playing in his mind ''Dangerous! Dangerous!'' Before looking at the guy with the hand Fan as cold sweat fell down his forehead. ____________________________ Name : None Age: 21 Bloodline: Xu, Celestial white tiger Level: 70(infallible Martial arts Master) Equipment: Tian Kong Fan innate abilities: Shadow walk (a passive that allows user to Move through or hide in the shadows indefinitely when outside combat but when in combat can only be used to hide once every 5). Cursed eyed (a passive that allows user to see through all weaknesses. also has a Chance to See opponents fate and a 0.1% chance to copy opponents techniques. Side effect: takes over 60% of users Chi. - its Always On, So user is advised to close his/her eye in order to stop the waste of Chi) Man and Space(an Active skill that allows user, use space related skills with relative ease. -has an innate teleportation skill that can only be used 3 times a day. can teleport anything or anyone to a location you have been before) ________ ________ _________ ''Aren''t this abilities a bit too much?'' Xu Yun exclaimed in his mind, ''well, its not like I''m complaining''. Shrugging his shoulders as he began to think of ways to use each of them and their skills. _________ ______________________ Looking at the girls status, they both had the same everything but the thing that picked his curiosity was the innate skill ''Symbiosis'' __________________________________ Names: None Ages : 15 Bloodlines: Xu , Celestial white tiger. Level: 59(peak of Power). Equipments: Sun dagger and Moon dagger innate abilities: Shadow walk (a passive that allows user to Move through or hide in the shadows indefinitely when outside combat but when in combat can only be used to hide once every 5). Symbiosis (a passive that allows both parties, Know each others thoughts and feelings. as long as they were within the range of 100meters, they could share thoughts and use skills as soon as one of them learns it.) __________________________________ Overall, Xu Yun was satisfied with this ''shadows''. He turned to them as they still kneeling and waiting for him to talk to them. After a short while He decided it''d be best to give them names, So it''d be easier to interact with each other. [You may Rise... I...How are you all feeling kuhum!!kuhum!] Xu Yun Said as he tried mimicking feudal Lords from the Drama''s he watched back on earth but got embarrassed due to their fanatical gaze mid sentence, So he chose to cover his embarrassment with a few light coughs. The First to speak was the ordinary looking Shadow as he seemed to be Acknowledged as the leader immediately, Considering their was no dissatisfaction on the faces of the rest as they stood up together. [Thank you My Lord, we are touched by your benevolence and concern for our well being] [I see...] Xu Yun replied rather absent mindedly as he was rather surprised by the youth''s eloquence. Once more, there was an awkward silence before Xu Yun broke it [So what do you all wish to be called?, feel free to speak your mind] The Shadows looked at each other but it seemed no one had any Idea what names to pick. Until the ordinary looking Shadow spoke again [My Lord, we think it''d be more fitting for you to name us personally.] Xu Yun''s mouth began to twitch, ''ah what a drag, names, names .'' then a bulb lit up in his head as he Thought ''I''ll just name them after the Chinese numbers'' With this Idea in mind he turned to them, before speaking to the system again [System how do I name them??] {Go to the Faction''s page and go to the Shadow''s Tab, you Can input their names with a thought when On that page.} As the system directed him, he navigated his way to the Shadows tab. He gave the ordinary looking Shadow the Name : Xu yi (Author''s note: I swear, its a coincidence our names have different meanings his yi means the number ''one'' while mine means ''Undisturbed'' or ''unperturbed'' can''t even remember which one). While he gave the Burly shadow : Xu er the Teen berserker : Xu San The Elder Twin with the left sided braid : Xu Si while the youngest Twin with the right sided braid : Xu Wu. When he was done He decided to save his new setting. As he was still on that page he Found out he could actually give them skills to learn, Even Cultivation Manuals. now he was curious about what other things the faction space had to offer. The moment He tapped save, all Shadows closed their eyes as though they had just remembered a pleasant memory. So he waited till they were done, where upon they all bowed once more as they began to express their gratitude till young master Yun turned red on the ears. After they settled down, He was about to speak when he noticed two dots appear to be heading towards his courtyard and guessed it would be Aunt Yao with Little Lin, So he immediately gave out orders as fast he could. [Okay! Er!,San,Si, Wu Head East to level up...Yi hang around in stealth] [[[[We Obey!!]]]] they responded to their orders before they all moved out, this made Xu Yun feel so many things at once but most of all overwhelmed because this was the first time in both lifetimes he had subordinates. a few seconds after the Shadows left, his door was swung open as something or someone knocked him onto his bed and gave him a hug. Looking carefully, he found out it was Little Lin Crying and dampening his clothes which made him smile wryly as he turned to the figure at the door who also had a slightly red puffy eye due to crying previously. Noticing all this he felt warmth in his heart as he tried to console them, telling them that he was fine. then he made up a story about his adventure, telling them that he had a fortuitous encounter with a mysterious man who gave him a pill for helping him gather herbs for his wounds. that after after taking the pill it changed his physique, now he can cultivate well and he was now expert of self (upper tier). This made both Aunt Yao and little Lin happy but according to their story, Xu Yun missed the scholars sect exams which he expressed that it was fine. Apparently, little Lin passed and was even picked up as a direct disciple. its was then that Xu Yun focused on little Lin, only to find out she was very close to the Spiritually balanced realm. This greatly surprised him, after all she doesn''t get all the same resources as the family children but she somehow left majority of them in the dust. She was to leave in a week with her new Master, which made her eyes grow red again but she held it in and said [Hmph, big brother Yun now that your strong... they wouldn''t dare say anything stupid anymore.] clearly trying to change the subject. Xu Yun simply looked at this 11 years old Amused, Meanwhile Aunt Yao left to make dinner as Xu Yun continued to chat with Little Lin when Someone came knock before saying [Young Master Yun, The family head has invited you to come see him in his Study!!!!]. 23 Chapter 19 : Undercurrents part 1 Somewhere at the Borders between the Sangui''s Empire and Wushu Empire laid what was called the ''dividing line'', it was One of the Mysteries of this world as it covered the entire Sangui''s Empire like a Dome. From the layers of dark clouds on one side of the sky with the constant flash of red lightning at the outer perimeters of the Empire to the Sea of black grass which connected to the lush green plains which lead the Humans forest, made a stark contrast with each other. It was known that as the Demons fought against the first rebellion, where they had been faced with the pincer attack of both humans and beast men. they were being pushed back into their territory day after day as They were unable to stop the charge of the Central Divine Emperor and his guardians the Eastern Heretic, Western Venom, Southern Monarch, Northern Beggar as they fought on the front line with the treasure Mountain ''Mount Hua'' and the Heaven Sword Nor could they Hold back the Beast Emperor and his Cardinal beasts. they fought desperately in unbridled fury and indignation but still met the same fate. the beast''s Ming cult sliced their ''victims'' like tigers in the midst of sheep while The Royal Guards were even more ruthless towards the Demons as they slaughtered their way to this very location. At the point when the Demon Lord and his loyal subordinates fought on, he suddenly felt he was breaking through in his cultivation he was overjoyed and at the same time horrified because he had to face his tribulations in the middle of the battle Field. of course his enemies would use this chance to end him, so instead of dying for nothing he chose to use a forbidden technique to set up an array at the expense of his life, surrounding what was left of the Demon empire with his Blood Aura and trapping the tribulation lightning. The pursuing humans were blasted away by a massive Shock wave, the Treasure mountain went into hiding with the heaven sword, the Beast men lost their emperor that day. And any human or beast men that steps into this array to get revenge got struck by the trapped divine tribulation lightning. Due of this, the borders of the Demon empire were heavily guarded by both humans and beast since the Demons could move about there while they couldn''t. Despite that, Within This Dark grass, four Silhouettes made their way through this very Black Grass as they Sneakily entered the Lush plains with great haste lest they alerted the guards. After waiting for several minutes They proceeded into the Forest, Stealthily moving About as they went in deeper. As they moved on, a melodious voice came from one the Silhouettes [Gong Fuzhi, Use your fate compass to get a reading of the Hong Xian Gold cicada''s location and use that device to see if there''s any new development on the side of your Human Slave]. [As You wish, Your Highness] responded a Voice filled with flattery as he Quickly went to work, after all he still liked his head being attached to his body. He found a corner and sat in a lotus position while infusing his Chi into the fate compass, his eyes began to glow as he slowly cried blood. Not much longer it began to Rain but the guards didn''t find it weird as they scuttled around for shelter, after it was normal. Rain surprisingly still fell on this area due to the strain on the natural Chi. The raindrops were thin like hair. As they fell, they enveloped the entire forest in a layer of fine mist. The Man with the compass kept chanting the mantras as he kept on bleeding but none of his companions felt worried, it even seemed normal to them. The more he chanted the more his face contorted, Suddenly series of pictures kept flashing through his mind as a Shadow suddenly appeared before them and Quickly bowed. [Xu fei Greets Your Highness] Looking carefully at the Lady whose soul was being projected to them, The melodious voice rang out once more as she nodded repeatedly, [you may Rise, This princess is at least satisfied with your looks. Now give us your report]. Hearing what she said, Xu fei''s eyes couldn''t help but twitch as she responded calmly. [ The Family artifact hasn''t been brought up yet, there''s still contemplation on who would be the successor. So I''m helping the pig place his Son on the family head sit, That way the location would be exposed.] there was silence for a bit before the melodic voice came up once again with some bizarre words. [We must say that this princess is not impressed, Why all this twist and turns? for over 12 years!!!. Do you wish to play this princess to death, We Tao yimu are very unhappy with your methods. Why not just kill them all and Grab the leader for interrogation] At this point, Xu fei was already sweating bullets as she tried to explain [Your Highness, calm your anger!! but its not that simple... The family head is a matchless in kungfu powerhouse!!] This only got her a sneer from the Lolita of a princess, Blonde hair and red pupils coupled with a round face with pale skin donned in a Black robe which from the looks of it, was definitely a treasure as it constantly spewed black smoke. [A common matchless in kungfu dare poses an obstacle in front of this princess?!! hmph Mongrel, we as an Advanced Grand master can already wipe the floor with him!!!...] while she spoke to this point an Elderly voice interrupted her from within her robe. [Yi er (Authors note: Pet name for Yimu) no need for long Stories, we Shall make our way to Chengdu. but we best not do anything to alert any of the empires Guardians, especially that heretic!!.] [Y...Yes, Hmph Mongrel if you want your immortality you better finish your preparation before we get there] Tao Yimu pouted as she swiped her hands horizontally, severing the connection which allowed Gong Fuzhi to continue moving as the spell ended. At the same time in the dining hall on the first floor of the Longmen inn (Chengdu), The entire place was rather empty. There were only 7 guests sitting at a seat by the window. A gust of wind blew, bringing with it the scent of alcohol and Tea. A man with a skinny build sat with his back facing the window. Despite being skinny, you could see the explosive muscles beneath his clothes, Before him was a table filled with good wine and dishes. The color, smell and taste were all top notch. Especially the Spring spirit wine which oozed with the fragrance of alcohol along with a hint of freshness. The Amber colored liquor sat quietly in the ceramic cup. From his angle, it shone with an a Light green luster. A Short haired person, that was hard to tell if he was male or female and his Third in command were sitting closest to him. as they were undercover as mortal humans, they wore modest clothes like well to do merchants. The Lady-like person sipped the last of her spirit wine while looking enviously at his cup . He or She was evidently attracted to the spring spirit wine in his cup but could not afford the risk of snatching it. His third in command ate his fried beefs like a hungry ghost, a crunching sound emitting from his mouth as he chewed on the tiny bones. At the same time, he Complained to the skinny man, While pulling on his meat. [Teng Su, Teng Su, tell me again why we are after this kid ? I don''t see why all seven of us were dispatched just for him. we just need to secretly capture him, why not send out Qiu xia to do that while we continue to drink!, it shouldn''t take long for him to return.] As he stated this, the others nodded as well only the so called Qiu Xia frowned. [Sigh... I can''t even drink in peace anymore, Since you''re asking this Question. it shows you didn''t read the report!!and can you at least eat like a person!!] the short haired lady figure jabbed from the side. Teng Su sighed but his face showed an amused expression towards this child like behavior. With his twig-like arm, he picked his cup and shook his head. [ Qiu Xia!!, you this F***king Eunuch, who lost his D*** to the the rootless clan, escaping your predicament of being captured¡­] The Guy bellowed as he waved the meat in his hands in front of Qiu Xia. Qiu Xia''s story was very popular and widespread tale in the Empire, as well as the most Foreign places. this was because he was the first to escape the clutches of the rootless clan since the last hundreds of years, But sadly they already cut out his D***. [I''d rather be this way than Join those powder faced Demons, Luckily I escaped before I got leeched.] Qiu Xia Sighed as though he just remembered a bad memory before he shuddered involuntarily. it was at this time that Teng Su cut into the discussion. [Any way, the report this time was mind boggling as it States that the Child can Cultivate and Seemed to have activated his Xu family bloodline like his father since he could kill all of those our guys. and it looks like his hiding it just like his father or doesn''t even know its use.] the rest of them sucked in cold breaths as they recalled how scary it had been while Teng Su continued [Just like the father, we have two requests from the same Two people. One is to kill him while the other is to capture alive, Now we are going to do it the same way as before. We capture him and take him to that same location at the capital, while we report him dead to that Guy.] They all laughed this time around as they had used the same method before and made a fortune. Meanwhile back at the Xu family manor, Young master Xu Yun had arrived at the doors of Xu yunzheng''s Study. as he went through possible scenarios on the reason he was summoned in his mind he lifted his hands to knock only to hear the Man''s Voice Say [Enter]. 24 Chapter 20: Undercurrent part 2 The inside of the Study was completely dark and one would not be able to even see their own fingers. Xu Yun walked in the darkness. he suddenly felt like this dark room was huge beyond words as if this was a world of its own. He felt as if he was the only person in the room but also like he was being watched. He spent a lot of time but he could not walk out of the darkness. Not to mention he felt like he was being tested . Just when he was getting a bit frustrated He felt his eyes begin to itch, after about 20secs his vision suddenly returned as well as a system prompt {Learnt Night vision (celestial white tiger)}. His pupil began glowing faintly with a violet hue as they developed into slits like that of a tiger. he could finally see the room, he could see the mahogany shelves with old books on every column, even the Oak table and the rug made with the mane of a flame Sun Lion, he could see as clear as day. As time went on, Some several coloured lines appeared within his vision, he became curious as to what they were so he asked system internally. ''System what are those lines??'' {that''s a unique trait of the tiger bloodline, that is the Chi lines of all living beings within 100*100 meters}. Based on this he knew the Study was way bigger than it looked, he followed the Chi lines with his eye . the Different colors seemed to show what kind of elements this people have and the density showed their cultivation level, there were a total of 9 Grand Masters and two Matchless in kungfu. and he knew one of those two was his uncle as he was clearly in front of him but he wasn''t visible to him. A voice suddenly said, [you really can see us?, I guess my speculations were correct, You really awakened one of you bloodlines. I just didn''t expect it to be your mother''s.]. a middle aged man with a scholarly air around him suddenly appeared, He had an easy going expression but his eyebrows were locked together in deep thought which was the opposite of easygoing. this person was Xu Yunzheng. [you knew about my Mother??!] Xu Yun asked, This made Xu Yunzheng chuckle as he said, [Boy, I was the one who gave them my blessings to be together, I also helped hide her from her family. its just unfortunate that you had awakened her bloodline without me being around to help you, now they will know of your existence.] Yunzheng sat exhausted on the Chair, as he shook his head. [I know you want to know why its bad if they know of your existence, but you''ll not able to understand. besides they are not the major problem so don''t worry, on a later date you would know. But now you have awakened her bloodline, you need to make sure no one finds out about it or it could spell doom for you. that even I''d be unable to save you, long ago there was no problems having a beast kin in wushu empire but now they are on a kill on sight policy. I do not have much else to say, but I''m sure with your wits you''ll survive. What is your real cultivation level Yun er?] The last question brought back Xu Yun who was in deep thought, with eyes wide open he looked at this uncle of his. [yes, I''ve always known that you could cultivate but I just had to pretend for your own safety] Yunzheng seemed to have understood what he was thinking and explained while smiling wryly. Hearing Yunzheng''s words, Xu Y went silent as he weighed his options. After a while, he said, [I understand, Uncle, I broke into the peak stage of expert of self. it was during the battle I awakened My bloodline.] Yunzheng Smiled as he looked at Xu Yun before he continued, [In that case, What Sect would you be heading to? because from the look in your eyes I know you won''t wait 3 years for the next scholar sect selection so I shall give you a chance. As long as you can get a recommendation from any sect, small or big with your own strength and not the family name, I will allow you to attend.] Xu Yun was stunned. To find the secret experts holding this token was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, This people changed identity to the point they even forgot their own identity. But luckily he got one from the lottery system already. Xu Yun''s face suddenly flushed in excitement as he quickly spoke lest Yunzheng changed his words, [A...actually uncle I already got one recommendation token from a mysterious person that night, after he treated me he said he liked my willpower. so he invited me to join the wanderers valley.] Xu Yun had no alternatives and had no choice but to randomly cook up a Story. Looking at his Uncle who seemed to be frowning, he couldn''t help but feel anxious, after all going there was a major step to getting stronger. . Eventually, Yunzheng let out a breath, It was like he suddenly came to a decision of a sort. Then he stood up as he slowly walked towards Xu Yun and placed his hands on his shoulders before saying [I will allow it, After all I cannot choose how you live your nor can I control you. though I hate the sect but I believe not everyone there is a bad person.] He said this as he smiled gently making Xu Yun lower his head as excitement filled his eyes. [Thank you uncle]. [That''s alright, now you can head back to your activities] he said as he wiggled his eyebrows, his Shoulders shaking and a smile on his face like he was holding back laughter. Tilting his head sideways as he began to wonder which of his activities could he be referring to, at the end he shrugged his shoulders and left. From the darkness, The Main family butler appeared and urged, [My Lord, you are not going to Tell him about his father lest he believes those rumors or do I tell him for you?]. Yunzheng clenched his fist and rejected, [ What do you expect me to say? That "Your father is still alive as his soul imprint is still burning but I can''t find him?" , saying it is like I''ve given up hope in finding Tianchi!] "Even if I die, I will not give up!" He thought in his mind. Meanwhile, Xu Yun was very excited and enthusiastical, he was now permited to leave at anytime . Unfortunately he did not notice the pair watching him with killing intent before disappearing once more. As Xu Yun continued to move he noticed the system log kept blinking as his exp was running wild. +3420exp +680exp +1480exp This only made him Grin further as it was only a matter of time before he becomes an infallible martial arts Master. when he got home and locked the door, as he sat down he pulled out the last card to see what he''d get this time . [System could you Tell me what this is used to summon] {This Card is different as it used to generate an avatar with a cultivation level one realm above its original, the only thing is that this particular one is a wild card. which means the race and sex would be random, on rare cases the age might differ from the original body.} System replied in a weird manner, like it was holding back a laugh. [soo...you saying its like a game character with its character customization being on random] Xu Yun probed. {you can put it that way, also like the Shadows you don''t have to control it all the time. System can place in an autopilot function, with a certain of your default character but you could spend Qcp to edit character.