by Tinalynge
There was no hint of martial arts behind his movements, and there was no gracious flair to the steps he took. Every single step was basic but seemed to contain a myriad of different powers.
Xue Wei looked on in shock before an excited and genuine smile spread on his face. Manager Su had broken through to the Heavenly Warrior realm.
It seemed that He Tong had finally grasped the same knowledge, and his eyes were filled with disbelief as he tried to back away from Manager Su; yet the entire aura had locked down upon him, making it near impossible to even make the slightest movement.
The higher one reached in rank, the larger the gap was between the realms. Although He Tong was in the last layers of the Sky Warrior rank, he was a realm below Manager Su, which in return caused the man to be like an ant in front of an elephant.
Xue Wei was excited. He did not believe in showing mercy to his enemies, and from the look on Manager Su's face, he did not look favorably on that subject either.
Just as Manager Su finally reached out his hand and was about to grasp He Tong's neck, a snort sounded out. Someone’s arm shot forward, grasping Manager Su's hand and stopping his advance.
Manager Su looked at the hand that had stopped him. His eyes traveled from the hand to the shoulder before it landed on Li Fang's face.
"What gives you the right to interfere?" Manager Su asked with a chill in his voice. "This man has hunted down my young master through all of Tiankong City. There are plenty of witnesses. I cannot allow such a person to continue living. Who knows when he will descend into madness again and once more try to attack my young master?"
Hearing this train of questions, Li Fang’s face turned ugly. "Well said!" Shen Bingwen appeared from the side. All of a sudden, all three Heavenly Warriors present in Tiankong City were gathered in one place.
"I sensed the fluctuations in the air; it seemed that a Heavenly Warrior was emerging. Who could have expected that it was old Manager Su?" Shen Bingwen said with a friendly smile, completely ignoring that Li Fang held his hand in a firm grip and that He Tong was standing trembling on the ground not far away.
He Tong seemed to have reached the end of his wits. His eyes were darting from one side to another, focusing briefly on Shen Bingwen, Li Fang, and Manager Su.
Li Fang's face was ugly. He too had felt the fluctuations in the air, indicating that someone was breaking into the Heavenly Warrior rank. Upon realizing that the man in question was the servant of Xiao Lei, he had felt uncomfortable.
Although Xiao Lei had never before wanted to engage in the fight for the City Lord's position, he had often supported Shen Bingwen. And now that his house had two Heavenly Warriors, it was likely that it would be even more difficult for Li Fang to take over.
Not only this, He Tong, although not the strongest supporter, was a supporter to Li Fang. The fact that he had done such unbecoming actions like hunting down a younger generation member – and even failed at it – proved that he and his followers would take a severe hit in their credibility.
All families within Tiankong City, nobles or not, earned their money from farms and fields outside the city, shops, and restaurants within the city.
The commoners were perfectly well aware of which shops belonged to which families, and they were very likely to decide not to support one faction if they did something unacceptable. To lure customers back, they needed to sell rare materials and items, or they had to lower the prices so that people would pick their shop for a bargain.
Either decision they made would make them lose money, and losing money meant that they would be unable to make a move on the City Lord position for some time.
If this continued, then more of Li Fang's supporters would support Shen Bingwen instead. Not to mention that the commoners would support Shen Bingwen since he had the backing of two Heavenly Warriors.
The appearance of a Heavenly Warrior was indeed something that brought great joy to Shen Bingwen and much agony to Li Fang.
"So we need to decide what to do with He Tong," Shen Bingwen said. He was partly depressed that they had arrived so fast, as there was no chance for He Tong to die now. However, at the same time, he also knew that if He Tong were killed, then uncertainty and disturbances would appear in Tiankong City.
"Take him to court," Manager Su sneered. "Lock him up and don't let him out. He aimed to kill my young master. With intent to kill a younger generation member who has yet to fight the Fierce and Primordial Beasts, I am sure that the charge is rather harsh. Crippling his dantian, perhaps?"
"He Tong is a veteran from the army. To cripple his dantian is rather extreme when the person in question is completely unharmed and standing right beside you," Li Fang intercepted, but Manager Su was having none of it.
Although Manager Su had a lower rank than both Li Fang and Shen Bingwen, both of these two had to acknowledge him now that he had reached the Heavenly Warrior rank, and he was well aware of this. Especially because Manager Su had a killing intent added to his aura.
Those with killing intent in their auras had climbed out through a mountain of corpses and had seen death as an everyday occurrence. As a result, their ability to fight was many times more formidable than others. Although he was only a one layer Heavenly Warrior, for now, he was not one to be taken lightly.
"It is shameful that a veteran of the army would stoop so low as to attack a member of the younger generation. If we do not make an example of this, I fear that in the future, others might try something similar," Manager Su protested, and Li Fang knew that there was not much he could say.
Shen Bingwen would side with Manager Su to get on his good side, and that would be two Heavenly Warriors against one. Even if he wanted to complain, he would not be able to do so.