} System spoke once more with an amused voice, giving Xu Yun chills down his spine as he began to perspire on his forehead. [why is this so much more complicated??] He complained as he made a small cut on his finger once more because the other had healed. then he allowed the blood to drop on the card, but something weird happened, this time a force held his hands in place making more blood to rush out. in fact the cut seemed to have been widened, as the blood flowed a small bead like light flew out of his chest area, a light began to shine on the card as well. finally his hand was released while the floating bead moved closer to the glowing card like a moth to the flame and the light became Brighter. [System, could you hide the effects?] He didnt want to attract attention. In fact, Xu yi already appeared from the Shadows to even cover Xu Yun''s body with a worried look on his face. {warning... Host is advised to circle his cultivation technique to accelerate healing or it would lead to unconsciousness} Unfortunately by the time he tried to circulate his Chi, the Light from the card suddenly engulfed his body making him turn even paler before he passed out. ____________ __________________ Somewhere on the Manor,Xu yunzao could feel a renewed surge of energy gushing into his body as he tried to cultivate once more . He continued to speak, shouting out Mantras. like he was already muddled. A lot of things had already been said but he continued as the Chi kept pushing towards him. As time continued to flow, Yunzao''s lifee energy was becoming more vibrant. Finally, when he was on his final step, a Shadow appeared and said [Xu Yunzheng, invited the child to the family ''Study''] Puu!! yunzao coughed up blood as he seemed to have gotten a deviation. A sigh came from the darkness as the voice spoke, not minding the glare it was receiving [Human, I admire your perseverance. But You must know the princess is on her way for the cicada I need. So it''s time to push the plan forward as my patience is very thin.] When Yunzao heard this, he didn''t say a word but his rising killing intent said it all!. 25 Chapter 21: Assassins Back in Xu Yun''s court yard, there was silence as Xu yi stared at him with worry in his eyes. He looked at his Creator sprawled on the bed and the ever expanding light. Although it kept expanding, it didn''t actually release its light outwardly as it seemed to glow within its self. Finding himself a sit next to the bed, he began to wonder Why he was the only one asked to stay behind as he began to envy his siblings who were out battling monsters. But it was at that moment he sensed some movement within his domain. It should be known that, Due to his Cursed eyes taking too much Chi, he always had his eyes closed. But as compensation he got a 50m*50m domain that became his eyes, The closer you are the Clearer you became in His mind''s eye making it unreliable. If he was attacked from beyond 50m, there''s every tendency that there would be a lag in his defense. Meanwhile, the reason for his unrest was the two people dressed in Black who were stealthily making their way closer through the outer court yard. one of them spoke in hushed voices to the other, [No matter what, you should at least tell me the mission objective next time, all this long procedures just to assassinate a child, Sure we listen to them now but how sure are you that they''d do as they promised and not back stab us from behind.] noticing that he got no response, he sighed as he continued [Xu fei, since you feel you know Them well enough already, I will be at your service. But you must remember, it is important to not let the others know of this. Tch!... the more people that know of My involvement, the more things will get annoying. Why are you being so Quiet? are you nervous, its just a kid without cultivation that no one cares about so its gonna be easy.] Xu fei''s face was contorted as vein bulged on her forehead, She regretted bringing this fool!! how is he an assassin?!. [The order is to complete this Quickly, So Shut... .] Before she could finish her words another voice cut in. [Oh?, That''s an interesting topic you guys have there...hope you don''t mind me joining in?.] The two immediately raised their guard up as they looked at the youth that just popped out of no where. He had no extraordinary features except his long white hair, donned in his black tang suit and a hand fan quietly being used to fan himself despite it being freezing cold out herep as he stared back at them with a gentle smile playing on his lips, he had his eyes closed that it gave the feeling like he couldn''t even dim them worthy to look at. They couldn''t feel any cultivation from him but that only increased their Guard against him. they looked at each other''s eyes and nodded their head as they worked together and tried to circle around this new person warily. [ Who are you?!] Xu Fei asked nervously, She suspected Xu yi was already an infallible martial arts Master since she couldn''t feel his cultivation, Luckily Long Chen was also at that realm but it seemed the youth was stronger Than Long Chen by a bit. after being summoned, he hadn''t found the chance to actually understand what he could do , the smile on his face vanished as he flexed his frail looking limbs became . A vibrant aura of youth oozed from him. With a simple twist on his neck, you could hear the sounds of cracking bones from his head onto his feet. He ecstatically looked at his hands as he opened on closed his empty hands repeatedly. [That''s all for now, let''s see the limit of this body before I try to understand Chi, Come.] Xu yi said coldy, having completed his test, he spread his fan in a taunting motion as he placed his other arm behind his back. [Bastard!!!, continue pretending, trying to use me! Long Chen as a training dummy?!! see what happens to you after I''m done with you] Long Chen was enraged as he unsheathed his Blade. Although Xu fei thought this person was bluffing, Her entire being was ringing warning bells, trying to tell her to flee. But she couldn''t just return without even trying, so she came up with a plan. [Long chen, I''ll go take care of the kid, you best make sure to hold him here and don''t let your guard down. He''s not as weak as he looks.] She warned him as she headed towards Xu Yun''s abode while Long Chen charged towards Xu yi Swinging his Blade at his abdomen with speed but diverted its trajectory mid way, sacrificing power for accuracy as he aimed to split Xu yi''s throat. Xu yi closed his fan abruptly with a pkak! sound as he stepped backwards, pulling his head back before using the Fan to deflect the direction of the blade Khing!!, thereby dodging it by a hairs breath and using his elbow to send Long Chen flying towards Xu fei''s direction. This Shocked the young woman as she stopped moving when she first heard the sound of the closing hand Fan. the sound disrupted her thoughts for a second and by the time she recovered, she saw Long Chen flying towards her. Surprisingly, Long Chen stopped right at her foot and when she looked towards the youth, He wasn''t there anymore. she was alarmed, just as she was about to move a Voice spoke right beside her ears, [ Hmm...I don''t get it, I don''t remember telling you to leave.] making her stumble. [I guess we would have to take this somewhere else] When she heard his statement, everything within her vision changed as she was now surrounded by trees!!. At this time Long Chen Stood up with the aid of his Blade, His carefree expression was now serious as that elbow hit let him know that this youth was not a paper tiger. He was of the same realm possibly stronger by a bit if he has to consider the youth being able to teleport continuously. The two assassins had only one thought running through their mind as they stared at this youth, which was RUN!!! but they knew it would be a futile effort to do that. coming to this conclusion they both looked at each other and nodded before brandishing their weapons and charging at Xu yi. _____________________________________ Xu Fei''s POV ------------------ I Charged forward at this monster , making sure not to be in front of Long Chen before stepping in behind a tree and blending in with the Shadows and slowly vanishing from sight. [you won''t be lucky this time¡­] watching Long Chen being this serious was a first for me, his gaze was dark and sinister as he twirled his Blade and added Chi to his blade before attacking in 4 successions at the heart, lungs, abdomen and lastly the head but the youth still effortlessly deflected them. their movement speed became a blur as I watched them exchange blows. [I can''t stay passively like this, after all I''m next ] before I could think of anything there was a ''Bang!'' as both parties separated. They were both perspiring but when I looked at them, Long Chen was looking miserable. his black attire was riddled with holes as his arms kept shaking showing that he had sustained an injury. there were red marks on his skin showing he had just used a berserk skill. Meanwhile the youth''s wounds were just as bad but they were healing at a pace that it was visible to the naked eye. within seconds all that was left were his tattered clothes. [if you want to kill me, you need to do more damage than that] He finally said with that detestable smile!! again. [very well! You have earned my respect!!, you still haven''t told me your name.] Long Chen asked while he lifted his blade, pointing it at the youth. [Ah!! where are my manners, I cannot embarrass my Lord like this. this one is called Xu Yi, Surname Xu first name Yi!] Xu yi responded proudly, peeling off what was left of his black tang suit. [Let''s decide this with one move] As soon as Long Chen''s voice faded, Turbulent winds appeared from nowhere, creating a snow storm as azure colored Chi gathered on his Blade. Xu yi on the other hand kept calm, standing there with his eyes closed and he slowly opened his Fan. With another Battle Cry Long Chen''s body bulged, making him turn into a 2m tall giant as he Swung the Azure Blade causing space to twist anywhere it passed. At this time I began to move, I pulled out my flying daggers before tossing then at Xu yi in order to distract him but it was then it happened!!. He opened his eyes which glowed with Violet light, immediately closing his hand Fan with another Pkak!! snuffing out the Chi on the blade and stopping Long Chen''s movement for a split second before turning to my direction and opening the Fan again with precise movement as he Changed their trajectory towards Long Chen''s vitals. Clang!... Clang!... Puchi! Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!... Thud! I couldn''t believe what I saw, everything happened so fast and Long Chen was dead. the only different was that Xu yi looked visibly paler, Clearly he expended a lot of Chi with whatever he just did. I wonder how weak he had become, maybe I can make an escape, I must report this to her Highness and if possible use that fool as a meat shield. but, since when has the clan had such a genius, his deeds should have been widespread throughout at least Chengdu by now and there would be almost no one who did not know of him. Or has Xu Yunzheng been training people secretly?? all the more reason I should escape. But no matter how much I thought of running, my legs seemed to have betrayed me. [Don''t Bother running, I still have more than enough energy to crush you if you Do]. Before I could retort something hit me with great force from behind as I merely lost consciousness. _______________________________ 5 minutes ago @ young master Xu Yun''s room _______________________________ When Xu Yun woke up, He was staring at himself lying on the bed. His white hair was sprawled all over the place as his long lashes fluttered under the moonlight, his light red lips were parted as he breathed ever so lightly. if he didn''t know that was him, he would have thought it was a girl sleeping peacefully under her blanket. he didn''t know how much of a pretty boy he was until this moment, to think he would end up as one the pretty boys he hated so much in his past life he was simply speechless. this must be karma, looking around him and he began to wonder. [Why am I watching myself???] He exclaimed but Quickly covered his mouth due to the shock he got from his ''Voice''. +1,000,000exp {Congratulations on Breaking through to the infallible martial arts Master realm} He was surprised and Quickly looked at the combat log and found out Xu yi killed an assassin. {As per the configured settings, Avatar will be upgraded to the Grandmaster realm} hearing this announcement made him laugh and made a Gutso pose but something strange happened as he suddenly felt a weird growing bulge on his chest jiggle a bit. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH?????!!!!!!! 26 Chapter 22: Unraveling EEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH????!!! Shocked by this new development I ran my hands down my Chest, over my new body that would be my avatar. The chest wasn''t flat, yet it wasn''t fully developed either. I turned sideways to look at My main body as I began to Miss it. [System, how do I transfer my consciousness back to my Main body??]. {On a normal circumstance you should be able to Switch, but that option isn''t available at the moment. either way, look at the bottom right of your interface, you would see a smaller screen, Simply tap the screen.} [Eeeh... why is it dark?! oh right you said it isn''t available, why is that??.] I complained. But this time the System seemed to reply in an annoyed tone. {That''s because your Main body is asleep, Due to exhaustion your main Body would be resting for 7 hours 20mins more.} [oh...alright, can I see the full body view of this avatar along with its status?] Shrugging My shoulders only to feel the jiggle once more, My face contorted like I had just been fed flies along with the thought '' this would need some getting used to. immediately, A full body view of My avatar appeared with its status page below. [To think you had this option before, Why didn''t you say anything??!] Surprised by this, I couldn''t help but ask. {you never asked!} with wide open eyes, I could feel the irritation from every word, I could sworn there was an eye roll that came with it. kuhum! kuhum! After clearing My awkwardly dry throat I looked at the image and I couldn''t help but be surprised. Hair as Black as Night as it fell straight down her back like a black waterfall only stopping right above her Buttocks, Glowing red eyes like a blood sea, calm and emotionless with a dangerous feel to them, ...She was the kind of girl that women loved to hate. She was about the same age as me I suppose and wasn''t just flawless in her bone structure, her skin was like silk over glass, not as pale as my main body but not far either as she radiated an intelligent beauty. looking below only to see how the new breasts protruded from her rib cage. I raised her hand to push from below, to push them upward into a larger mound of soft fat. With a sigh I took her hands away and turned square to her reflection once more. I''d hoped this didn''t happen, but at least it was a start... Looking below at the status page Name: Avatar Race: Daeva (Demon) Bloodline: Daevan / Xu / Celestial white tiger Level: 71 (Grand Master) Affiliation: Xu Yun (Nefarious Evil) Grade: A+ HP: 32828 MP : 37000 Strength: 510 Agility: 800 Spirit: 300 Will: 508 Dexterity: 830 Constitution: 400 Breath :1340 Stamina: 703 Innate abilities: Blood Howl(Sound attack): Deals 300% internal Damage to victim depending on how strong ones Breath is. effects :Disorients victims sense of direction and stops movement of blood for 6 secs, inflicting fear status (medium) on a duration depending on victim''s level. Cool down : 3 days. Level 60 required. Blood Aura(Passive): allows user use an Aura to exert pressure on enemies of the same level of cultivation or lower. Aura can be added into attacks to boost damage by 20%. Possible to add skill killing intent. (Level 70 required) Blood Eye(Active) : Sealed (level 80 required) Purgatory (Domain) :Sealed (Level 90 required). Berserk (Buff): Sealed (level 100) Skills: Shares skills with the main Body. Equipment: Null Titles: Shares title with main Body. Alcohol: Small Looking at the stats made me realise that it might not really be a bad Idea to have an extra body also that I was Naked. I quickly Opened the female out fit tab and found a white coloured gown (A/N: this is a Lore in the game, was used for cosmetics and its definitely not an equipment) that had been popular back in the game. *Ding! -4000Qcp Luckily as I equipped it, the outfit was worn by itself if not I may have died of embarrassment just wearing the underwear. Now the image had clothes on it, and it didn''t feel uncomfortable anywhere just weird!. The outfit had a long sleeve on one hand and was sleeveless on the other, The lower part was like a gown but stopped at my knees with some short tights. [Haaa... My Life] I sighed before looking at the timer on my interface. |7 hours 3 minutes| As I was wondering what to do with the time left to wait, Someone stepped out my Shadow carrying something. I was stunned at first but quickly regained my calm as I saw it was Xu yi, Now I''m more Curious about who he was carrying. He too had been surprised until he seemed to have figured something out as He tossed what he was carrying with a loud Thud before bowing, immediately saying [My Lord! its good to see your feeling better]. [yes, Tha...what happened to you] I blurted out when I noticed how pale he was but he simply smiled before replying [ I expended to much Chi trying to defeat her companion] Pointing at what he had dropped earlier. a Dark aura suddenly leaked out from My body as I coldly said [Explain]. Noticing him Shiver a bit, I quickly tried to dissipate the uninvited Aura and While asking the System what went wrong. '' System, what was that just now'' {Its one of your racial traits, a lighter version of the blood Aura. Daeva Demon race are Royalty and their younglings were widely known for their emotions, as it made them act on impulse. Your avatar is still young being the same age as you, plus you don''t even know how to control your Aura yet. } ''I see'' I thought, taking deep breaths in order to relax once more before looking at Xu yi once more as I signalled him to continue. So he Narrated everything that happened and everything that was said as I continued to stare at the woman on the floor. The dark Aura began to leak out once more but I couldn''t control it, so I struggled to channel it towards the female assassin as she seemed to have been startled awake by my cold killing intent. the dark Aura locked onto her as I felt My eyes begin to heat up. [I''m glad you finally decided to join us, Sorry for my rude behavior as I got a bit impatient with idea of you sleeping peacefully.] At this time, I had told Xu yi to go to the far end of the room before telling the system to use the sound isolation barrier on the house. Now no one outside would hear a thing coming from here, when I returned my gaze to the Lady as she sat there gnashing her teeth while giving me a deadly glare, clearly indicating her stance. She wasn''t going to say a thing to me. [he he he, You see there''s skill I got that I''ve been wanting to try. Besides the attack moves, interestingly it actually had sub skills. yes yes Imagine my surprise too. Well I''ve been curious and it seems has been so generous as to send you to me] I spoke slowly for the information to sink in, which it did as I noticed her perspiration and shivering body despite the glare. It was a contradiction I was beginning to enjoy. Making my way Closer to her while using my Cultivation Aura to stop her every movement before placing my hands on her head. then I activated the Skill [eeeAAAAAARH!!!] It was then her scream spread throughout the entire house as she convulsed under My Palm. Soul Shackle is a skill under Demon heart chain skill. one of the most sinister skill sets back in the game, but in this world he Noticed it had some extra skills like this Soul Shackle which was used to forcefully induce a slave contract that was placed on the soul making it impossible for the victim to reject any of your requests. if they did the Chains round their Soul produces a searing heat causing unimaginable pain. As time went on her screams died down and were now more of her hissing in pain as she laid on the floor. Although I felt uncomfortable as this was the first time I made someone suffer such pain without killing them immediately, I knew it had to be done. ____________________________________________ Xu Fei''s POV Opening My eyes and looking at the Blood red eyes of this Demoness of a Child in front of Me, I felt fear for what was to come. The Blackish Aura leaking from her skin looked like the Shadow of primordial beast as she stared at me with a cold expression. [Now, Shall we begin] she finally spoke, I clenched my teeth as I tried thinking of a way to escape Just that the major problem there is still the other youth that teleports. [Ho ho ho!?, you still harbour thoughts of escaping?] not long after question I felt like my Soul was on fire as I screamed once more at the top of my lungs. I regret coming here today, I cursed the very pig that made me come here today , in fact I wanted to curse the very day he was born but the demon child''s next Question came. [Hmm, this is really Handy... alright Why do you want to kill Xu Yun?] as soon as she asked this I involuntarily thought of everything that had happened, from Yunzao killing his Mom to my meeting with the Demon monk all the way till the fight with Xu yi. But I suddenly felt like there were a thousand needles stabbing into my Brain as well as my Soul being burnt from those damnable chains. As my consciousness began to fade I heard the girl shout in a guarded manner. [Who!!!!] That was the last thing I heard before ... ___________________________________________ Xu Yun was frowning as the series of information flooded into his mind from Xu Fei kept on shocking him. the parties that wanted him dead, the mystery behind his mother''s death, and the part about his father ''missing'' all came into his mind like a storm but stopped abruptly when he tried to view the Faces of the Demons. Xu Fei suddenly began screaming as she clawed at the floor, spilling blood around. She Charged at the Wall head first. Splat! [Who!!!] Xu Yun shouted in his Avatar form as he could hear the cackling of an old man while he watched Xu Fei''s headless body drop down like a puppet with broken strings. Thud! after about 4 seconds a black gas slowly crawled out from her body. *Ding! {Do you wish to capture the Demon soul fragment?? as it would be useful when refined into cultivation points.} the words of the System made him look at the gas with interest. [kikikikiki! to think a Young Daeva would have an eye for the princess''s treasure, This is too interesting kikikikiki Hahaha haha I can''t wait to ....] the gas spoke till this point, as Xu Yun simply said [yes]. And the already disappearing gas was pulled back by an invisible suction force, turning it into a bead amidst the screams of the soul. [Now the scales have fallen from my eyes, What princess? What serpent? What Uncle?! All this debt, I''ll Collect them all!!!] Xu Yun said through clenched teeth as the Blood red eyes glimmered dangerously. 27 Chapter 23 : The Hunt 1 Xu Yun switched his gaze from his cup and looked outside through the window. He saw that outside the window, the sky was still dark, the greenery abundant and the falling flying by like mist. Close by, the bamboo tall houses were lined up in a row, extending far out which the external members of manor make use of. the road was a sea of white as a few patrol walked by immersed in their stories, their feet sunk deep into the snow as they went ahead because of the snowfall. some of them wore grayish coats with a blue Sigil depicting the Xu logo on them, while the other carried Black oiled cloth umbrella clueless about what just transpired in the now fading isolation barrier. watching all this Xu Yun finally spoke, [Xu yi, This World is like a huge Keyboard. All lifeforms are all key notes, if you want to make beautiful Music you must play the White and the black keys.] Looking at Xu yi, he noticed the confusion on his face making him sigh. "Think of it as a zither or better still as a chess board, we have the black and the white pieces in the game. every piece has their own movements, schemes and targets just like Everybody has their own standpoints, desires, and principles. everybody sees what they want to see and though some say they had no choice in the situation they find themselves, we see the situation clearly from the side. Some say Gone with the darkness and embrace the light, moving around their belief that they are in the right while everyone is wrong, Some believe in others without much to spare while some believe Just because they are strong they can trample on the weak forg...] Xu Yun paused as he thought about his own situation, his heart already clear as the blood red eyes glowed in the dark. [To the Xu family''s head Xu Yunzheng, it is to protect his family''s prosperity and benefits as well as upholding Righteousness. He tried to ignore me just to keep trouble away from me for the sake of peace, he will not do anything to confront his brother even if he found out the truth. In fact, he might even compensate me and try to hide the story at all cost.] [So much for righteousness, to me he is afraid. afraid of his inevitable clash with yunzao, or the idea of blood fighting blood.] Xu Yun''s eyes were clear as he now had an almost perfect grasp and understanding of the whole matter from start till the end. The only thing missing is about who was behind his father''s kidnapping as well as the one who spread the rumor of his death despite him being alive and what the Demon side are aiming for. He already knew his Uncle was the one who put a red marker on him and his father. He also knew it was the serpents who took the job. Xu Yun stood as he looked at his main body as well as the timer. - 5 hours 14 minutes. After a Sigh he said [Xu Yi, Why don''t we go Hunt down some snakes before daybreak] Xu yi was stunned at first as he was confused at the reason his Master would want to hunt snakes when he had just been talking about life, but when he felt the Blood Aura building up around his Master''s body, he knew it was not so simple. [As you will] __________________________________________ Meanwhile, Somewhere in Luoyang at about an hour ago. In a small wooden inn at the outskirts of Luoyang city, Stood 4 figures looking down at their companion who suddenly stopped their conversation as he excused himself in order to solve a minor issue. As they watched him control his Fate compass with glowing eyes that was bleeding ever so slightly. [kikikikiki! to think a Young Daeva would have an eye for the princess''s treasure, This is too interesting kikikikiki Hahaha haha I can''t wait to AAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!] if Gong Fuzhi''s words were not Shocking enough then the fact that one of his eyes suddenly exploded. The crucial part was that he mentioned a Daeva, The princess''s family retainers quickly moved behind him and held him down as he continued to scream while spilling scorching hot blood all over the place, burning holes into the ground. The Princess had completely frozen as this was the first time she had seen such a thing, Despite the blood burning her Golden hair slowly she still stood there like a sculpture till the black smoke oozing out from her robe snuffed it out. [Yi er, you should return to the palace if a Daeva has been spotted. with every Daeva there is a Great Aeshma around the corner] The elderly Voice sounded out from within the robe. [But Grand Pa, I''m yet to find a fitting gift for father.] Tao Yimu pouted, totally forgetting Gong Fuzhi who was practically screaming his lungs out. This time the Elderly voice seemed amused by her antics and said [Foolish Girl, hehehe news of a Daeva female is the best gift you can give him. add in the possibility of her having a powerful Aeshma guardian, Am sure my Son would be excited. just don''t let him know I know about this.] [Really??!! that''s great!! my gift would be much better than Eldest Brother''s gift he he. But Grand Pa what''s this Daeva and Aeshma you mentioned.] The excited Yimu finally asked when she calmed down. Immediately, gas from her robe congealed forming a silhouette of a man as it stepped towards a chair before sitting down and looking towards the screaming Gong Fuzhi. [The Daeva was the race of the First founding emperor before he was betrayed by our Ancestor because he became weak , After all, Only the strong Shall Rule. While the Aeshma race are a Guardian race that had sworn to protect the Daevans. they were also known as Soul warriors as they have the physical form and their Soul form, their Soul form is when they are at their Strongest and also at their weakest. We Seirs were also one of their guardian races but our Ancestor couldn''t stand the Emperor because he believed all races were equal.] The shadow of a man suddenly paused as he waited for Yimu to assimilate the new piece of information before he continued [We Seirs wiped out the Daevans and Aeshmas during the rebellion and sacrificed them to form the barrier, Though this information is only known by every emperor and a few Elders. oh? that''s all for now, our friend is waking up.] Gong Fuzhi sat up as he collected his thoughts then he lifted his hands to his damaged eye as he clenched his teeth. [Young one no need to be too sad, after all its not like the eye can''t be fixed] at the sound of the voice he lifted his eyes towards the direction it came. when he saw who spoke he Quickly went down on one knee and spoke [ Lord Ancestor, I understand] The Shadow Spoke with authority in his voice, clearly indicating he shouldn''t think of lying [Now tell me about the Daevan Girl you saw] Nodding his head he began to narrate everything he had seen through Xu Fei after he got the warning signal from his imprint without leaving anything unspoken. [ this!...this!...from what you just described, that was a long forgotten skill called Soul shackle but since yours can override hers, it means its just in its beginning stages. Hahaha a Daeva that knows Soul Shackles! Do you know what this means?? Young one] the shadow asked but everyone was silent waiting for him to explain, but instead he began to laugh hysterically. When he calmed down he sat upright before speaking once more [This means that the little Girl has an Elder Aeshma as her teacher, If we can get this Girl into the family we can make the most powerful bloodline or at least get her on our side then we can openly Join the war and return everything to how it was long before hahaha kuhum kuhm] [[[[lord Ancestor!!!]]]] [Kuhahahaha I''m Fine, I''m Fine! haaa its a good day] after he recovered he simply started laughing once more. with a frown, Tao Yimu asked[Grand Pa, is she that powerful?]. [She will be, Yi er forget the cicada let her have it. what''s important now is to find out what that boy is to her for her to go out of her way to protect him. once we have her we have the Elder Aeshma in the bag as well hahaha!!. Gong Fuzhi said She was already in the Grand Master realm, I wonder how she was able to train that much in the human empire! hmm... there so many Questions left unanswered. Tao lia! you head to Chengdu and find her. Easiest way to find her would be to wait till the next Blood moon, As a demon you will feel the Aura after based on Gong Fuzhi''s story, she hasn''t learnt to control her Aura. Don''t approach her lest you alert the Guardian. I want you to simply watch her from afar till someone with the Emperor''s seal comes to you.] He Quickly answered her Question before ordering one of the bodyguards. [As you will] Tao lia saluted before he headed out the Door. [we depart immediately!] Princess Yimu Declared, clearly excited about the whole development. if she had calmed down to think and looked at her Grand father closely she would have noticed the ominous look he was wearing. __________________________________________ Meanwhile, Presently on the walls of Chengdu Six figures stood upon it with their backs facing the Moon. As they stared at the center of the city, where laid the Longman inn like Wolves eying their prey. Xu Yun was getting ready to attack the serpents he found out about through Xu Fei''s memories, unaware of the Storm the news of his avatar was brewing. what he wanted right now was where he could unleash this blood lust he was feeling. Xu Yun couldn''t resist the Atmosphere, As His Blood Red eyes glowed fiercely and his blood boiled while releasing a bone chilling Aura. [Tonight! We Hunt!!]. 28 Chapter 24: The Hunt 2 That same Night in Chengdu City... Long Man Inn... The month is slowly coming to an end, And soon we would be saying Goodbye to the Snow. The fragrance of Spirit wine filled the air, the view of The Silent city and the lamplight of citizens began to gradually went off as they began to head to bed after a tired day could be seen from the VIP room of the Long Man Inn. Under the Calm sky, the white clouds slowly drifted off the Moon as its Moonlight gradually Lightened the streets of Chengdu. In the Topmost floor of the Long man Inn laid the office of Its Owner. A Fair maiden with a Veil sat before the fire place within the room, She played a Soft tune on her Zither that lingered in the air. From within the Darkness a figure came forth and whispered to her. [After All these years No one Had come Here with Such intent, but this year they have arrived in Turns. Serpents, Red Circle members, The secret Factions have been moving a lot recently. At least this ones seem to be here now to take care of those Damn Serpents, Spares me the trouble of chasing them out tomorrow.] The owner of the inn let out a deep breath upon hearing the news. The inn''s business was poor in this Branch for the past few days because most big shots had Stayed clear off this Area, so only when those clueless caravans came could she earn enough profit. Thinking for a bit, she Turned to No one in particular with a commanding tone [No Matter What sounds you hear Don''t interfere, Let''s Just watch.] after which she continued playing her zither, Only this time it was a serene tune that resonated throughout the Whole Inn. Meanwhile, Within Another VIP Room The serpents were waiting for their Brother Long Chen while drinking and making Merry to the point that a miniature wine mist began to Form within the Massive room. From time to time the Laughter of Several women could be Heard and the ceaseless Chatter of the Serpent members. As time flowed, Teng Su (A/N :in case you forgot, he''s the leader of the Serpent group that came to Chengdu) Developed a Suspicion because how long Long Chen was taking so his countenance changed. But his brethren were to engrossed with the pleasure they were having to notice except for Qui Xia (A/N: Eunuch)who suddenly paused for a second and began to hush every one. Seeing this Teng Su couldn''t help but give him a Questioning gaze. In response Qui Xia only said one word[Listen!] At his word everyone became alert, all they could hear was absolute silence except the serene sound of the Zither coming from above them. after sometime one of them finally muttered [its too Quiet...] but in response, the room''s temperature suddenly Dropped. immediately they all circulated their Chi within their Body. with a frown Teng Su announced[Prepare for Comba...] but was cut short by the scream of a prostitute. This startled everyone so they unsheathed their weapons, But When they looked at her Direction they were shocked as the other women began screaming too with a few of them passing out. One of them had been been beheaded without them knowing, they felt a Shiver down their spine after all that was a full fledged Enlightened Virtuoso!!!. [Everyone head outside to open Ground] Under the Commands of Teng Su, They all Dashed Outside into the open, Lucky for them because Long man Inn was at the center of the city there were wider Roads That were connected in a huge round about Manner. the Temperature continued to decrease, while the Speed of the Zither''s tune gradually increased But struggled to keep their calm by the first thing they heard [See?, I told you guys that would smoke them out. Good Job Wu'' er] A Tiny melodic voice Sounded out but its words made them Frown. Turning his gaze to the Direction the voice came from Teng Su was Surprised, It was a young Girl that looked to be at the of Twelve. She had Long Black hair that flowed down her back that you''d think she had been growing them Since Birth and a Pale white Skin, She Donned a White gown which seemed to blend with the Snow on the Roof she was standing on. But her most Striking feature was the Glowing Blood Red eyes that stared down at them and the Pressure of a Grand master realm cultivator coming from her. Teng Su Scowled because the feeling he got from her was that, despite his Mid level Grand master realm cultivation he would be Hard pressed to beat her. Now he looked at the the rest of her Group with worry, They all had White hair and wore black clothes but he Couldn''t feel any Chi from them yet they held weapons. Before he could ask any Questions, what he heard next Made him frown Further. [Kill everything that came out from that except this one] She said pointing at Qiu Xia. [[[[[We Obey!!!]]]]] Xu Wu dived down the roof directly where the prostitutes were hiding and began her Slaughter like a wolf let loose in a hen House while Xu Si fought against the only remaining Enlightened Virtuoso. Xu yi went for Qiu Xia, as he leisurely deflected Qiu Xia''s attempt to resist capture. Xu er and Xu San double teamed the remaining three infallibles. Xu Yun continued to Use pressure to lock onto Teng Su when he received a Notification that His Main body was now active. {Energy Restored!...Dual control Enabled} A Small Screen appeared on his top right view, he could see his room through it as he stared at his fair hands. so he made his main body start cultivation ''system can you minimize this screen? its kind of uncomfortable at the moment''. As per his request the screen disappeared while tiny numbers kept popping up, showing that his Main body was still cultivating and Xu Wu was killing the prostitutes. +1000exp +1000exp +1000exp +3578exp +1000exp +1000exp +4080exp +1000exp [do you think you can get away after all this??] Teng Su finally broke the silence as Cut through Xu Yun''s thought. [ If I would regret it or not would be in the far future but first leave your reptilian life here] Xu Yun said icily. [Come!!!!] Teng Su Roared While he held onto his Broad sword as he stepped on the Wall and directly leaped onto the rooftop of a nearby building. Due to the Snow on the roof he slipped, but he as tried to regain his balance, He first threw few poison needles towards Xu Yun but was blocked by the Sword that just appeared out of no where onto Xu Yun hands. he then sent Sword Chi flying towards Teng Su before the latter paused and tilted his body sideways allowing the Sword Chi pass by him, only getting a slight cut on his cheek. When he dodged the Sword Chi He immediately dashed at the young girl before him, But this time they both charged at each other with their Swords out on full display. Xu Yun quickly activated his killing intent skill along with his Blood Aura, Immediately increasing his attack damage by 20%. He knew that if they engaged in close combat, this Avatar would lose in strength. Judging by the fact he was using a Broad Sword he was 70% Teng Su was strength based. therefore, with such a short distance He used to the fullest as he turned into a streak of light passed Teng Su and appeared behind him as he slashed at Teng Su''s back but he too immediately flashed forward creating a distance between them, after all it was ''almost'' unavoidable. Teng Su quickly took a step backward as, attempting to ope the distance. At the same time, he shot out a throwing knive with a flick of his wrist. the girl''s face was unfazed, taking a tumble and avoiding the Knives, continuing her pursuit. At the same time, a lump of Frost energy Gathered at her empty palm. Teng Su looked at the Frost Chi in her hands that hasn''t been fired or anything and felt tensed in his heart, quickly taking a few more steps back before he ran and Directly Jumped unto another roof. Although he worked hard in close combat and also trained his Drifting sand technique. he was incapable of doing much as there wasn''t any sand around here and Xu Yun''s avatar who was a speed type was the worst match up he could get. Teng Su whom was not suited for this style of combat, quickly fell into disadvantage. [Eh? This is interesting.] Xu Yun who had been on guard as he felt like Teng Su was trying to lead him to a Trap, Quickly noticed something was amiss. The more Teng Su kept dodging and creating distance the more his weakness became glaring. Finally when Teng Su Tried jumping onto another roof, Xu Yun used his favorite skill from the Demon heart chain skill. : Pulls an enemy within a 15m range towards the caster with a Knock down effect. This caught Teng Su mid Air and Pulled him back to Xu Yun''s avatar while Knocking him Down which Xu Yun followed up with a Dragon Cuff and the Blind Dragon when Teng Su tried to Block, inflicting him with a Blind Status for Three secs. Then he Used his Sword to Quickly amputate both his hands and legs before freezing the edges with the Ice Chi still left in his Meridians. Teng Su Didn''t utter a cry as he Glared at Xu Yun with gritted teeth. making Xu Yun simply Smile at him, as he looked at his shadows and found out they were done and were watching him. [We are returning, Yi Take this Two Back first... ] Xu Yun commanded, He was happy he was able to catch them unprepared. if not their lineup would have been bad in an ambush. "well I''ll just use Soul shackle on th..." His Thought was disrupted by a Voice that sounded within his head. [Little Girl, May I know where you''re taking them to?...] | | : Hit the target''s face to inflict damage repeatedly. If the target is still under the effect of Dragon''s Footprint , it will also fall under the effect of The Cuff, which disrupts their sense of direction and coordination for 6 seconds. (The duration can be stacked with the stack count of Dragon''s Footprint effect.). Blind Dragon (feint): Turn a slap in the face into a poke in the eye, inflicting damage. When parry is broken, the target falls under the effect of Eye-Stab , and vision is blurred for 3 seconds.|| 29 Chapter 25 : Doesnt that make me a... " young miss, what is the problem here?" A Middle aged man walked to the middle of the everyone while staring at Xu Yun and asked amicably. Luckily Xu yi already teleported with the prisoners, Which surprised the Man as he couldn''t feel Xu yi''s presence anymore within a one kilometer radius. young Master Xu looked at the mans Status and got only the unfathomable message, you must know that this avatar was already at the Grand master realm. Xu Yun Had recognized him the moment he appeared, This was Chengdu''s city Lord!!!. a Man known for his cunning, and if his guess was correct, the man should be at the Shock the world realm right now but he kept it a secret till he broke through after colluding with demons. but that would be in the future as he couldn''t really remember the details. So our young master put on the best smile he could muster, Filled his ear with flattery and as he cupped his fists and made a curtsy bow. Everyone in the game knew city Lord Wang loved to be flattered, hearing the cute girl flatter him made him like her already. Looking at the surrounding, he looked up at City Lord Wang and explained the entire situation. well he may have twisted some things by saying, in summary They attacked his younger brother when she was away so he came for revenge, although he felt his impromptu lie wasn''t only not convincing but it was Stupid, he was Surprised by what he heard next. "So that''s what happened!" Wang Fu nodded while listening. Next, he asked Xu wu, "Little girl, is this true?" Xu Wu turned her head away towards Xu Yun. ''don''t look at this Young master'' Xu Yun screamed in His mind. So Xu Wu simply nodded at Wang Fu, making Wang Fu ponder solemnly. The surrounding was silent, not daring to interrupt his thoughts. After All they noticed their Lords reactions, So they awaited his response. This all happened because he had neglected to use the Isolation barrier, But lucky for him the Long man inn branch Owner had used music to create a small version for a while during his battle, preventing it from gathering too much attention. then a light bulb lit up in his head as He smiled looking towards the inn and bowed. Which player didn''t know the secret behind Long man Inn, and he was sure the City Lord wouldn''t do a thing once he knows they were involved although it was a gamble. Seeing this, the Inn keeper was amused but kept silent. Wang fu on the other hand was Surprised about the actions of this young Girl but said nothing and as he simply smiled bitterly and vanished. Our young Master was largely surprised, but he quickly said modestly to the Inn. [ Thank you senior for your help] before Dashing out with his shadows. Meanwhile, Wang Fu appeared on a roof at the distance with clenched fists: " Hehe , this has nothing to do with cultivation levels, I can''t act impatiently regardless. A wrong move is all it takes, Longman inn! just you wait, I guess my speculations were correct, they were helping her. but that dense demon Aura was so thick, indicating how pure the bloodline was. we need more information on that girl, her blood would be crucial to my next step. hmm... her servants go by ''Xu''?. Xu family he he] He was busy contemplating while our young master Xu Yun''s Avatar and Shadows were rushing back to the Manor like a madmen, unaware of the new development He was using Soul shackle on the captive Qui Xia and refining Teng Su''s soul into Exp after he sucked out his memories. Unfortunately, the information he wanted he didn''t get. all he got was the drop Site they kept his father for that person but no name or face so far, his Uncle came up a few times. he wasn''t to surprised by this as it was within his calculations. Turning his attention to the Eunuch who now looked at him with so much Dread, he couldn''t help but laugh impishly. Qui Xia felt all his hairs stand when Xu Yun called his name, He felt like his Awe inspiring God has spoken and each word must be followed to the latter. [Qui Xia, You must not remember me until you hear from me again. You will return to the head Quarters and report that you were ambushed by men in black, that one of them seemed to have a red circle on his back. Then you''ll say you fought bitterly to escape but not without poisoning their squad leader.] Xu Yun gave him a detailed story to give upon his return. [yes I obey] Qui Xia bowed while shivering all over, But Xu Yun''s plans were not done. pointing at Xu San, he called out to Qui Xia once more [Look!]