"I will take my leave," Li Fang said through gritted teeth. He felt powerless, and although he had always believed in fighting fairly for the position he wanted, he could not help but feel that things were getting out of hand.
Shen Bingwen waved his hands, and a group of guards appeared to escort He Tong back to the City Lord's mansion.
"I will lock up He Tong for now," Shen Bingwen said with a friendly smile on his face. "We will look for witnesses who saw what happened later today, and then you two will act as witnesses too. When all information has been gathered, we will go to court to judge him. I will do my very best to ensure that you get justice," he promised Manager Su.
Although Xue Wei was important because Xiao Lei highly valued him, Manager Su was now even more important. To ensure that he was satisfied, Shen Bingwen would go to great lengths.
What wondered Shen Bingwen was why Manager Su suddenly looked at Xue Wei with such reverence. It was clear that he truly treated him as his young master now, and not just as he used to do in the past.
Shen Bingwen also left the mansion with He Tong in tow. They returned to the City Lord's mansion right away, leaving only Xue Wei and Manager Su in the Xiao Lei estate.
"To think that he was so brazen as to try and kill you right in front of me," Manager Su harrumphed with a bit of displeasure, but Xue Wei just grinned. "It was close this time, but it seems that the pressure was just what you needed to break through. Congratulation on becoming a Heavenly Warrior!"
Manager Su was no longer upset. His face flourished a great smile, and he nodded his head in approval. "Your herbal concoctions are truly able to do wonders. I have not had any progress the last twenty years, but the moment I tried your herbal concoction, I could feel energy flooding my body, and this last thrill surely ended my bottleneck!"
"I am grateful for the assistance that you and your uncle both have given me," Manager Su bowed deeply to Xue Wei, who quickly helped him straighten his back again. "Think nothing of it," Xue Wei said, his statement heartfelt, "now that uncle is not here, you are the closest to family that I have."
Although Manager Su had never really paid much attention to Xue Wei before, he had been willing to stay behind and look after him even though he thought he was trash. Not only thi
s, he had been willing to fight for him repeatedly, and the consideration he showed was making him feel more at ease. To the orphaned Xue Wei, it felt a lot as if he had found himself a grandfather.
Both the young and the older man smiled at one another before they started snickering. "I wonder how the He family is going to manage now," Xue Wei could not help but grin. He was not usually one to find pleasure in others' despair, but considering that He Tong had almost killed him, Xue Wei had no positive emotions for their family at all.
On the other hand, the Jia family had stayed quiet. They had not said a word after their young master had been crippled, and they had not shown any kind of retaliation. This act made Xue Wei worried. He knew that they were as upset as He Tong, but their actions showed that they could endure.
"Due to the danger, from now on, I will follow you wherever you go," Manager Su declared, but it was no different for Xue Wei. He had already spent the last couple of weeks almost glued to this manager, so having the next couple of months be the same was no issue. As long as Manager Su did not interrupt him in his training, Xue Wei was satisfied.
The days went by, one after another. Xue Wei cultivated and trained. He would do everything in his power to gain strength, and he could feel that the chase he had experienced had also stimulated his potential, allowing for him to have a minor breakthrough to the peak of seventh layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank.
He was just one step away from reaching the eighth layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank, and he knew that he would reach it at any moment. Thus he did not rush it, and rightfully so. A few days later when he was training the Sacrificial Stab ability, he broke through naturally. When he did, it was as if a new world opened for him.
His body became lighter, his flesh and blood tougher. His eyes seemed to be able to notice smaller details than before, and the colors looked much more vivid in front of him. He could feel that the higher rank he came, the more in tune with nature he became and the more of nature's power he could wield.
His senses were enhanced, and he could absorb more Qi at a time than before. When looking at his body, he found that the pearl-like dantian of his had changed to become slightly azure and was growing in size.
Chapter 32 – Judging He Tong
Xue Wei had broken into the realm of the eight-layered Ordinary Warrior, and his body continually enhanced itself while taking nourishment from the energy present between the heavens and the earth.
"As things are now, there should be no opponents for me here in the Heping Kingdom within the Ordinary Warrior rank," Xue Wei mused to himself. He was well aware that he was within an impoverished kingdom and thus the martial arts legacy was somewhat limited, but he still felt a bit of pride when realizing that he was able to jump ranks while fighting.
Although he could not fight an Earth Warrior just yet, he had confidence in his ability to escape. He was also certain that Manager Su’s protection would deter quite a few people from trying to attack him.
After reaching the eighth layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank, Xue Wei returned to cultivating and training. He did not waste even a single moment as he knew that his strength was truly too little.
Xue Wei was not only cultivating in this period of time. After having talked with Wang Xiaoyun about Lingyun Town, he had spent some money to get information about the Northern Taiga and the specific incident related to Lingyun Town, which gave him a whole lot of information.