...Qui Xia quickly lifted his eyes and saw a Teen Boy walk into the room with his Giant blade along with that Girl!!!, his shivering intensified. [you Will take him with you as a new recruit, treat him like you''d treat me] this words made Qui Xia whimper. At this time the Sun began to rise and The weather became increasingly sunny and cloudless, sweeping away the sentimental breath of snow from the night before, and the temperatures slowly rose. [Winter is almost over, its almost time for the secret coachman to arrive to take those with recommendations to their respective schools...haaa] Xu Yun said with a Sigh as he looked out the window. Turning to the other members in the room, he felt there were many things left for him to do as he watched the Shadows socialize with each other as they congratulated Xu San and looked at him with envy. they felt all too real as he could even notice Xu yi looked a bit sad, so Xu Yun felt he would need to talk to him later in order to understand them more. He turned towards his Avatar and looked at it with interest, it had gone to a corner to cultivate as a blood mist kept on rotating around her. after a few seconds she opened her eyes and stared right back at Xu Yun. [System, Does the Avatar have a consciousness?] He inquired as he tilted his head sideways making the Avatar mimic his movement. {Technically yes. it has a tiny portion of your soul, about 5%, so when on auto pilot it would have to be powered by that 5%. at first it would have to learn as its memories would be like a new born. it picks up characters based on what you do when in control and what it sees.} After system replied, Xu Yun was stunned but at something else. [Doesn''t that make me a father!?!] He blurted out this time unconsciously and everyone turned to look at him. [f...f...ath...er?] repeated the Avatar as black lines appeared on Young master Xu''s face. Hearing the twins giggle and The stunned Look on Xu er and Xu yi''s face made things worse, not to mention Xu San''s face palm. So Xu Yun took out his frustration on them[ Xu San why haven''t left with this trash!!!!!, And you guys why are you not hunting ah!] they Quickly responded as they disappeared one by one. [[PFF yes!]] the Twins [we obey] Xu yi [er...yes!]Xu San [Yea!!]Xu er Xu Yun sighed as he rubbed his temples [hgaaa ...is it me or they are becoming less mechanical] looking at the Avatar once more. giiiiiiiiiii [Right, can''t speak yet...hmm let''s give you a name] He concluded. Opening the Tab for his Avatar he stared at the space for name for quite sometime before just going with "Ava". after pressing enter he simply shrugged. then he wanted to see how good the auto pilot was so he told Ava to go look for the Shadows while he watched from the small screen. it was a bit fun as it felt like watching an Fps game match. while he was watching he heard someone enter his courtyard, so he looked down from his windows. it was... 30 Chapter 25: 3 years It Snowed for four days before stopping. The sun rose high into the sky, tearing away the mist, seemingly like it was unveiling itself. The breath of summer had faintly started to come around. The weather became increasingly sunny and cloudless, sweeping away the sentimental breath of the winter as the temperatures slowly rose. "Weather in this world is really strange" Xu Yun thought. He had executed his promise that day by escort little Lin on her way to the scholar sect with her Master. She continued to Cry so her Master strategically told him to disappear, which he did after telling her good bye. For the past Three years, The Family head has been coming to say ''Hi'' from time to time. and there had been no movement from the serpents, as a His Shadow Xu San had yet to bring any fresh news aside from the fact that he and Qui Xia had successfully infiltrated them and they bought their story. unfortunately they didn''t know the head Quarters yet. It was just a few days passed new year, and Xu yi took out five money bags and handed it to the young Master. Every money bag was filled to the brim, each containing about a 10 thousand gold teals. The young Master took over the money bag, so overwhelmed that he could not say anything. [with this I can go to the mysterious coachman.] Xu Yun said with a smile as remembered the embarrassment he felt the last time he met the coachman without money, the price was outrageous so he had to wait for another three years which brought us to this point. when he calmed down he reminded, [ Xu yi, remember you and Xu er would be following me on Ava to yanjing later today... while Si and Wu would follow me in secret as I set out tomorrow.] "!!!" Ava suddenly opened her eyes,looked left and right suspiciously before she looked at everyone curiously because she heard her name. She had grown taller and looked just like a fifteen year old but a head shorter than Xu Yun''s main body. The young master Xu Yun was now taller, had a longer hair and lashes, though he still looked feminine his Bones were as strong as steel. the Shadows bowed deeply to Xu Yun in excitement, they were finally going out of this area. They praised Xu Yun in their minds. "Master is Wise!" "Magnificent, as expected of Master!" "Haaa." Xu Yun sighed, he just couldn''t get used to those looks. He then continued, [Our faction needs a business base for making Money, So Everyone, any Ideas? Robbing Caravans like Bandits isn''t enough...cough, this young master will listen to any suggestions, I won''t take your mistakes to heart.] There was a deafening silence in the room as they all sank into deep thought...well most of them as Ava couldn''t bother with them. [Hmm Assassination jobs?] Xu Wu Suggested, making Xu Yun sweat bullets wondering why that was her first thought. [we are not even powerful enough for it to be to bring a steady income.] he paced around for a bit and came to a stop. "What am I even wracking my brain for!!, I''ll just exchange gears and other stuff with QCP before auctioning them out!. besides I won''t be needing to do so anytime soon, 50 ding is already an insane number even though 20000 gold was going to the coachman, he would still have more than enough to sustain him for a while. (A/N:1000 silver taels= 1 Gold coin, 1000 Gold coins = 1 Ding and so on) Next he walked towards the door of his room, stopping right in front of the door. For some weird reason he decided to act mysterious, so without turning back he said [Forget it, I know what to do... I just want to say this. I''ve seen things you people wouldn''t believe. Attacked Demons on fire off the shoulder of a Giant Dragon. I watched Brothers Die in the dark Gates of hells Kitchen . All those moments will be lost in time, like the tears i had Shed. I had died once in my first life and I don''t plan to do it anytime soon. So I strive for ultimate power And I want y''all to join me, So you can''t slack off.] Turning back at the final sentence, staring intently at them before finally stepping out the door. Xu Yun silently walked towards the main Family building, thinking in his heart, "It seems that I have to speed things up...I haven''t improved much lately since I got to the Grandmaster mid level and that damn Snake of an uncle has been too silent. Forget it, I''ll just head to the wanderers valley sect, so my leveling speed should come up" He waved at the guards which they only responded with a nod. Before heading in the direction of the Study, Maids greeted in waves as our young master''s smile gradually turned crookedafter sometime he decided to check his status ''Status'' - Name : Xu y¨²n Age: 15years. Power level:Grandmaster (Mid) Grade : A++ Level: 73 Bloodline: celestial white tiger, Xu. HP: 40048 MP : 47000 STR: 630 AGI: 864 SPR: 332 WILL: 400 DEX: 631 CONST: 600 BRE :1340 STA: 803 Free stat points: 0 Martial Inner: Star Vortex Artifact: Child of the Night. Titles: Exterminator, Murderer, Fool, Explorer, Blood thirsty Alcohol: Small Alignment: Nefarious Evil Taels : 50000 Gold Taels Quest completion points(QCP): 124046 Exp(8,003,63)/12,580,000)lvl 74.(GrandMaster). Accumulated Cultivation points: 5,439,932 Equipment: Silver throwing knives*9 -Jade vest (Tier 2) -Jade pants(Tier 2) -Jade knee Guards(Tier 2) -Jade Gauntlets(Tier 2) -Jade head Gear (Tier 2) -Jade Necklace(Tier 2) -Black wood order. - Jade grade Sword(Tier 4) -Wind rider. -Bamboo Hat. Xu Yun just wanted to tell this old Man that he was leaving, why were there so many people. He believed that the children of the other clan families presently in Chengdu had already been sent to the respective sects, Especially the Shen family daughter, he remembers had been taken in around this time as an acclaimed genius daughter of heaven born with the 3 taiji meridians open naturally...in the Wudang sect she would be placed as a treasure, but she was cold towards men for some reason. He felt His cultivation was still too weak and if he wanted to protect himself before the invasion...(A/N: If the people knew a 15 year old grandmaster was calling himself weak, they would have probably cursed him to death). he had go to the Wanderers valley and level up. now he knew the Demons have started moving. On reaching this door once again, he was forced to remember that day... [Still feels like yesterday, Haaa] he sighed before Knocking twice. Knock! Knock! Criiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnng! the Massive doors slowly opened along with Xu Yunzheng''s voice, [Enter]. When he did, He found Yunzheng at the table while buried in tons of paperwork. Without even looking up he asked [It''s time??] [Yes, I''ll be leaving tomorrow for Chengdu] Xu Yun replied with a poker face while trying to sense those in the dark. In just one day, the coachman would arrive at Chengdu city. i have to be there on time, thats why I''m leaving tonight. Xu Yun could reduce his risks to the minimum by using this method; it was the safest method. ________________________________________ Somewhere in Chengdu, at the Singing bear Tarvern. "One more cup!" "Wine, where''s the wine?" "Quickly get me the wine, are you afraid that I''m unable to pay? Me and my pals are here to celebrate!!!" Xu Bao slammed the already weakened table as he howled. "Young master Xu, here''s your wine!" The clerk quickly brought him his wine. Xu Bao grabbed the cup and tilted his head and gulped the liquor. "Good wine!" He laughed loudly, sounding coarse and bleak. With a bang , he placed the cup on the table and howled again. "Get me another glass, I want as many as you can supply!" The clerks did not dare to offend him and could only do as he said. Luckily, this wine house was already full of people. Not only were the tables packed with people, even the surrounding streets were packed with people. Xu bao''s drunken Antics was not very peculiar in this bustling street. He and his friends drank cup by cup, filled with so much ''happiness''. [ Congratulation young master Xu on getting accepted into the Royal Guards School With your Twin sister.] no one observed that as he drank, two clear lines of tears flowed down his cheeks as he stylishly wiped it away. Who would know of his pain, his sorrow? Everybody had their own stories. As, he was the youngest of the Twin and the only male child, people always praised how handsome he was and how he resembles his father the most, thus you would think he would be the most doted on by his father. But heaven made fun of him by giving him only a normal talent which every other Xu family member could have. But his sister?, she was amazing and praised as a genius seen only once in a thousand years. with the resources of Xu family being pumped into her, She was already an infallible martial arts Master unlike himself, though some may say his doing alright as a peak of power, his father saw it as Failure. As he grew up, he lived under the pressure of his twin. He was indignant and wanted to resist, but with that talent, there was nothing he could do. His father, Xu yunzao would call her into his study to partake in his plans but would always leave him out. Two people born on the same day. Xu meng his Twin and Supposed best friend was a Snake!! She would paint pretty pictures of them being close in front of many but pledge to make him Suffer if I Defied her . That twisted smile of hers haunts him in his sleep. He wanted to rely on his own method to gain the recognition of his clan. But to think that he became his sister''s stepping stone once again. He had found a way to meet the outer school elder for the Royal Guards school and successfully impressed him enough to make him accept him as a Royal Guard disciple. But When Xu meng appeared, he knew this witch would spoil things for him and that she did. But what could he do? he was forgotten immediately she entered, the Elder was so happy to receive Xu meng. infallible martial arts Master and peak of power was such a huge gap that he was powerless to fight again unless he could catch up. to make matters worse, she only said a few words for him to be accepted [why don''t you take my brother too, his a good addition too] [yes yes yes of course] that was the Elder''s words. When his father heard the news his words were [Great, at least he can have some use now.] "Xu meng!!" He forced this name out of his mouth, his eyes burning with the flames of hatred, he was unable to take it lying down! "Do you wish to deal with your Sister? I can help you." At this time, he heard a voice. stunned but when he turned around, he saw that for quite a while, there was someone sitting beside him. He shook his head and blinked a few times, finally seeing who it was. but it was a Shadow with indistinguishable features. [It''s you!] He stared at the Shadow, slightly angry, [I remember you! old man!, are you here to mock me?] the Shadow looked at Xu Bao in his cold eyes . [I have a huge deal for you, if you wish to acquire power and get revenge, why not listen to me?] Xu Bao was suspicious. His back straightened and he sat up while looking around, only to notice he wasn''t at the Tavern but in a Dark room. [Whaat??!!! Where?...Whe...When...where am I?... and How do you know about my matter]. This secret was not easily known to outsiders, but The Shadow only laughed. [I know what I want to know, when I want to know.] It laughed coldly and Shrugged. Xu Bao squinted his eyes, for the Shadows''s explanation seemed to arrogant but he wasn''t Stupid enough to refute those words openly. it had already been two years since he knew this Shadow but he still knew nothing about it. But no matter what, there was no harm listening. It Placed its fingers on its lips while looking at Xu bao. [Ssssh...Lend me your ear.] Xu Bao unhappily snorted, but still listened. After hearing The shadows words, he frowned and looked at it coldly. [isn''t this Demonic and bloody, Hmph, you were sent here by Meng to harm me right?] The Shadow did not bother to explain, but got up and vanished , [in that case, I''ll go talk to your Twin. Xu bao squinted his eyes, staring at the shadow. Only until it was almost gone did he lose his patience. [Don''t go, we can have a talk.] The Shadow back, staring at him from the side, coldly saying, [Good good good! I''ll come find you] as it slowly faded and the room turned back into the tavern. 32 Chapter 26: Bliss Valley With a pair of solemn eyes, He stared at the far away Gates of Chengdu. Xu Yun stood at the window of a three storey building, looking at everything that had transpired at the gates. Before He frowned deeply. The instant Xu Yun left the Manor, he felt a sense of melancholy in his heart, that even he wasn''t expecting. But he quickly ignored it, and headed for Chengdu so he doesn''t miss the coachman. While Xu yi and Xu er led Ava to the northern dessert on the Day before. When He arrived at Dawn and he was excited, but now all he has been doing was frowning and sighing. [This Man is rather hard to catch. He is the only variable in my plans... and normally he would arrive on time. perhaps something went wrong, but With his cultivation he wouldn''t have problems roaming about unhindered in Jianghu.] Xu Yun muttered aloud. [Young Master, perhaps I should go scout the other gate?] Xu Wu suggested from behind Xu Yun. But our young master Xu refused [How long do you think it''d take to scout all Four gates at their respective directions], he was going to continue when he noticed the old worn down carriage with the faded inscription of "N¨¬" on the sides, which made him smile. [He''s here!] Xu Yun said as he started making his way towards the Gates with the twins right behind him. He was wearing a Black Han Fu with white designs at the edges and joints along with Black Shoes with white soles while the Twins wore a pure black Han Fu. their white hair created a strong contrast with their black clothes which attracted the eyes of many once they walked by. On getting to the Coachman, the man looked at them for a bit before he completely ignored them. Xu Yun didn''t feel anything was wrong with this behavior, he simply brought up the recommendations token and the coachman''s eyes became Sharp once more. [so its you, thought I recognized you...do you have your money this time??] The man said as he scanned all of them. Xu Yun smiled and said [Of course old man.] while the girls simply smiled. [WHO!! are you calling old man boy?, just hand over the money so he can leave!] The Man was about to shout but Quickly corrected his tone but he still couldn''t hide the bandit like tone. Xu Yun knew the man was pretending to be gentle, that''s why he tends to tease him ever since the last time they met. [yes, yes, yes here have it] Xu Yun nodded while handing over 30Ding Notes to the Coachman, This was 30000 times costlier than back in the game. [Alright get in, your the last person joining] he said after pushing his transparent Chi into the bag and found it complete before muttering [I say kids this days, all going out to Jianghu and carrying maids...haaa perhaps I''m really getting old.] ____________________________________ Wanderers valley Sect (Bliss Valley) at the Same time, an Elder along with an inner core disciple stood before an array with solemn looks on their faces. Finally the disciple couldn''t help but ask, [Elder, you said this person has the ancestors recommendation token that allows him join the inner core disciples directly??] A youth donned in a deep Purple Chang pao with wide sleeves and a long Black hair was asking the Sect Elder standing next to him. The Elder had a Black and Purple Chang pao which signified the inner court Elder apparel with a head covered in Grey hairs and a long beard. Hearing the youth''s Question he just nodded with a "hmm" as he stroke Beards. On getting a confirmation, the youth sucked in cold breath. ___________________________________________ Back in Chengdu Xu Yun Had boarded the carriage and found that it was Quite spacious with about 6 other youngsters. with the addition of him and the Twins, they were now 9. 2 were male while the other 4 were females. on the right hand side of the carriage, a Boy that looked like he was 15 or 16 with Black rough hair that looked like black flames, a trait of the Lu Clan in Suzhou. he sat there along with his maid whom seemed to be around 18-20 years of age. While the one sitting opposite Xu Yun was a young Girl of 15 that had her hair packed into a bun with a Jade needle, She had a tiny black birth mark just below her left eye. She a Navy blue pien fu (A/N : Traditional clothes for ceremonies). Although he couldn''t tell where she was from, he could tell she''s from a well to do place. She had a male Guard sitting next to her, he short Black hair which covered his left eye and he looked to be at Around 20 years of age. On his left, Sat 2 females with their faces covered with veils, They were dressed in Blue and yellow respectively. The one in Blue looked older and Matured while the other looked younger. They seemed to be most likely sisters too. No one spoke, everyone watched the other with both curiosity and suspicion. majority of their attention was on Xu Yun''s Group, all of a sudden the Man''s Voice was heard from outside [Alright!, I guess that''s all for this year.] Then he lifted the wooden stool he used to sit and his drinks in order to head to the driver''s sit when they could hear a Voice of Distress. [WAAAAAAAIIIIIITTTTTT!!!!!] The Coachman stopped in his tracks as he stared at the Direction of the voice with squinted eyes, [WAAAAAIIIIITTTT!!!] A boy 16 in commoner clothes came running from the direction of Qiandeng Town, also known as the forgotten ones by the players. because it was treated as a Ghost town, literally no one went there besides those who want to farm without having to fight for space and so on. doesn''t mean it was safe but it was a far Cry from what happened at big cities. Once again the Voice came, [Wwwwaaaaiiittt] though this time it was closer. The irritated Coachman hurriedly said [ ALRIGHT!! alright!! we get it already, do you see us moving? Was your head kicked by a donkey???...]. out of breath, the boy only brought out his Golden recommendation token from within his clothes and the Coachman was dumbstruck with his eyes wide open before he immediately switched gears, [Ah...why didn''t you say so earlier young master, right this way...There is a lot of Space, Do you need water?? Here, have some... oh my!! I''m so sorry that was wine...here...] Even Xu Yun was Surprised because that was the highest kind of token one can get, only handed down by anyone who had or was a Sect master. Surprised by the change in treatment, the boy seemed lost. But got on the carriage none the less, and what welcomed him were nine pair of eyes all focused on him. [Please excuse me] he asked the two veiled ladies and they made space for him. The Lu Clan kid was already started looking at the boy like he was a rival as he tried to use his eyes to dig out all of the secrets in the Boy''s body. "Hmm, I wonder why he didn''t give me such a reaction." Xu Yun thought about but shrugged at the end. Finally the Coachman was done packing before he sat on the Driver''s sit and immediately began to gather Chi around his fists as violent winds picked up around the carriage. Every one was shocked by this phenomenon, well except Xu Yun as he already knew the man had a high cultivation. But his face changed when he felt the pattern at which the Chi moved was familiar. It reminded him of a familiar array back in the game but he just couldn''t remember which one. He kept thinking till the old coachman was almost done and Xu Yun seemed to mutter the words at the same time the Coachman said [Teleportation Array] and everything seemed to distort just as they all looked at Xu Yun who was being hit by Nostalgia. They all had pale faces while the Boy who arrived last directly vomited. The only normal one was Xu Yun, this made every one look at him Strangely. Back in the game everyone knew that If you fight against the distortion and the rough movement, there would be more retaliation from it, so the best way was to relax and enjoy it somehow. [alright people, we are here... come on down.] The Coachman''s voice suddenly rang out as he opened the door with a Grin. this was his favorite part, seeing their faces after experiencing the array. But the First face he saw was Xu Yun''s as he casually came down with the short stairs. [Ah! I''m finally here!! ] Xu Yun spoke quietly while releasing a breath of relief. He Could see the four serpent statues in the distance and the Massive structures that surrounded it. The volcano on the left, a sea of purple flowers carpeted the area they stopped at, and a Tavern layed in front of them. [Alright! See you all...some day, maybe!!!] The Coachman said as he disappeared immediately with his Carriage. Now they all saw what it looked like from the outside, Mind Blowing was the word that could describe it. After a few minutes of just staring at the now empty space, the Lu kid spoke as he glared at the other boy, as though telling him to try challenge him [Why don''t we go to the tavern and ask for directions]. No one said a thing as they followed behind him. 33 Chapter 27: Serpents again Wanderer''s Valley is one of the Eight Great Schools in Age of Wushu. The acolytes of the Wanderer''s Valley are known as amoral, secretive and sinister. Their art focuses on the use of cunning tricks, poisons, and their vicious mastery of dark chi. The creator of Wanderer''s Valley was a Divinator with an unpredictable temperament. He established Wanderer''s Valley secretly after he knew he would not live past the age of 45. He began to recruit infamous people of the Empire to join the Wanderer''s. Nobody fully understands Wanderer''s Valley, as the members of the school are very secretive. While Wudang and Shaolin are considered official members of Wulin, the people of Wanderer''s Valley are considered exiled members of Wulin. Most people don''t know where their skills come from. They do things according to their own wishes without leaving any trace. The people of Wanderer''s Valley use poisons, hidden weapons, and even sneak attacks; sabotage is normal for them. In Age of Wushu, the skills used by Wanderer''s Valley are clean and efficient, while their skills cannot compare with deep cultivated internal forces. The Wanderer''s Valley have strong control abilities, and many attacks that can absorb HP. They are excellent at controlling enemies in PvE battles. In PVP, especially 1V1, Wanderer''s Valley players focus on finishing battles quickly because of their low HP. This is a great class for players who like a challenge. The Wanderer''s Valley have good Immobilization Abilities that are useful in the Forbidden Instance which makes them invaluable. Outside Bliss Valley, one of the eight great sects of the present era, Xu Yun stood with a White trimmed black Han Fu . Next to him stood The Twins along with the other youths, The Lu Clan kid already takes himself as the leader even though what everyone does was ignore him. Across from Them was an unconvinced and dissatisfied Elder Dou Hualun who was taked with picking them up from the Inn. As he led them to the sect grounds with the Youth of about 20 years that came with him. The youth looked familiar but Xu Yun couldn''t remember where exactly he had seen him. Dou Hualun is One of the most Notable people in wanderer''s valley. He was a former Beggar''s Sect member, who was expelled for practicing evil martial arts. He is narrowminded and remembers anyone who has wronged him. This made him number 15 among the Top 100 most hated NPC. [Hmph, To think we only got this much this year, it means the other people Chose the other schools or those old monsters are getting better at poaching.] He Stated more to himself than to others as he headed towards the stairs. Xu Yun stared at the youth and Finally remembered the Npc. He saw this youth when he was Stuck at a garden during one of his Spy mission. when he thought back to the incident, he couldn''t help but smile. "So this is what he looked like without the make up on." #Flask Back beginning. ________________________ During that day Xu Yun had been trying to escape the patrol and was running on one of the Giant walls surrounding the Sect, Then he spotted this youth along with the Eunuch Yin Feng eating each others faces. they had their faces powdered up to look pretty as the Eunuch acted coquettishly towards the youth. All of a sudden the Eunuch turned his behind towards this youth. this made Xu Yun fall off the Wall into the garden like a dead crow from the sky because it felt like his brain shut down, Fortunately it was around this time the patrol sniped out of his dazed state ending his misery. Oh how he cussed the developers back then for tainting his precious eyes. It has to be known that, at that time the youth was not much older than his present look and the Eunuch was around 43. #Flash Back end. _____________________________________ Yin Feng: A former eunuch with unusual arrogance, his parents died from political persecution. He doesn''t trust anyone. ,_,____________________________________ The youth was struck speechless seeing this ''Young miss'' looking and smiling at him, beads of sweat could be seen falling down his forehead as He even began to think of ways to avoid her. (A/N: if our Master knew what this youth was thinking...) Xu Yun saw his facial reaction and simply nodded. Folding his hands behind his back, he leisurely turned and looked at the Elderly Dou Hualun leading them. The Lu Clan kid saw the scene between Xu Yun and the Youth that accompanied the Elder which he immediately misunderstood it as the youth flirting with his woman. He had chosen all the ladies back at the carriage to be his women especially those ones that entered with beautiful white hair, Even though they haven''t spoken he was sure he could get them with his charms, yet this youth had the guts to look at them!. His personal maid simply looked at him and sighed in her heart saying "Young Master is at it again." Elder Dou Hualun Climbed the Massive stairs of the sect while still lost in thought. Walking along amidst the group, Xu Yun''s casual attitudes he displayed earlier had already disappeared without a trace. His expression had become completely cold and serious as Three red dots appeared on his mini map. At first glance, he couldn''t see a Thing in front of them, so he looked at the map again and could only come up with one possibility. They were right above them...! Unlike the calm and steady demeanor he had, the girl with Jade hair pin was also looking around suspiciously. He then looked at the Direction in the air that was showing on the Map as he activated his his eyes suddenly grew slits and glowed purple. Immediately, he saw them! This was the Chi signature of the serpents group. ____________________________________________ Up in the Sky three Men were waiting with their Flying Mount while one of them who was proficient in illusions was hiding them from view. They had been on this location for days waiting for the Girl to show up but when they finally got her in sight they suddenly felt a strong killing intent directed onto them. Looking closely they saw a 15 year old with Violet pupils Staring directly at them and they slivered, Because it felt like they were being watched by a predator. Finally he looked away, and they could finally breathe. Quickly they left that place to come find her when their group was separated. But the truth behind his current state was¡­ He was absolutely stupefied. "Did they follow me here??! No seems unlikely." Xu Yun muttered to himself. As he turned to look at the Girl with the Jade pin. "Most Likely her." Elder Dou Hualun looked at the Direction of the running serpents and then at Xu Yun before saying [Interesting!! hehehe.] Xu Yun knew they weren''t here for him because his shadow Xu San would have told him if Qiu Xia got new of people being dispatched against him. [I guess I''ll have to do some digging.] [Master, We could go get Information on their location.] Xu Yun slightly slowed his pace, [one of you can go but wait for the appropriate moment to slip away... ] But¡­ something didn''t seem right. "Master, there is one more thing-" Xu Wu had wanted to say something else, but her words were suddenly cut off. A middle-aged man with a heavily profound Chi walked towards them. Each step seemed to shake the world around him. Once he neared, he and Dou Hualun exchanged proper etiquette. The middle-aged man said with a slight smile, [It seems this years harvest for inner core disciples was really bad. Perhaps we''ll get better specimens from the outer court Hahaha. ] Dou Hualun smiled and replied, [Not every outer court Disciple would be like you, and you don''t have to do this every year and repeat the same lines...it makes it seem like you''re jobless] The middle aged man''s mouth twitched said, [These days, abnormalities have surfaced in the Pit. Therefore, we are preparing to send someone to investigate, namely some younger generation disciples. It so happens that the Great sects youth competition is just around the corner; the sect Should send this Nine to join us ranked disciples along to give them an opportunity to Show their worth, after all we can''t have trash coming through the back door.] He stared at them with eyes full of Disdain and arrogance. This youths in front of him were said to possess extraordinary talent. But to him it was a whole bunch of trash riding the coattails of their families to avoid the examination. he was a well known figure Who was an acknowledged leader amongst those of his age, the pride of outer Court. Only real geniuses among geniuses can fight their way out of the Outer court into the inner core and then end up an Elder, those geniuses that stood out the most prominently above the heads of the other members of their generation. in the inner circle of the Eight great sects he believed none could compare to him. They were evildoers, freaks, and people who stood so far above the masses they no longer seemed human. [Since You have Some ''important'' matters on hand, I might as well take my leave. I will naturally look after my....'' junior Disciples''.] The middle aged man continued as he looked them from up to down. Xu Yun struggled hard to restrain the Twins. On the other hand, Dou Hualun led the group further in like nothing, as they passed by other younger generation, obviously curious about who they were as greeted the Elder while conversing quietly. [Master, earlier, I wanted to tell you that This Miss has been looking our way suspiciously .] Xu Wu said while pointing towards the Lady with her chin In his opinion, he couldn''t care less, So he didn''t Bother with this information even though he was curious about her. However, in reality, He had the urge to roll his eyes at the way the Twins looked at the Girl with a glare as though she was trying to steal from them. Admittedly, the girl was undeniably a top class beauty. She was a beautiful and graceful maiden whom even a prince would desire. However, to Xu Yun, that was all she was. While her deposition was pleasing and warmed the heart, he had no particular feelings toward her. The Great Calamity he experienced during his first Life was etched in his mind. That betrayal, If he had been strong It wouldn''t have played out that way, In fact he would be the one doing the playing. Only strength was respected. Only the victor was king. But then Xu Yun had discovered that things were not as simple as they seemed. At that time, the Youth beside The Girl just whispered to her While looking his way, [Young Miss, Are you sure] to which she nodded. For some reason Xu Yun could feel a head ache coming on as he rubbed his temples. He could sense a Foreshadowing as he sighed "Haaa... not another chain Quest!. can''t the heavens just let me Grind my levels in peace???.] 34 Chapter 28: Spreading seeds. As the Group finally made it to the inner court, They looked at where they would be living from now on. The Flooring were done with what looked like concrete but was much smoother and closer to being marble. There were lots of identical Brick-like buildings painted the same but had different colored runes on various sides. The houses At the North were purple with intricate White runes while to the South had Brown runes on it''s edges and were barely visible. The eastern parts were the same but had grey runes while the west had Black ones, At the very end of this all were 4 towers that stood firmly at center of each wing. There 4 people that seemed to be in their late 30''s, except for the Lady who seemed as young as 23-25 years old. They Were waiting for them at the Central Square where most gatherings conducted in the Inner Court. There were three men and a Lady amongst them, They were looking at the approaching Elder Dou Hualun with respect. [[[[We pay respect to Elder Dou Hualun]]]] The 4 said simultaneously while Dou Hualun simply nodded as he brushed his Beards. [This are the years batch of seeds this year.] Shocked by his words, the four people could only stare blankly at the group of teenagers before they turned to the youth that accompanied the Elder. [This... Seniors, This Yang Qin was as Shocked as you are now but it is indeed as the Elder has said.] Noticing their stares, he had to say something. Immediately one of the Middle aged men Released an Outburst of Chi as he Bellowed [Ridiculous!!!, those despicable Bastards are going to far!!...they took everything and left us with thi...a few of them don''t even have cultivation yet.] Elder Dou Hualun looked at this fellow and shook his head, while a few of Xu Yun''s group frowned at how blunt he was, only Xu Yun and the Twins were unperturbed. After all they knew it was because of the system that their cultivation won''t show, until they acted. [You guys can pick from this Six, the rest are their attendance. and I''ll have you know that, this Boy with the gold Token was chosen specifically by that person.] a Tiny version of Elder Dou Hualun''s voice instructed them with Chi as their eyes suddenly lit up. They all turned towards the Boy in Raggedy clothing at the same time, giving him a big fright. Even Xu Yun and the rest turned to him after this while The Lu Clan kid gnashed his teeth. [Hmph!...This commoner Trash is stealing my limelight.] though he said this in a low tone through gritted teeth, it was heard by Xu Yun and the Twins. Xu Yun found the situation funny as he remembered those clich¨¦ situations from several novels or Manga. Finally the Man who spoke earlier began speaking again with a bit more arrogance and excessive gestures, [ My dear Brothers and sister, As the Strongest and Eldest I should be allowed to pick the disciples coming under the Northern Wing.] Hearing this made the remaining Mountain Instructors looked at him with unsightly faces as they watched him walk towards the boy. "Wang Zhen is as still overly arrogant as he was in game, he he this would be interesting... Instructor Su ling is the best choice on the long run, because She''s the one I heard grants the most freedom. Besides she would later become Stronger, Second only to the Sect master." Xu Yun watched the whole process like he was watching a play. [Wow!! Joyous innate Body!!!] Wang zhen suddenly exclaimed something that made even young master Xu shocked!. this innate Body was a type that had a default of at least 72 Acupoint unlocked, Clearly a favoured Son. The Lu Clan kid was Stunned, The one he had deemed trash had an innate Body?!!. "Looking at him now, I remember there was an NPC with that innate body . But I can''t seem to get its name despite it just being on the tip of my tongue." Xu Yun thought. [Haha Heavens!!! a hidden Gem! What''s your name, Child?] Wang zhen Excitedly said after he examined the Boy''s body with his Chi. The Boy replied shyly as he wasn''t used to this kind of attention, [Senior, this one''s name is Ye Ping.] [!!!!] Xu Yun was finally stunned, Ye ping was the head disciple for wanderer''s valley, A complete definition of an arrogant "prick". Xu Yun just couldn''t see how the Two were related, This one was a humble farm Boy while that one was an NPC that if he hadn''t been powerful would have long been killed by everybody. " Hmm, I guess his character changed because of Wang zhen " Xu Yun thought. Wang zhen began to Gloat, [My new disciple is the perfect candidate for practicing the Secret to Shared Happiness! hehehe] The remaining Instructors looked like they swallowed flies, Dou Hualun simply stood there with his eyes closed so no one knew what he was thinking. "The Secret to Shared Happiness, wanderer''s valley Third Internal inner, This internal makes Perish Blade super awesome and turns you effectively into a tank. Maybe. I don''t know anything about its actual implementation but from what can be gathered it gives a crazy amount of lifesteal." Xu Yun smirked, they were not the best PVE for nothing. "I guess it won''t hurt to learn their skills . Plus I need to become head disciple for my Sub quest." Bringing up his Quest Tab to really look closely at his Sub quest. {A faction can not be built in a day, Become Head disciple and Expand your Influence. Reward: 1 Lottery ticket, Jade green powder, + 2 in the Host''s cultivation realm. 2 Acupoint breaking manual and ????????.} System repeated the last Quest he Received recently. [yes yes we know Senior Brother Wang zhen, His cultivation would be able to soar quickly. why not let the rest of us pick our disciple.] Su Ling said sarcastically while the others simply nodded. Wang zhen gave her a disdainful glance and said to Them [I''ll now be Picking my second disciple, I mean it''s not like your strength is powerful enough for handle more than one disciples. in fact I would have taken all if it weren''t for the Sect''s rules]. [You!] Su ling was so angry that she didn''t know how to retort. According to What he said, it wasn''t a lie, only those at the Shock the World realm and above could boost more than one disciple within the Thousand Moon Array. And the 3 of them were at the Unrivaled Realm. She had uttered the words in anger, forgetting this one detail. Zheng Yuan, however, snorted and disputed Wang zhen''s words, [Although we don''t have the ability to handle it, it doesn''t mean you can just go about doing as you please, we have the right to propose and insist on you not taking any more disciples today. Moreover, us teachers Should have allowed the Students choose their masters.] After Zheng Yuan had said his piece, a bright light shone from his Body as all Three teachers released Their Chi . The pressure surrounding the area suddenly felt like a mountain was being pressed down on The group, luckily Elder Dou Hualun used his Chi to cloak them, making things bearable once more. A Massive White Chi immediately erupted from Wang Zhen as he fought against their Chi. "No wonder, he was being loud and overbearing, He''s on the Verge of another breakthrough" Dou Hualun finally opened his eyes and muttered. He didn''t say anything, after all, this was the way of Wanderer''s valley. Only the Victor sets the rules. Zheng Yuan immediately after releasing his Chi, his body became covered with a layer of Brown armor and he struck out at Wang Zhen. Zheng Yuan''s strike was powerful enough to kill A Cultivator of the same realm or crippled the person even if he escaped death. Facing this, Wang Zhen became even colder, and his words slowly came out, [Hmph, Trying to take advantage of this to kill me?? You Wish!!]. He released even more amount of White Chi and formed Two Blades, Waving both in a Wide Arc, meeting the opponent straight on as he sent out Strong wind Energy. Whooosh!! Bang!!! the other two teachers were Knocked back immediately as they made huge cracks on the now fallen House. "Boom!" Wild Chi blasts resounded as Zheng Yuan and Wang Zhen''s attack collided, and Zheng Yuan was seen staggering backward; the Brown armor protecting him dimmed considerably. [It''s not over yet!!] Zheng Yuan was not really surprised as he looked at Wang Zhen. Earlier, what Wang Zhen revealed was early stage Shock the world cultivation Realm which led Zheng Yuan to think he could take him as a pseudo Shock the world . Never would he have imagined that Wang Zhen would have broken through to a middle stage Shock the world! and was on the Verge of another breakthrough. Wang Zhen disregarded Zheng Yuan''s expression and flickered in front of him in a blink of an eye, and struck again: "Corroding poison palm!" A Greenish palm print pierced through across the short distance as the space around it cracked from the force. Face full of fear, Zheng Yuan gritted his teeth, and ruthlessness gleamed in his eyes, as he knew the strike was homing on him, he unsheathed his twin daggers and used a Wanderer''s valley martial skill From Perish Blade (A/N: A poisonous ailment explodes in the Direction of the enemy, This maneuver fills you with bloodlust, increasing the power of your Perish Blade by 100%, each stroke drawing rivers of blood. Thereafter, when you execute The Spirit Leaves the Body double sting movement you will obtain the Enhanced Endurance state.) He took rapid steps back as he made some hand gestures like he was sucking in air until he released it all with a BANG!! before he Charges through the Greenish Palm in the air, using the poison to enrich his. [Bastard!!] Wang Zhen cussed As a White light burst out from his palm forming a poisonous fog in other to welcome on Zheng Yuan. The surrounding Area exuded a strong eerie atmosphere, causing everyone to shiver involuntarily. Zheng Yuan''s Twin daggers collided with Wang Zhen''s fist. "Boom!" In the collision, Sparks continuously flew around within the Fog as the surrounding emitted Pulsions of sounds that exploded in the air. The strong wave of impact shook and repelled Zheng Yuan. Wang Zhen too staggered back. His hands were Numb as it constantly shook and everything vanished from his sight, leaving only The Staggering Zheng Yuan. While Zheng Yuan staggered, his attention was on Wang Zhen and when he noticed Wang Zhen''s hesitation, a cold sneer appeared on his face. [What?? can''t take it anymore?? I have reached the advanced stage of Perish Blades, Which is why my Cultivation had been on hold for a While now.] Zheng Yuan taunted, making Wang Zhen grit his teeth. A cruel glint flashed across Zheng Yuan''s eyes without wasting any time, Zheng Yuan flew at Wang Zhen as he used another skill from Perish Blade, His twin dagger lead his charge. (stab your enemy once, release poison force, and erode enemies in front of you) Brown poison Chi swirled fiercely around Zheng Yuan''s Body, before creating an after image as he inched closer to Wang Zhen. Suddenly, A sharp light flickered in Wang Zhen''s eyes. The White Chi blades from earlier appeared right above where Zheng Yuan was going to land and Smashed down with a powerful momentum making the Surrounding air more Turbulent. "Zheng Yuan is too dangerous for my plans, I need to end him here and now." [You''re not the only one who has gotten to the advanced stages of a skill. Have a taste of Lightning Speed Strike!] (Description Your blade''s energy is like the wind, and its smashing strike sends enemies flying as Your chi is like searing lightning through the air, cutting through those within an area of effect and banning enemies under the Shocked state from using movements for a short period and causing them to endure additional hard damage.) Wang Zhen had a condescending sneer on his face as the Chi Blades suddenly enhanced by 7 times its strength, splintering Zheng Yuan''s incoming attack. Zheng Yuan screamed, as the Chi tore through his chi armor and his body was hurled off more than ten meters away, crashing down onto the square. The students who were crowding up to watch had already fled far away in all four directions seeing Zheng Yuan being defeated by Wang Zhen before their eyes. All of them were silent as some people seemed to have gained enlightenment from both fighters while others were plain scared out of their wits. Lin xiao and Su ling''s heart trembled witnessing this scene. Su Ling was more shocked by the power behind this two people''s attacks. Nearby, Xu Yun who was watching the fighting Duo simply shook his head at Zheng Yuan''s pitiful appearance. "Doesn''t this fool know of self preservation? just because he got little success in Perish Blade, he felt he could win. Besides Perish Blade is a PVE Set, it works well only against stupid monsters, rarely does it work well in PvP. Maybe his mother dropped him as a Kid" Xu Yun Thought, Meanwhile the rest were stunned. More than ten meters away, Zheng Yuan trembled as he crawled up, eyes widened with Rage as he stared at Wang Zhen. And at this point, from a distance away, a dozen or so figures flew over, with the wind whistling behind them as their auras burst out, overwhelming those on the square. Xu Yun turned around and saw a dozen figures flying over and his vision narrowed. Sect master finally arrived!, Xu Yun attention fell on the person with the strongest aura. originated from a 40 something years old man. Xu Yun was a little surprised by how healthy he looked, but when he used his system to scan him, he knew the man only looked healthy on the outside. By this time, everyone had stopped talking. The Sect master took a look around and saw the heavily injured Zheng Yuan, he asked with a Stoic expression, [Why are you still there?? aren''t even Embarrassed?.] Zheng Yuan had yet to open his mouth when Wang Zhen said, [Sect Master, this waste wants to drag disciples with me. [Sect Master, I merely asked that he allowed the new seeds choose who to follow. but he plainly refused.] Zheng Yuan interrupted at this point, looking at Wang Zhen with visible hatred. Clearly not bothered by their explanations, he simply waved his hands as Chi lifted Xu Yun''s group and setting them to land before each Master. The Lu Clan kid ended up with Lin xiao as he expressed his dissatisfaction with his eyes but the sect Master couldn''t be bothered with a child throwing a tantrum. The Two girls ended up with Zheng Yuan but they didn''t seem bothered by it, and they also had some interest in the Twin daggers. Ye ping ended up with Wang Zhen just as before which made the latter sigh in relief. The Girl with the jade Pin and Xu Yun ended up with Su Ling, which made the latter happy that she got two new disciples. And of course Xu Yun was the happiest because he knew how powerful Su Ling would be in the future, which would help him complete his Quest. 