The entire town had been killed by a passing Primordial Beast. It was a really rare episode, and many Primordial Beast hunters had done everything in their power to hunt down whichever Primordial Beast had done it.
After a bit of time, they blamed it on the Ice Harpy, something that made sense to Xue Wei. Wang Xiaoyun had said that they were hunting the Ice Harpy, so for her to know the history of Lingyun Town was normal. What did puzzle him, however, was that there was no information about any surviving child.
All this information confused Xue Wei, but he knew that he would get no answer before he had talked with Xiao Lei about it. Furthermore, he knew that it would be a long time before Xiao Lei returns. It was likely that they would not meet before a decade later, since Xue Wei had to be in the army for a decade.
Putting the worries on the backburner, Xue Wei sighed as he once more focused on getting stronger. No matter how many questions he had, he understood that strength was needed to get the answers. In order to be with Wang Xiaoyun, Xue Wei needed more strength. He needed to be powerful!
While Xue Wei and Manager Su spent most of their time cultivating, the whole of Tiankong City was filled with gossiping and disbelief.
He Tong hated Xue Wei. Everyone knew this fact, and they were well aware that this young man had been chased earlier by unknown cultivators – yet, for once, he had been chased by a Sky Warrior, and he had survived it.
Everyone knew that Xue Wei had a movement martial art. Although it was astonishing and rare, no one had truly managed to fully grasp what it meant until now. To be able to outrun a Sky Warrior when one was only an Ordinary Warrior was a heaven-defying feat. Although Xue Wei had run blindly and constantly changed directions, these people did not know about it.
They were certain that Xue Wei had simply outrun He Tong, and that he had strength far outstripping his Ordinary Warrior rank.
Because of this, everyone was eager to show their goodwill towards Xue Wei. If he had this kind of strength already, no one knew how much he would grow in the future. It was likely that he would become another Xiao Lei, a Primordial Beast hunter with a great many beasts slain.
Beasts were born either Mortal Beasts, Fierce Beasts, or Primordial Beasts. A Mortal Beast could never become a Fierce Beast, and a Fierce Beast could never become a Primordial Beast.
Although Primordial Beasts, in general, were stronger than Fierce Beasts, they were weaker at birth, and a Primordial Beast could not start cultivating before the age of thirty.
Primordial Beasts aged much slower than humans and Fierce Beasts, but they were born with an inborn strength that made it near impossible for others to attack them, and they were exceptionally protective of their young ones as their reproduction speed was slower than the other races.
Primordial Beasts could control Fierce Beasts. Just like a tamed beast had to follow the orders of a Diviner, the Fierce Beasts also had to follow the orders of Primordial Beasts. The only beasts that could go against the Primordial Beasts' control were tamed and mortal beasts.
Xiao Lei had hunted down more than ten Primordial Beasts. These beasts were all of varying age, but all of them had a strength similar to that of a Heavenly Warrior.
If Xue Wei could kill just one Heavenly Warrior Primordial Beast, then he would be a hero of humankind in the Kingdom of Heping.
Since Xue Wei was likely to become such a hero, everyone wished to show their goodwill. Many came to the mansion to deliver presents, or to just say that they would gladly witness against He Tong. Even those who had not truly seen anything had already heard enough about what had happened between He Tong and Xue Wei, and thus they wanted to be of use.
Manager Su sent everyone to Shen Bingwen. Shen Bingwen had already promised that he would deal with the case against He Tong. Since this was the case, Manager Su was not shy about using him as manual labor.
Xue Wei was unaware of the sudden rise in fame he had gotten, but he would not have cared even if he had been aware of it. These people had looked down upon him for years already. They had disliked him, and some even hated him. For them to suddenly want to become friendly with him was clearly because they saw that, now, he had the potential to become a great Warrior while simultaneously having the backing of two Heavenly Warriors.
Xue Wei continued to train all up until the day of the trial. He then went to prepare, put on his finest clothes, and tied his hair up in a beautiful bun on top of his head with a small golden crown tying it up.
Manager Su had also prepared. Although the clothes he wore were of the highest quality, they were al
l completely black and made him look like a servant. There was nothing fancy about Manager Su's appearance.
When one looked at the two, Xue Wei and Manager Su, one could instantly see that it was a young master and his servant, yet when they saw the fierce look within Manager Su's eyes, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
Xue Wei walked first, with Manager Su following right behind him. The two walked towards the City Lord's mansion where the court was located, intending to be part of He Tong’s judgement. They were both the prime witnesses and also the ones who wished for He Tong to be crippled.
When they arrived, half of the courtroom had already been filled with people. The rest were streaming in through the open door; some had ugly expressions on their faces, while others looked calm and collected.
The audience was split into two. One group wished to gobble up the other, but both understood that this was just pro forma judging. Two out of three Heavenly Warriors had already decided on the fate of the head of the He family, and thus he would be unable to avoid his fate.