35 Chapter 29: Bai Hes awakening. After the whole incident, The group separated with the respective Teachers. Although they were not the direct disciples of their Master, They would be living in their respective Wing of the inner court. Despite it being called the inner court, This was only the second stage of the Sect''s hierarchy System. Technically they were still pawns until they graduate into Core Disciples. In order to graduate, you''ll need lots of Contribution points to buy yourself a core disciple Badge. After 20 minutes of Flying, They finally got to the western wing under the control of Instructor Su Ling''s Chi. Now Xu Yun and the Twins could see the Black runes on the walls Clearly, there was a wide Road that led through the several buildings and a Huge water fountain at the central area, the Elegant purple roofing designs added a different kind of beauty to the place. But Clearly the buildings closer to the center had differences, they looked Better in a way that promotes some kind of status and had better Rune designs which helps in drawing Chi from the Atmosphere. Obviously improving Cultivation speed in this places would be faster. [Some Disciples graduated to become Core Disciples, So there are vacant houses but you need Strength to keep your House...If you have no cultivation, tell me now... I can make some arrangements so you don''t end up as prey for the outer court disciples looking for an easy Mark for a promotion.] Su Ling said as she looked at Xu Yun worriedly from the corner of her eyes but the Latter seemed not to have heard as he was lost in thought. He wondered if the Script stealing tradition took place in this world as well, As he reminisced how much fun the event was. [We are here, There are exactly 402 Disciples in the western wing under my Custody, you two being included. Now you Could live at the outskirts, but you would have to fight your way up the Ranking for better resources, prestige and only the Top 10 can receive guidance from me. This 10 live at the central area with denser Chi, So if you want a great life here, aim for that area.] Su Ling explained as she used Chi to place the group on the ground in front of the very last 2 houses. [Here Strength speaks Volumes, So do your best to get to the top, Till then...] She said with clenched fists as if she was reassuring herself before she vanished. The Girl with the jade Pin and her body turned towards Xu Yun''s party, She looked at him with a complicated look on her face before bowing, [Thank you for Earlier]. [Young Miss!!!] The bodyguard Protested but was too late. "oh?it was indeed her they were looking for" Xu Yun thought before he replied with a pensive expression, [There is no need for thanks. Feel free to pick a House of your choice, I''m going for a walk.] before heading to explore the Rest of the place accompanied by the Twins. The guard frowned but didn''t say anything while She watched Xu Yun''s retreating figure. As they got to a distance, Xu Yun said without turning back [Wu er, Find those snakes while your sister goes look for this pit and be sure to return by Nightfall.] They replied together as they both faded from plane sight along with their voice [[We Obey!!.]] Meanwhile, Xu Yun kept walking like nothing happened, after he walked for a while, he some students as he began to look through their status. Majority were in the peak of power Realm while the rest were in the Enlightened Virtuoso Realm which was impressive for their age. Looking at their equipment he could see that some had gears rated as gold by the system. as he took a left turn towards the central area he saw an infallible martial arts Master who only glanced at him and ignored him. Looking at thing he could believe what Some say, that a few disciples born in the sect would use precious pills from birth to strengthen their bodies. Before reaching 10 years of age, they had already broken through the 1st level of the Flows with Chi, gaining a certain advantage compared to others. At the starting line, Xu Yun was already separated far ahead of them because of the system. Half an hour later, He found the central training ground not too far from the central area, He slowly approached the entrance. At the field, some of the sect disciples slowly but steadily came, and some laughed and played with one another, Different cliques were long formed. However, when their visions landed on the approaching Xu Yun, some eyes suddenly became cold, and some showed disdain or curiosity while some had Lustful looks on their faces. This attitude wasn''t just pointed at Xu Yun alone. The Inner court disciples looked down upon everyone who came from the with a recommendation, unless you prove yourself. For those who had disdain on their faces, He decided to use them as Scape goats. While Xu Yun walked passed them, they felt a certain amount of power! that suddenly forced them to their knees as it seemed like they bowed to him as he passed by. When he did this, Xu Yun was thinking, Since he needed to increase his influence there was no need to hide his Strength. This way would be much faster, lost in his thoughts, He had forgotten the ones he made kneel. A sound came whistling from his back: [Bastard! Stop there!] Boom! The one who Spoke suddenly dropped to his Knees the moment he was done speaking as Xu Yun stopped his steps and silence covered the entire training field. You could literally see the veins popping from the arms and faces of this people as they Struggled to break Free from the pressure. Xu Yun turned back with a poker face, [Did you say something??!] Boom!! The pressure increased, pressing them to a lying position. While Xu Yun didn''t even look like he was the one doing this. he had only used an only 40% of his strength and yet this paper tigers could barely hold up. A hand as strong as a rock hit him hard on the shoulder. [ you Should Stop¡­.] Boom! Before the person could finish, he was caught off Guard as he was forced to his knees as well and coughed blood. Luckily, his Inner cultivation technique were good so he steadied himself a bit as he struggled to Stand. The guy who came was a youth dressed in black. His body was fit and muscular, and he had thick eyebrows. His eyes had a tinge of playfulness inside of them as he looked upon Xu Yun who was watching him amusedly. [I''m sorry Brother!hahaha I just felt sorry for them, I didn''t mean to anger you!.] The youth managed to say and the pressure immediately disappeared, as he began to laugh at himself. When Xu Yun saw this, he was forced to smile as well immediately releasing the others. This fellow was just amusing, His laughter was the kind that made one want to join him. [I''m Qin Feng, Nice to meet you] The youth finally said after calming down. [Xu Yun...] Xu Yun replied curtly, before noticing movements behind him. Because He was looking at those who were struggling to stand up from the corner of his eyes, He looked like a Like an Emperor who had granted his disloyal minister a second chance. Some of The surrounding girls had flushed faces while some males were dissatisfied with him but didn''t dare show it. The one who called him a "bastard", was known as a person who took revenge at every possible opportunity, So Qin Feng wanted to stop Xu Yun but the damage was done. His Name was Cao Xin, Number 23 on the Ranking List. Glaring Daggers at Xu Yun he said [This isn''t over!] before leaving with his posse making Xu Yun raise an eyebrow while watching him leave. [Brother With your strength, if you don''t need to take him seriously but watch out for the one behind him as you have made them lose face.] Qin Feng said solemnly, nothing like the joker from earlier. [did you see that? they didn''t even need to exchange moves!! If they fight straight on, that person might wreck them!] - The disciples nearby said, After witnessing the show. Most people did not care about what happened, so they spoke without restraint. In fact some were overjoyed. [ Hahaha...I got to see a day Cao Xin turned tail and Run] a disciple raised his head and laughed with a look of disdain on his face. [You are amazing Brother. They all looked down on people, Cao Xin was beat this easily, And to think I heard him bragging on how he will only need one move! to teach the new disciples their place] Another disciple laughed out. Only need one move! The disciples who were present Laughed so hard they held their belly and their faces turned red. [ hahaha there wasn''t even a move but he was kissing the Floor, hahaha.] Qin Feng''s eyebrows crunched up and his face changed. The worry in his heart also rose again. Cao Xin really would not let this go and That was true. This was a humiliation! Facing Qin Feng''s Worried eyes, Xu Yun calmed him down and thought, "I Should investigate that fellow. It seems I need to find out more information on the inner workings of the inner court. through this, I will be able to get everyone within my grasp." Having been at the Wanderers valley sect for half a day, Xu Yun had very limited information besides the information that leaked out back in the game and those that everyone knew. he knew nothing else, a few times he had heard their players talk about things but that was it. "I am quite interested in this fellow, he would make a good follower. Let me watch him for a few days before I can decide what his role will be." Xu Yun''s face was expressionless and he then left after saying goodbye to Qin Feng. His behaviour made Qin Feng who was the same age, Respect him. Not far away Cao Xin''s eyes gave off a cold and cunning feel as he made his way to the central area. Qin Feng''s head Shook once more, and thought: "It''s not like this concerns me, and I''m sure Cao Xin isn''t going letting me off the hook once his done with This Xu Yun." After leaving the Training field, Xu Yun returned to the only remaining house. Since He managed to enter the sect, he could now see how Ava was doing and entered his room. Xu Yun''s eyes were dim as he focused on the smaller screen before suffering a momentary darkness of 2 sec. Now he was at an Inn in Luoyang, next to him sat Xu yi. they were 2 weeks away from the northern dessert , and if he doubled his efforts, there was a 60 percent chance of reaching there in one week but there was no need to rush. After staying silent for a long time, He wiped the corner of his mouth and spoke softly: [Xu yi, it''s Surprising you would be drinking wine... I expected you to be a tea person.] He was first shocked, Before he tried to bow immediately but was stopped by Xu Yun, [You don''t need to do that! how much have you guys been teaching Ava??... don''t answer that, If you pass Suzhou help me look for new on twilight Village.] Xu yi nodded his head. "Boom!" Suddenly, thunder and lightning howled in the sky and it started raining outside. Xu Yun stared at the Sky through the window, He hated the rain, it reminded him of that Night... he still had Nightmares of that night he was killed, The look on Terry''s eyes. At this time, the lightning shone everywhere, making Xu Yun''s face light up as a tear drop unconsciously fell from his eye. He felt it roll down from one of his eyes, and so, as he looked up he was shocked by what he saw. Ava''s Hand moved on its own and wiped away his tear as though to console him. [Thank you Ava]He simply said. At that short moment, the Rain increased above seemed to be under some kind of power. "Pah! Dah! Pah! Dah!" Xu Yun drummed a tune with his fingers, Ava''s Long Raven black hair and clothes of pure black created an ethereal picture of a Lonely Girl who misses home within the inn and thunder rang in his ears nonstop like an ever playing background music. The whole world suddenly went dead silent as the other customers kept glancing at the Girl by the window. "Peng! Dah! Peng!" He kept on drumming along with an otherworldly beat, giving off a thumping sound as he stared outside. Suddenly He felt a Heart beat from the depths of his Soul, beating in sync with the tune he was playing. his heart Sped up as he could feel what it was... Bai He has awakened...! 36 Chapter 30: This ... Xu Yun rejoiced because he could feel Movement within his Soul space, he immediately switched back his consciousness back to his Main body. Within his room, He set up an Isolation barrier around the house with the help of the System, Not long After appeared a Formation on the floor in front of him that began to Suck in a lot of Chi, Its swirled around as his white hair floated in the air. "Amazing. Just how powerful must she be, to actually need this much Chi. and what is this Formation?. hmm I guess there''s more to the game back then that I didn''t Know of, is this a Formation..." As he rejoiced though, he also sank into deep contemplation. He felt that the Formation that currently appeared before him was not simple because of the amount of Chi it was taking just to Summon Bai he. "That''s right, System!, System you had mentioned Soul contract back at the cave, can you explain what is going on??" Xu Yun requested in his mind. {Soul contract is a kind of agreement placed between a Human and a Magic Beast, turning the Magic Beast into a Soul Beast, Granting both parties different benefit in Combat. Host can also define it as a pet system, When one of them Dies, The other follows after. Either one can also decide to break the contract at the expense of losing a part of his Soul, But This Severely Damages the Soul Beast as it would begin to Die slowly unless they choose to Contract someone else Before taking time to recuperate.} The System explained extensively as they waited for the Formation to Finish the Summoning. Listening to a point, Xu Yun was in a predicament again, Although he knew that Bai he was now his Soul Beast, He couldn''t help but Shiver as he remembered that Massive Frame during the Instance. He felt that she might not be too happy about being forcefully Contracted, although it was done By Wu Xun. He knew that She might not necessarily be loyal to him. "Haaa Whatever, since its already Done, I''ll just deal with things as they come for now." {Ding! Summoning Complete...} As the Chi became more Violent and began Rocking even the isolation barrier itself, forcing Xu Yun to inject his own Chi into it in order to stabilize the barrier. He couldn''t let any of this leak out for now. All of a Sudden the Chi in the surrounding area outside seemed to be none existent, Disciples that had been cultivating couldn''t help but frown. At this time, Xu Yun was staring at the younger version of the Beauty he saw with Wu Xun, Her Raven black hair that flowed down to her waist showing a stark contrast with her pale White skin, She had thin eyebrows along with red full lips with a tiny Purple Crystal at Center of her forehead. And Above all, The reason Xu Yun was staring blankly, Bai he was Completely Naked as a new born. Her eyes were still closed as Xu Yun struggled to sport a poker face, but the slight Blush on his cheek gave him away. [How long do you plan on Looking??] Bai He''s sultry voice sounded out in his head as she abruptly opened her eyes to stare at him. Xu Yun spaced for a second after hearing this before clearing his throat and asking, [Kuhum! Kuhum! How are you feeling?] Bai He looked her body over with her Violet pupils different from Ava''s blood red ones, She now looked no older than 16 due to her master''s present age. She then looked around the room before walking towards the bed and used the Sheets to wrap around herself neatly. Then Her Soft sultry voice sounded out through her own lips this time [I feel fine, Thanks to your soul space...] Then She paused and looked at Xu Yun, While She had been healing, Her connection with his Soul had let her see some of the memories of her Master''s Soul. Presently She Knew that he wasn''t so ordinary and She saw a few things while some memories seemed rather blurry and Vague. What he had experienced, His feelings and how he was trying to change himself all reminded her of herself during her earlier years. With a Sigh she then said [Haaa...You Should find me Some clothes.] [Aha, Kuhum...yo...your right, I''ll be back in a bit] Xu Yun replied as he did not hesitate as he dashed out of the room. stepping out, he was welcomed by the Fresh evening breeze. He then opened the System shop as he stepped outside while taking a Stroll, intent on Looking up some clothes. After a scrolling through a few pages, he Bought a white pien fu dress and a white fur mink coat with 2 different other outfits also with the White color as he didn''t know if she liked any other color. It had to be said that his taste in clothes was quite nice. However, he did not know the reason why he felt that Bai He was more Amiable than he had imagined. However, a short while after he bought the Clothes , Xu Yun felt two waves of powerful Chi. One came from the central area, The other came from the instructor''s tower. With his mini map he instantly located them but they went down again, This piqued his curiosity as to who the central area Chi belonged to. it seems like someone there just had a break through. The other was from the instructor, with this in mind he began to think and wonder if there was a connection. However, it did not bother him too much. Xu Yun got more and more calm because he knew he didn''t have room for mistakes, and he was currently Thinking of a way to gain popularity quickly. He Gradually made his way back to his room and he could feel a mysterious Aura subtly leaking from the Girl with the jade Pin''s room. "This is weird! This Aura feels Familiar" At the end, Xu Yun quickly Came to a halt as he Tried to remember where he had felt this before. After a few seconds he still couldn''t remember anything, with a thought, He cast his own awareness into the System and he wanted to look at his Soul space. "Beautiful." At that instant, Xu Yun could clearly see within his vast Soul Space, a large Space was at the center as its sky was dyed Aqua Blue and the Center was surrounded by vast plains White cloud like gases were floating in the air. That gas was very beautiful. It was like Dreamy Clouds at an Early morning Sky yet it emitted a peaceful Aura. This was the first time he looked at his Soul space in detail, the Whole Space Was a picture of tranquility. "What are you thinking? You''re not going to come in, I can sense you, you know...I need the clothes" Just as Xu Yun was mesmerized, a Sultry voice suddenly rang out in his head. [Eh...coming!] Xu Yun was restless around her that his body was trembling a bit. An Awkward smile was plastered on his tender face. After he stepped into the House, he had a Blank Look on his face. In the middle of the Room, Bai He was sitting Seductively on his bed wrapped in his bed sheet as her long black hair sprawled on the Curves of her Body. It took a lot of his mental Strength to not react in any way, still the Damn! Succubus made an Oh?? sound and Revealed her snow white shoulders while tilting her Swan like neck ever so slowly and her straight, long, beautiful legs began peeking out of the Sheets. Her demonic figure Seemed even more captivating that before. On her sweet face was a pair of pretty eyes, and at that that instant, they curved to form two beautiful crescent moons. She was currently staring at Xu Yun with a smirk. [You can stop pretending to be a kid, Your soul is older than you look...] She giggled amusedly because of his shocked reaction. However, Xu Yun could not even speak. While He stood there for a bit, he could only ask with wide eyes [You know??] , He was genuinely surprised by this... He began to wonder how much she knew. Though he soon wore an expressionless face, his mind was in chaos as he took in the alluring girl''s expressions but she still had her teasing smile. His voice cracked a bit as he Asked, [How much did you see??] While being stared at by Xu Yun, a hint of a mischievous smile emerged onto her face. However, she did not Deceive him and told him the truth, [It''s not enough ah!!, Most of it was blurry but you have to tell me about your past life.] She said a bit excitedly. At that instant, Xu Yun was aware that she didn''t know about the system. As he calmed down, He nodded as he tossed her the clothes, everything was packaged by the system, so he was sure they all came with underwear and the like. Then he smiled saying, [Get Dressed, ill be outside] before heading out. The uneasiness on his face was gone, what he understood from his discussion with the beautiful creature was she wasn''t angry about the whole situation, with a Smile he thought to himself while shaking his head, "This is gonna be hard" Ding! {Triggered mirewards Submission 1(grade B) : Sabotage the traps laid at the pit by unknown forces during the upcoming Expedition! Reward: 10000Qcp + 1 Level +300 faction points! Lottery ticket+1 Failure: -2 levels Fatal soul injury for a Month!. Submission 2(Grade A): Kill unknown force leader Quietly and earn the following rewards -Land deed -Ancient Taichi Fragment -Lottery tickets ¡Á2 ____________________________,,_______________ All this Had been triggered by Xu Si who had left for the Direction of the pit. Though it was towards the hours of the evening, it was Dark at the pit, just like an everlasting Night governed the area. As the night like weather continued on, the darkness had become more and more concentrated. There was a shadow that was quickly leaping across the forest. Xu Si suddenly sensed something in the distance far away. She noticed that there were shadows moving near the cliff few kilometres away. She slightly frowned, and waved her right hand as A shadow appeared in the air and flew towards the forest. The Shadow spirit is unable to go into battle, however, the Shadow spirit can be used as a reconnaissance which is very useful sometimes. however, the Shadow Spirit can conceal its traces. Therefore, it''s extremely suitable for spying and identifying terrains. The Shadow Spirit soon found several figures far away. Through the Shadow Spirit''s eyes, Xu Si can clearly see three people wearing black robes, hiding within the forest. Xu Si controlled the Shadow Spirit, hiding it within the Shadow of one of this mysterious people. Marking the location of these people. These people are currently chatting among themselves. [This Wanderer''s valley brats, still have Thoughts of joining the competition.] ... 37 Chapter 31: [We have to be careful, there are still several experts within the Valley, If we come across them, we''ll definitely die even if the others are coming!] ??? [Are you sure that their inner court brats Will be coming here for their tests in a few days?] questioned ????. [Of course, I have already checked it during the day. Those brats are to be tested here before the main competition, we can kill them here without the high level experts noticing.] Through the hearing of Shadow Spirit , Xu si heard their conversation. Her brows slightly frowned, ''Are these people from other schools?''. From the looks of it, these three people are intending on going after the inner court disciples chosen for the competition. However, these three people should only be at the infallible to grand Master realm except for the last one who''s unreadable. One of the person''s voices seems familiar to Xu si. She suddenly remembered. The middle aged man from earlier. After the encounter in Bliss Valley, Xu si had unconsciously memorised this person''s voice in her brain. Luckily, those that came are all only at this realm because it seems unlikely that the middle aged man would act on that day. "I better go and notify Master." Xu Si thought for awhile, Before she began heading towards the school ground after calling back her Shadow Spirit. Xu si''s eyes flashed a trace of Excitement within them. she just couldn''t wait to be complimented by Her Master. As she was running away, She felt something was slightly off. her master warned her not to ignore this kind of feelings so She carefully hid her figure, not long after 2 cultivators slowly approached where she was just running passed. [See? I told you no one was here and you insisted, now look how you wasted our time.] one of the 2 complained. [this makes no sense, I could have sworn I saw someone.] [Hmph!...] They searched for a bit before they decided to go in the Direction those three men were currently positioned. Although the opponent''s strength is strong. They couldn''t find someone hidden in a tree''s Shadow, after all it didn''t make any sense. [What''s going on?] the Wanderers valley Deacon suddenly felt something strange as he noticed the approaching duo. [Venerable Deacon, Lords, we noticed some strange movements earlier but when we got there it suddenly vanished] one of the duo spoke after a slight bow. The Grandmaster was annoyed and reprimanded them [Then what are you even reporting, you both left your patrol point and came to report that your not sure you saw someone?, OK lets say there''s actually someone would they stay there and await your return???you fools.] The Duo suddenly appeared stunned which annoyed the man further as he began beating them up with a flurry of punches and kicks. [[MERCY!!!HALL MASTER!!!MERCY]] the Duo screamed in sync, obviously used to this situation. The Deacon look at them in disdain when the Hall Master was done, [Venerable Deacon, I have shown you something embarrassing.] [No matter, No matter] He replied with a casual wave of his hand, [I just hope your people won''t disappoint us.] [Rest assured, Deacon those Brats won''t know what hit them] The Hall Master once again assured him before the Wanderers valley Deacon left, Jumping from Tree to tree with an unbelievable speed. ______________________________ As he made his way towards the Sect, he suddenly got a very weird feeling. Like something is currently behind, spying on him. Although this kind of feeling is very vague, he can''t find the source of it. "hmm or Did I sense it wrong?" Wanderer Valley Deacon slightly frowned. He then rotated his cultivation Chi, as white smoke appeared over his body out of the thin air. That chill filled gaze of his coldly glanced around the woods. hiding within the shadows Further apart from this present location, Xu si was startled but She was finally able to sense the range his cultivation was. She controlled her Shadow Spirit, making it also hide within the tree''s Shadow, as she slowly made it return to her. Her distance with the Wanderers valley Deacon was around 100-120 meters away. This made it difficult for the Deacon to notice her, after he doesn''t have a Domain yet. After a few minutes the Wanderers valley Deacon felt relieved and thought, "Perhaps I''m thinking too much." Regarding this matter, it''s still rather dangerous working with this people due to his present identity, So he is unwilling to risk himself despite it being an order. Xu si felt a little relieved, thinking ''at least I''ll have enough information to give Master.'' However, She still had to escape the pit quickly without making herself known to the Deacon. Her choice was to remain in the Shadow realm while heading towards the Sect while keeping her distance from him. The Wanderers valley Deacon slowed down his pace. With his current strength, dealing with any surprise would be easy and if it comes to worst, he''d be able to escape but if rushed into a sneak attack things might be too difficult. However, this decision only served to help Xu Si gain more distance between them. She used Her Shadow Spirit in observing the surrounding as she moved. This was an innate ability Twin Shadows get after breaking through into the infallible martial arts Master realm, It had no combat ability besides its fast movement speed, Sharp eyesight and hearing, another downside besides its inability to do Damage is that once damaged, it reflects the Damage to the original body So one has to be careful when making use of it. Under Her control, the Shadow Spirit turned moved from Tree to tree following the Deacon back and watching his every move, She soon found out the Deacon''s sensory range and made sure not to let Shadow Spirit enter within 45 metres of him. with the Shadow Spirit, She looked at the not so far away Deacon, and a corner of her mouth curled up. "What''s going on?" After The Deacon rushed towards the Sect , he suddenly felt Something dangerous staring at him. He stood still, while suspiciously looking at his surroundings. Within the silent night, other than the rustling of trees caused by a breeze, there was no other movements. "I''m probably thinking too much," He laughed to himself, and continued to move forward. He slowed his pace, thinking to himself that this was simply not normal, this was the second time he felt it. The Deacon suddenly had a thought that sent a shiver down his spine, if whatever was looking at him with Killing intent could escape his senses then its Definitely a Higher leveled creature. He immediately hastened his Pace. Xu Si could only laugh softly seeing this, all she did was use the Spirit to poke its head within his 45 meters sensory range and quietly release killing intent before diving back into the Shadows. After a about 50secs, she repeated the same thing making our venerable Deacon very restless. Meanwhile She had arrived within Sect Grounds and was presently heading towards the inner court with a mischievous smile. She had already received a badge for those serving inner court disciples, so She wasn''t Stopped. Meanwhile, The Deacon Suddenly felt the same murderous intent locked onto himself, a sense of crisis pierced through his heart as it Seemed Closer this time. He was surprised, suddenly turned himself around and threw out a leisure kick. However, this kick did not land on anything. There was no one behind him. "What exactly is going on?" Liu Qing felt an endless chill in his heart. He clearly felt a murderous intent, but when he turned back, he did not find anything. He immediately switched to a full blown sprint. From the start of his cultivation until now, he experienced thousands if not hundreds of Things, but he has never experienced this kind of Situation before. However, he no longer wanted to wait a to find out after all, it''s obvious the Creature was toying with him. Her Shadow Spirit lurked around the Deacon , preparing to Scare him at any point. Xu Si''s spirit was quietly following within the shadows, patiently waiting. The Deacon''s brows slightly frowned. He keenly felt that something was not right, but continued to leaped forward, He wouldn''t be the first to try and find out. He ran as he alertly inspected the surrounding woods.In the dark night, only the sounds of birds chirping could be heard in the quiet forest. He couldn''t find anything in the forest. However, He still had the terrifying feeling of being stared at, causing the fine hair on his bodies to stand up as he sweated profusely. Before long, He could see the Sect''s gates so he''d be able to call for help from this distance over. After he noticed this, he felt a bit relaxed so The Deacon frowned his brows and turned around saying, [ leave!] He''s a cautious man. Because he encountered an unexpected Situation not within his control, he''ll go back first. There was no need to take the risk but now he was in a more favorable condition. The Deacon quietly observed the surrounding again, there were no huge trees just knee length grass. Just when the Deacon relaxed, Xu si''s Shadow Spirit came out from within the Deacon''s Shadow and whispered to his ears, [Coward] and dived into the Shadows while heading towards her Bodies Direction while the Deacon''s heart tightened. [Who?!] There was someone that was actually lurking so close to Him and he had not realised it for so long! and he thought a magic or Demon Beast was toying with him. He was scared Sh!tless and Ran through the Sect gates ignoring the greetings of the Guards. If he had not exposed his cowardly nature to the mischievous Xu si, perhaps he''d have a better time Sleeping tonight. At the Same time, Xu Si had returned to the House given to Xu Yun and was excited to tell him about her Adven...Report. But was Surprised to Find a Lady in White within the House and young master Xu wasn''t around. They both stared at each other for a good while before She quietly closed the door once more and Checked the building again. When she confirmed She wasn''t Wrong, She stepped in again with a strong killing intent... 38 Chapter 32: Its Coming... Xu Si''s dagger''s blade was on Bai He''s neck. Her voice cold and chillin straight into the bones As it slowly convened the Question, [Who are you?] But Bai he simply Laughed. [Would you believe that if I were to lightly draw on your neck, you''ll be dead.] [Hahaha, your ''Devotion to your Master is indeed Admirable but Shouldn''t you pick your battles Wisely? ] Bai he did not mind what her actions and simply laughed seductively, Swoosh! With a burst of soft wind, She appeared at the other end of the Room with her left leg Crossed over the other like nothing happened. [I''m Rather Surprised, Despite knowing you won''t win, you still tried to kill me. this...hehehe I''ll bet that you haven''t told him about your feelings... Because I know exactly what kind of person you are.] Bai he''s Sultry voice resonated in the room. [Hmph, We just met and yet you claim to know me???...Okay!!! What kind of person am I then?] asked Xu Si, word by word, her eyes ferociously Stared closely at Bai he''s eyes which the latter became more amused. [You''re most likely someone that has extraordinary talent; however, you''re also someone that would do anything to please your beloved. ] From the start, Bai he understood the Girl as she had seen the look in her eyes, it was the same look She had when She would stared at Wu Xun every day. But it was this same love That hurt her the most, the constant fear of unimaginable rejection. Aside from Her beloved and a few others, the entire world would be considered your enemy. Swoosh! With another burst of Speed, Xu Si had her dagger on Bai he''s Neck. Bai he did not bother with the dagger on her neck in the slightest, and held a profound smile that was hanging on her face. Xu Si said, smiling coldly, [You are yet to Explain why you''re in my Master''s room??] Bai he Giggled suggestively. [What if¡­ Just What if, I said we were going to do it?] [So your Saying you Snuck in here to Force your way onto My Lord.] Xu Si''s tone was chilled to the extreme. [ Oh?? are you Angry?? You''re being Unreasonable, Honestly it''s not like we Can''t share him, you know. in fact this information would be loved by my Master] Bai He Shamelessly said making Xu Si blush furiously, Just imagining the Scene [Haha, so Our? Dear Si er can have such thoughts, you really Shouldn''t be so childish.] Xu Si coldly snorted and said, [Enough Nonsense How are you related to my Lord.] Bai he giggled before walking to the Bed and Crossing her legs as they eagerly peeked out of the Attire, Before Amusedly Saying, [That''s Not a problem, however, I''m still not Clear on your connection with your Lord. its like you Just appeared and its simply intriguing, After all your Lord got virtually zero support from the family or Clan, not to mention that, From his memories he barely left the House except for his Night ''walks''.] Xu Si Stared for a moment as her eyes shot out a faint light as She Threw the dagger in her hand and Dashed After it while Bai He Simply Breezed over to the Location Xu Si Just Left, laughing like She was having Fun. Everything Happened So fast that even Xu Si had to Squint her eyes At Bai he, As she pulled out the Dagger. [hehe I like your character. I''m a little interested in What you plan on Trying next. But seriously though, How did you expect me to fall for That] Bai he already predicted that Xu Si would try that. [How long do you plan on Standing there, is it till your Girl kills me?,] said Bai he with an eye roll, before bolting in The Direction of the Door, Immediately Jumping in Xu Yun''s arms as he opened the door. Xu Yun could already feel a Head ache as he could feel Xu Wu and Xu Si''s Aura''s rising. Xu Yun had been pondering in the woods awhile back as he went out to grind some Exp and was found by Xu Wu. She always seem to have a way of finding him. After hearing about her findings, The two of them hastily disappeared from the end of the forest. And here he was, in the middle of two potential nuclear bombs and a Temptress but he still managed to keep a Stoic face on. _________________________________ Beneath the Chenghu City Lord''s Mansion Lay an old Dungeon. The Smell of Rotten Flesh lingered Strongly in the air, Littered on the Floor were Several bones of different Shapes and Sizes with the ever present sounds of Rattling chains as well as the Crunching sounds of Fresh Bones. Soft grunts breaks out into the air from time to time. Within this Dark place, you could make out Three Silhouettes, One curled into a Ball at the Far End of the Corner While the other with a Massive frame was Crouching over the last person, It had been feeding on the last person. At this time, a Guard showed up with a look of Disgust as he looked at the other with a Massive frame. but then he turned towards the person in at the Corner, [S...Sir, I was asked to Tell you that y..you..your Son is No longer in Chengdu] Upon hearing this, The Man at the Corner Stood up, Completely exposing his Burly Frame. His body was riddled with l l his Disheveled Hair Stuck to his face. As he got Closer to the huge Rails the Massive Silhouette m scuttled away like it had always been the most Normal thing. [Good good good, He made it!!!...Hahahahaha!] He couldn''t control the laughter as he heard this, but it sounded like a Dying Goat instead, as the Scars on his face formed a bizarre image. _______________________________ Back In the Territory of the Wanderers valley, The Area and its many inhabitants were mostly Asleep. However during this time at the Pit, A mad frenzy had Spread amongst the demon beasts, many of them were of a higher Breed. Some fed on others, that Even their corpses were missing, no one knows exactly what kind of poison was used. The Hall had finally Brought reinforcements, Which consisted of three infallible martial arts Master rank Leaders and Two Grand master realm cultivator to make sure the plan succeeds. this individuals in turn brought hundreds of their people here as they prepared to hunt Down this Brats. After the Deacon retreated into the Main Sect Grounds. They spread their men throughout the pit and from there, they began to rebuild a small base. Thereafter, they spread the berserk powder into Air as the pit experienced countless disasters this Night. However, the ancestors didn''t respond to this things as the Deacon Promised, So they did it again and again, which is why many Creatures evolved while still in their crazed State and ended up loosing their minds. Xu Yun commanded [If the two of you don''t behave, you can always go to the Tea Forest as ''guests'', I''ll be more than happy to Assist you two.] After Xu Yun''s words, Bai he held his waist and said while smiling [You see?? this expression is interesting, right?] The Twins frowned further and Xu Yun whispered while his eyes were looking Rather scary, [Any more teasing and your returning to the Soul space], Meanwhile he was thinking "This woman schemes are very deep. I sense that she just wants them to relax a bit though." Fifteen minutes quickly passed. The Room was brand new and was all cleaned up with Xu Yun doing nothing. The Twins then proceeded in reporting their experiences to Xu Yun and the situation at the Pit took priority, just for two purposes. One was to start building a Strong influence, and the other was to participate in this event, Just because there was no Such incident happened back in the game. Also the Private Martial Arts tournament will already begin accepting registrations. Although there were more than two months before it started, Xu Yun had went to sign up early before going to the woods earlier today. Xu wu had also learnt some information along the way. Serpent''s were indeed in the Area, but they aren''t going to do anything for now, rather, they were just here to observe... 39 Chapter 33 : Two days before the Expedition to the Pit, things were going smoothly as the twins continued to take turns in scouting the movement of the Pests within the pit. Its only been two days but news of Ye Ping was already spreading along side a few others from the outer sect Exams, Though Xu yun thought it was odd that there were others with special body constitution coming into bliss valley at this timeline, he did not put it to heart. but there was one he was interested in, one that would end up being crippled by Ye Ping during the next internal tournament in the future. [Perhaps I should somehow bring him or her under my wing to put Ye ping in check]He then glanced at the high platform in the distance. Over there, a group of Outer sect disciples were circling a tall youth, and it seemed like they were talking about something with him. However, due to the large distance, Xu Yun could only faintly hear the contents of the discussion. He could faintly feel that the atmosphere was somewhat tense over there. At the same time, on the other circular high platforms, there were also quite a few groups discussing what had occurred with each other. "Senior Ma. It looks likes our days in the future won''t be easy. Haha, this year actually has three extremely talented disciples. One with an Joyous Innate Body, another with Nine Tribulation Pulses, and a Jade Boned innate Body, each one is only seen once in a hundred years. This batch of disciples is probably far more important in the master''s eyes than us." A tall, skinny, young man who was wearing a long Purple robe and had his spine situated externally on his back smiled and revealed his observations to a man next to him who exuded a chilling aura. "Hmph. Even if their talent is great, so what? Senior Yu, Senior Ah fu used to have far more talent than us but where are they now. Although our sect values individual talent, it also pushes for free competition between disciples, and has a survival of the fittest mindset. Otherwise, the yearly Small Competitions, the Big Competition, and the Life and Death Trial every three years would be a joke. Although these three Juniors have overwhelming talent, they will still need to train for a while before they can threaten us. Senior Yang or Senior Zhu will soon deal with them one way or another, they either submit or die. I just feel that Ye ping was lucky to have gotten a recommendation or he would have experience the same fate." The gloomy man closed his eyes, before replying with a cold smile. "Haha. That''s true. They always get placed within the top ten and might even move to become inner court disciples, then He would still have a taste...hahaha." After hearing that, the tall, skinny, young man laughed lightly. At the same time, on the other side of the circular high platform, two girls that were situated between a group of female Outer Sect Disciples started to discuss the same topic. "A jade boned innate body. I truly did not expect it to appear in our sect. looks like you will have a strong foe in the future. In terms of cultivation speed, you were definitely at the top. This allowed you to become an Expert of self from lacking understanding realm in four years. However, the jade boned innate body contains over thirty six broken accupoint on each meridian. This allows him to absorb heaven and earth energy several times faster than the average disciple which is probably slightly faster than you. In addition, There''s the possibility of skipping the first internal cultivation method and moving directly to the Next. Not to mention Ye ping who can directly start at the third internal cultivation method, compared to them...haa, they really know how to make one envious." An young girl in lighter shade of purple spoke lightly to a fifteen to sixteen old girl in a the same dress next to her. "Is it really that amazing? I still can''t believe that, I can''t compare to his cultivation speed. If it comes to it, I''ll just play less in the future and use more time for training." The younger girl said with a laugh, revealing some innocence. "I knew you weren''t applying your full attention to training! From now on, you will live with me. I will personally supervise your training." A girl dressed in black said slyly from behind them while revealing a beautiful smile. "Senior Zhu, please don''t¡­" The young girl''s face instantly turned miserable. .... ... In a hidden room deep within The Pit, a middle aged man had his eyes closed while sitting in an area filled with black air. Suddenly, one of the secret holes in the room opened and a piece of paper quickly flew in. "Those guys. Didn''t I say to not disrupt my cultivation unless the mission begins?" The dark shadow saw the scene and released a little blood lust. However, with a move of his hand, the piece of paper fell into his palm. He lowered his head and gave it a quick glance. "What?." After the Man looked at the paper, he was no longer angry and instead laughed out loud in happiness. The laughter shook the entire room. The dark air also started to shake violently and spread out. Faintly, an enormous green gas twirled around the room. ¡­.. Xu Yun gave a calm look past the surrounding platforms as he spotted the rest whom had come with him the day before. When the outer sect disciples saw that him and the others had come to the training grounds, they wore a face of disgust while some had even jeered lustfully. Senior Zhu in her black attire and the others on the platforms quickly came down with a gloomy expression. After that moment, a buzzing sound rang out once, signifying that the official sect''s welcoming Ceremony for the new recruits would be starting. The area was filled with thousands of people in a mix of purple and black, representing the sects color. although Inner court disciples can only use deep purple as their primary color. Elder Dou calmly gave a speech briefly without the sect master even showing up as it was pretty much a custom now for him to miss this occasion. Half a day later, as the daylight grew dim, Out of the eight different minor elders of the outer court, only six people successfully got new disciples as people seemed to avoid the other two. In addition, most of the new disciples were on the level of one with nature while the rest had barely started walking on the road of cultivation. ''the Lu clan youth seemed to have been able to consolidate his cultivation last night.'' Xu yun thought as he looked at the red haired boy. he didn''t pay much attention to any other thing after spotting the fidgeting Ye ping. Elder Dou hurriedly announced the end of the Ceremony. Immediately after, the new Inner court disciples were given priority over the new outer court disciples to enter the sect''s Martial hall to pick up some martial skills to support their practice. Soon they were led by an unknown Elder and soon arrived in front of a huge building surrounded by finely shaped green grassland, The building had a bronze plaque with Martial Hall written on it and had a solemn atmosphere. A dark air scattered in four directions of the hall as soon as the Elder pushed open the door. The Elder walked into the dark halls without a single word, prompting the disciples to follow immediately. Xu yun stood at the back alone as they were not allowed to bring the servants to this part of the sect. Immediately, they stepped in they seemed to have been ported to different place entirely. "Well...I guess I should start as well" He said with a smirk. 40 Chapter 34: Martial Hall As soon as they entered the large door, quite a few disciples took a deep cold breath. From the outside, the building looked normal, but the inside was actually a hall hundreds of feet tall and stretching acres wide. Within the hall there were hundreds of black chairs and tables. At the end of the hall there was a long ancient painting. The painting portrayed the back of a person in Black. On his head, a long purple hairpin and he had a long sword without a sheathe swung over his shoulder. He had a layer of black aura surrounding him while giving off an extremely mysterious feeling Beneath the drawing, there was a silver altar around fifty to sixty feet long. To each side, a lantern was lit. At the center, there were fifteen to sixteen golden tablets with different names written in black on them allowing it to give off a solemn feeling. After all the disciples stepped into the hall, all the oil lamps within the Hall lit up, leaving the new disciples in awe, except young master Xu who still had an indifferent look on his face. As all the youths couldn''t help but look at each other, if it were not for the solemn atmosphere in the hall, they would''ve begun to whisper secretly. They could only stand in place and wait honestly. Xu yun sized up the four corners of the huge hall, and unconsciously let his gaze fall back into the huge drawing hanging at the front. ''Shan Tianxie!...the one and only brother to the Sect master and maker of the lethal thirteen sword!'' According to his background story, He had been chasing after the leader of the palace of shifting flowers in a bid to court her. But for one thing, with his Unruly nature...there was no way Xi Chi would bother with him, not to mention that she started this faction because of her hatred for men. He was then hurt by an explosion caused by Xi Chi ''the Lunatic'', which damaged his face, so he has to wear a mask. Xu yun''s random thoughts didn''t last long since after a couple of minutes, footsteps sounded from the entrance of the hall. "Greetings Great Master!" "Stand." The Elder replied as he came in from the entrance. ''Yin Feng'' Xu yun thought as he suppressed a chuckle. "I am Yin Feng. I believe you should know me so I will not waste my time. Since all of you have joined this Sect, you will become one of us only after you begin training officially and begin to get contribution points." ''Arrogant as Ever'' Xu yun couldn''t help but think as soon as he heard this. As soon as all of the disciples settled down once more, Yin feng once again drew every ones attention. He said with a motionless expression, "Killing a fellow sect member is against our ideals, making this Our one and only rule, Breaking this is tantamount to immediate death!" The group of disciples hearts shook. "Also, our sect also splits into eight factions but I believe you know this as well" Yin feng stated Impatiently as he looked around with his powdered face "So!!...I want you to proceed forward to the Martial skill section and each select your preferred skill set." As soon as the words were out, The disciples moved under the sharp gaze of Yin feng, so Xu yun chose to play along. _________ As the new Inner court disciples spread out, Xu yun set his sights on his first target for recruitment. ''Zhu Ling'' a typical villainess character from what he remembers, Hard working? yes but very petty. She started out as an outer court disciple and has now joined the inner court and has considerable influence in the outer court. ''Well she''d do better than the others from my calculations''. Xu yun thought with a smirk as he busied herself around Zhu ling. Her first strength or flaw is her curiosity, this was probably how Ye ping got her under his wing in his quest to be head disciple. __________________ __________ Zhu Ling POV As I went about looking for a perfect cultivation skill to support my poison arts, I noticed a white haired beauty pass by me with a disinterested look on her face. "!!!" She noticed me!. ''wait...its not like I''m doing anything wrong, why am I like this.'' I thought while trying to regularise my breath. For some reason I turned to look at her once more, that was when I noticed something as a light breeze blew against her hair. ''That''s a guy?!!...how can he be so beautiful?!'' I was beyond shocked, ''wait!? what a waste, no cultivation!...recommended disciple?!'' I felt a slight disgust all of a sudden. But that thought was wiped out immediately as the ''Beautiful'' boy lightly lifted his left arm and... With three sounds of "Peng", the light barriers on the Shelf all shattered. From within the tables flew three bamboo scrolls. They all flew before him and strangely floated two feet in front of him. squinting my eyes, I saw the three words "Gecko steps" written in large purple color at the front. "!!!" Advanced lightness skill. After looking through a few pages, He then folded the scroll and placed it back in front of him. With a slight movement of his arm, He got a silver colored "Bone corrosion palm" and started looking through it. This time, he looked through over a dozen pages before placing the scroll. After thinking for a while, he nodded to himself and said: "I''ve seen that you''ve been watching me for a while, could it be that you''re interested in these two manuals or perhaps you were more interested in me?". His tone was neither gentle nor overbearing, it was more like he was stating a fact like the sky is blue. " Who''s interested in you?!" I retorted silently as I felt my face go hot, but He raised his eyebrows as though he was saying ''Do you have to lie so badly?''. "Why would I lie about such a thing? The Bone corrosion palm is one of the more important methods for my poison arts while Gecko steps is rather useful. how did you even find them" I said hurriedly while trying to cover up my embarrassment. "I''m guessing you didn''t see it because of your low cultivation." He slowly said. "If you have enough Power, you can get a high leveled Cultivation Method or martial arts skill, including the three secret methods that the Sect was founded on. However, you need Contribution Points for those three. There are countless disciples that have not practiced this skills for years and only performed Sect missions for quite a few years and still not been able to get a Cultivation Method. Do you think that you can get that many Contribution Points? In addition, you''d need various pills during your everyday life. All these need Contribution Points." the white haired boy said sarcastically when he noticed my longing gaze when he mentioned the sects main secret skills. "Thank you for your advice." I bit my lips before saying. Picking up the last bamboo scroll, He started looking through it without response. However, after two seconds, he raised his head up. "Do you really wanna practice them?" He asked in an amused voice. 41 Chapter 35: Xue Shan Appears! "Hehe, there is an ancient saying, ''little miss''. nothing goes for nothing, there''s nothing free in this world, it''s strange that you don''t know it. So, tell me, why should this young master even lend you this?." Xu yun smiled as his Pale jade like hands slowly peeked out of his wide long sleeve, lightly waving the now folded bamboo scroll. Zhu ling was slightly speechless as she couldn''t refute his words as it made sense. she looked over at the scroll in Xu yun''s hand. the young man patiently stood next to her before he soon acted as if the events occurring had nothing to do with him, completely engrossed in the now open scroll. "This bone corrosion palm is indeed something that would really help me in my poison arts." As Xu yun was reading, Zhu ling started to speak before pausing once more. ''This is really a golden opportunity that can''t be missed, but there''s no doubt that this seems to be a trap of some kind.'' Zhu ling stared at Xu yun as she started to make some considerations. ''As one almost at the early stages ''Peak of power level'', it won''t be possible for me to get this scroll anytime soon. if I manage to master it earlier, would put me ahead of my peers, If I can get a corresponding Internal cultivation method such As Joined Happiness secret, 3rd internal cultivation method of the Bliss Valley. Plus with his strength, I''ll have a strong backer within the inner court. based on his strength, he won''t be that low on the ladder.'' As Xu yun read through the scroll as though he didn''t hear her, Zhu ling fell into deep thought as she weighed her options.'' "Since it is something of equal exchange, Can I change something Extra?" She finally said making Xu yun look at her with a Disinterested expression as he waited for her to continue. "I want the secret of joined happiness!" Hearing this, Xu yun looked at her meaningfully with a smirk. "and I''ll be in your service". Hearing the final words, Xu yun raised his eyebrow as though he was saying ''you mean?'' Zhu ling flushed red when she thought of her words earlier, "I...I mean" "Relax, I will give them to you. What are you so antsy about?." Young master Xu snorted and rolled his eyes. "Antsy?" Zhu ling asked questioningly. "When practicing this Bone corrosion palm Method, you are to use some certain locations, If you don''t believe, flip to the last page and look at it carefully." Xu yun said, ignoring her question. Hearing that, Zhu ling''s heart felt Chill. Quickly flipping to the last page, She confirmed what He said. "You haven''t practiced this Method yet and thus naturally don''t know about how the training in the first few levels are extremely hard without the appropriate locations. I''m not saying it can''t be done, its just extremely Harder." Xu yun said before turning towards a different direction. Hearing this, Zhu ling''s mouth twitched. ''There''s no going back now'' "I''m sorry Young master. can you show me the location for learning the first level of Bone corrosion Method." Zhu ling quickly chased after Xu yun. "Sure I can do that, and as long as you perform well in the matters I''ll be handing over to you later, I''ll show you the rest as well. Oh right, when you leave later, do not tell anyone about the Bone Method, instead find something else to tell them." Seeing this, Xu yun calmly said. _________________________ After about Six hours, several new Inner court disciples left with heavy expressions. Only few people like Zhu ling had a smile on their face as she sent this fellow disciples off with her eyes but once they were led to the inner court and the senior disciple explained how things were done in there, her smile disappeared. '' I never knew that the difference between a outer court Disciple and an inner court Disciple was so huge. Also, the fight to become a Core Disciple is also quite scary with the possibility of death. Looks like the amount of work necessary to survive in this sect isn''t small at all. In order to get enough resources, I must become a core Disciple." She muttered to herself before sinking into deep thought. "Whatever. I''ll first practice the Bone Method until I achieve the first two levels and work on the secret of joined happiness In order to have a chance at becoming a Core Disciple, I must have the strength of an infallible martial arts master, which is to finish cultivating the full manual levels. All this is, is just for a chance!! Haa its just unfortunate that Young master Xu is under Elder Su, if not things would be a lot easier.'' After a while, Zhu ling let out a deep breath as she came to a conclusion. "In order to gain strength, I''ll need to stick with him...I''ll do some investigations" ________________ _______ As Xu yun returned to the Western Court, his heart grew anxious. He decided to squat in the dense forest areas. he then inspected himself and his cultivation, he found nothing wrong, he decided to check on Ava and Xuyi. As soon as he took over his Avatar, a group of people appeared into his view. This group wore black robes. Their faces were completely covered, only a little bit of their chin was exposed. Their aura was sinisterly terrifying. Their eyes fell on Him, and was slightly surprised. What is a kid like her doing here, moreover, how did a kid even manage to get here? They were attracted here by their treasured compass and have been searching for the tracks of Demons. However, they never thought that they would run into a girl here. Seeing their dress up, a chill flashed across Xu yun''s eye. He naturally recognized these black robes. They are the most despicable, darkest cult group, that specialized in hunting demons!. They believe materials for demons contain great Qi and chose to experiment on using them to improve cultivation and making spirit artifacts. "This brat could be a child of noble demon, look at the way the compass is reacting...capture her!" the leader, shouted. The other black robed people went to surround Xu yun. Seeing this scene, Xu yun exposed a condescending smile. Rumble! As He and the group continued their stare down, a pale-faced youth appeared making Xu yun''s pupils shrink and a chilling bloodlust flashed through his eyes. It''s the Demon Prince! Xue shan, adopted son of the Demon Lord. He never expected to encounter him in a place like this. The Demon prince clearly hadn''t been out in his life before the future invasion. So why is he here? Xue shan swept an eye over his surroundings and ignored the cultivators as he approached Xu yun''s avatar but Xu yi stood in his way immediately with his eyes still closed. Xue shan was only a dozen meters away from Xu yun but Xu yun could feel Surges of a mysterious aura curled around the Demon Prince. Based on that aura, He could tell that the Demon Prince had reached the ''Unrivalled'' realm; however, there was something else inside that aura, something mysterious and powerful that caused a chill in Xu yun''s heart. Thanks to the avatars body being always one realm above his main body, that being the ''matchless in Kung fu'' realm, he wasn''t that affected by the pressure. Xue shan looked around him in disdain, then said, "I never expected there to be so many people gathered around here. But you guys of such low level are trying to capture her? are you tired of living.?" "Hahaha! you''re so full of yourselves. It''s impossible to even cross her Guard!" Xu yun watched the Demon Prince, and noted that this fellow was a little different from what he knew. but, he couldn''t pinpoint exactly what was off. 42 Chapter 36: He simply leads, I follow A day earlier, Tao lie sat up against the moldy, straw-filled bed and began to examine his surroundings. He had been following the Deava girl like the Grand ancestor asked for years now, but there hasn''t been anyone that approached him with the Emperor seal yet. His eyes had quickly adjusted to the darkness making The room was bright as day to him as he was snake demon. He then looked at the dark blue evening sky from his windows and couldn''t help but sigh. ''She''s getting better at controlling her Aura, luckily a blood moon would be appearing soon.'' He forced himself to stand, feeling every ache of his muscles and each creak of his bones. The aching has become more evident as tracking the duo hasn''t been easy at all. ''why are they even travelling without appropriate rest?, and from the looks of it, we are just a day away from the northern dessert...could she be trying to return to the demon realm?.'' He chose this window to observe the outside, finding the small quaint town lit blue by starlight and a full, glowing moon. Cobblestone roads were lit by candle filled lamp-posts. A few dozen people still walked the streets. And He happened to spy upon a few cultivators from the scholar sect walking casually in light green robes, armed with swords and white hand fans. ''if I were to choose to sect to destroy first, it''d be this cocky B*stards''. He thought while tapping his fingers on the wooden windowsill impatiently. Noise emanating from the ground floor was mixed with laughter, yelling, and the garbled speech of dozens of speakers. Soon, the delightful smell of blood drifted into his nose. He licked his lips and could swear that he could taste his next bloody meal. As he was busy fantasising, he felt the aura of the Daevan girl move once more, so he quickly exited his room. He grumbled inwardly as he picked up his short sword. Mentally filing away the sights, sounds, and smells, he returned his attention to the quest he held of utmost importance: To follow his target. As he maneuvered his way through the crowd, he noticed a number of unfriendly gazes upon him-- his vision and senses were excellent, even though he has been away from the fighting. He quickly chose to divert into a nearby dark alley, in order to deal with this as he was confident in his skills that even if he failed, he could still escape. Not long after, about five men in loose cultivator outfits appeared behind him. But moment he prepared to fight, a pale faced youth with long raven black hair slammed a man''s head against a nearby wall within the alley. With two swift movements of arm, the youth stabbed two bleeding holes in the side of another''s neck and chest. "ARRRGH!" the victim screamed but was not able to react. The youth swiftly and smoothly whipped his arm down, immediately washing off the blood on his hand with his expression unchanging. "r...r...RUN!!!." someone shouted warily. The pale youth said, "As if!, your all dead, trash." "W¡­ Wh-..." a Lanky man held his saber forward, granting himself confidence, but under the youth''s gaze he dropped it and ran while yelling. "¡­RUN!!" The two other men took a step back, terrified. In their attempt to run, the youth simply flicked his arm and the three fell simultaneously. Thud! Thud! Thud! Tao lie looked at their corpses and noticed they had died to flying needles but what shocked him was the designs of this Needles. So he quickly went on his knees saying "Tao lie greets Third Prince!!". ___________________________________________ Presently, After Tao lie explained the whole situation from over the years, Xue shan could only say one thing. An odd girl. That was his impression of the girl. He turned his head and looked toward the source of this incomprehensible question, "¡­.a Goddess"He spontaneously muttered those words from his mouth causing Xu yi to frown. There stood an unbelievably beautiful girl. Her pure milky skin was without a single stain like it was covered in dissolved moonlight, her long black hair further down from her waist was like it was enhanced by the dark night and when it came to her small face build, it made the most beautiful girl in the usual Grand banquets in the palace fail miserably. What he heard from the tales of old about the Daevan women being abnormally beautiful was certainly true. Something that was described as ''peerless'' couldn''t even express this. Her face was so beautiful to the extent that he secretly gulped down his breath. Now he was glad he had volunteered for this mission. When His Adoptive father explained the situation earlier, stating the importance of her bloodline and the Elder behind her, He had just volunteered to spite the Crown Prince but now he had no regrets. ''Now What do I do with this flies?, best not to spill blood before as I don''t what her reaction would be.'' "¨Ddo I have to directly state it?, Scram!!" Xue shan finally said with a sigh. But the girl looked at me sceptically as her guard simply stared at him with closed eyes and pursed lips. ''Aaaah!!'' a commotion broke out as the group of cultists directly chose to run, but Smiling with her whole face, her thin fingers stretched and lightly squeezed. Towards the girl''s gesture, blood red tentacles stretched from beneath her feet grabbed every single one of them. Slowly, their blood was drained from their body. Xue shan stood his ground, lightly patted his body to remove the clinging dirt and blood, this time he calmly said toward the girl. "You know, it''s rude to make one break his word." Although he sounded calm, he wasn''t as that attack had moved from directly under his feet. ''Can''t let down my Guard with this one, here I was thinking she was a flower vase. She appeared to be around 16-17 years old. What she was wearing was a black Han fu dress. Held in her hand was, an excellent black parasol arranged with plentiful frills. No matter how, her appearance was that of a flower vase princess who shouldn''t have been in a place like this, travelling with one or two Guards. ______________________ Meanwhile Xu yun''s brain was working Fast. [Xue shan. Dominant Bloodline: Sier. Reputation: Sinister. Weapons: Jade grade Zither, flowing petal golden needles.] \u003cSystem, display known names. also display aggression as name color.\u003e [Ding!! Setting change complete.] Xu yun glanced upwards to see a transparent green Xue shan appear above his head. ????????. Question marks appeared in Xu yun''s head as he stared at the young Prince but couldn''t figure out any reason why the Youth would be friendly with him. But he couldn''t stay silent for ever. "why should I care for the words of a stranger??" Because of that sentence, Xue shan vented a big relieved sigh, "haa...For a second I thought you were a mute, forgive me" The he continued with a small bow "Xue Shan. Third Prince of Sanguis Empire." ''He''s testing me...I wasn''t planning to cross the dividing line, but perhaps this would be the best way to finally see the Demon empire in all its entirety.'' "interesting... Aah, forgive me. It''s my fault that I was not able to recognise you, I guess it is time for me to leave" The girl quickly lowered her head a little and turned back, Xue shan stopped him with a small frown. "W, wait a minute. I said that for you to introduce yourself not to scare you away!, besides Where will you go from here?" "Of course the Borders, like I planned? for the time being I will go there" Xu yun said rather coldly and gave Xu yi a signal with his eyes. With an ''are you blind'' face he directed Ava to tip her parasol toward the border city, before spreading her parasol, making Xue shan greatly perplexed. . Xue shan didn''t know how to proceed so he was worried for a moment and asked "¡­.weren''t you going back to the empire!?" Getting the meaning of the words that Xue shan asked, Xu yun proceeded with his plans and decided to make more plans along the way. "Back??! I was never there in the first place... can I even do that" Xu yun asked with a confused expression. "Didn''t The Elder mention this??" Xue shan probed once more as Xu yun quickly caught on due to him understanding the youth''s character very well. "He simply leads, I follow" ''well its not like my true body is here...so I could use it as the ''Elder''.''