Stellar Transformations

by I Eat Tomatoes

  “Father, if you say anymore, I’ll be ashamed to death. Oh my, he can even beat late Jindan experts while I’m just a late Xiantian practitioner. Luckily I’m still his big brother.” Despite saying so, Qin Feng is actually very happy.

  Xu Yuan on one side says: “All right, all you of stop being modest please. Qin Feng, if you feel ashamed to death despite having reached the late Xiantian level at such a young age, then I, a geezer who hasn’t even reached the Xiantian level, should go home and grieve for myself.”

  Hearing Xu Yuan say this, all of the people present cannot help laughing out loud.

  Xu Yuan does not have much talent for martial arts indeed. After so many years, he has yet to reach the Xiantian level.

  “Alright, continue with your story, Yu’er. What happened to you afterwards in the Wilderness?” Qin De asks smilingly. The others also look at Qin Yu. All of them are very curious about the mysterious Wilderness. Even though Qin Yu only went 100,000 li into the Wilderness and did not reach its depths, no Shangxian have dared to do the same thing before.

  Qin Yu drinks a cup of wine to loosen up his tongue then says enthusiastically: “Xiao Hei and I then had to undergo the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. In fact Xiao Hei’s heavenly tribulation was pretty dangerous, mostly because there were around 1000 Blue Flame wolves in a nearby mountain forest. None of them had reached the Jindan stage but the strongest among them were all at the late Xiantian level. Plus, there were too many of them. Nearly 1000 Blue Flame Wolves unexpectedly attacked us together when Xiao Hei’s tribulation came down.”

  The other people all stop eating or drinking.

  Qin Yu and Xiao Hei were ganged up on by nearly 1000 Xiantian level demonic beasts. Moreover, they also know that at that time he had not overcome his tribulation yet and was only a peak Xiantian expert. Even though he is alive and well now, in their minds they are still worried about his situation then.

  “Big brother, don’t tell them that I have hereditary memories.” Xiao Hei’s voice suddenly rises in Qin Yu’s mind. Qin Yu gives a smile and says via his holy sense: “Don’t worry. I won’t reveal your secret to anyone.”

  He continues to talk about what happened back then: “Luckily, I had the Flaming Sword and Flaming Gloves so I went all out. After going through the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, Xiao Hei became much more powerful and killed quite a few Blue Flame wolves in one breath. Only then did those wolves leave.”

  Qin De and the others can now let out a sigh of relief. But they know that even though Qin Yu’s description sounds simple, the situation at that time must have been extremely grave. After all, it was nearly 1000 Blue Flame wolves so he must have been beset on all sides by wolves from the beginning.

  ……

  After a long time, Qin Yu finally finishes talking briefly about his adventure in the Wilderness this time. Of course, he did not mention that his master Lei Wei came from a different universe, nor did he mention some secret techniques such as the Stellar Transformations.

  “Divine beast Dragon Rocky lion! Divine beast Hong Luan!” Fengyuzi takes a cold breath.

  Hearing the last part of Qin Yu’s story, the other people can even feel how fearsome these 2 huge divine beasts are through his words alone. Divine beasts are called divine beasts only because of their formidable innate skills. When they have just been born, they are also very weak.

  However, to Fengyuzi and the others, Yuanying stage divine beasts are absolutely invincible beings.

  “Oh my, they are at least at the Yuanying stage. Moreover, one was a Dragon Rocky lion, which has exceptionally strong defense, and the other was a Hong Luan, which is similar to the phoenix. Even though these 2 divine beasts are at the Yuanying stage, they can definitely rival Dongxu Xiuzhenists.” As a Xiuzhenist, Fengyuzi also knows about some demonic beasts.

  Qin De and the others are speechless.

  Dongxu stage Xiuzhenists?

  This has gone beyond their imagination. To reach the Dongxu stage from the Yuanying stage, a practitioner has to go through the 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. There is a huge gap in power between these 2 stages, but a mere early Yuanying Xiang Yang is already invincible in the eyes of Qin De and Fengyuzi.

  Compared to Dongxu stage Xiuzhenists, Qin De and Fengyuzi are just like babies in front of giants.

  “Fortunately, fortunately,” Qin De retrospectively fears for his son.

  Qin Yu says powerlessly: “There was nothing I could do. They were too powerful. Luckily, in the end the Hong Luan appeared and fought the Dragon Rocky lion. Otherwise, perhaps Xiao Hei and I would’ve been eaten by that Dragon Rocky lion. It was … too powerful.”

  Remembering the situation at that time, Qin Yu still feels an uncomfortable feeling surging inside him.

  “They’re not only powerful. At any given level of power, a Dragon Rocky lion is even a bit stronger than a dragon in defense. Without a high-grade holy flying sword, not even a Dongxu Xiuzhenist can break that Yuanying Dragon Rocky lion’s defense. And a Yuanying Xiuzhenist, even with a high-grade flying sword, won’t be able to scratch it. As for the Hong Luan, ordinary flying swords will be melted directly by its body-protecting flames even before getting close to it.” Fengyuzi says in an obviously excited manner.

  All of them then fall silent for a while.

  To people who are still struggling in the Jindan stage like Fengyuzi, these kinds of divine beasts are things they can only look up to.

  “All right, these divine beasts won’t leave the Wilderness so we don’t have to worry.” Seeing the other people’s expressions, Fengyuzi says comfortingly. But he then says smilingly with a shake of his head: “No wonder, with so many demonic beasts, no wonder among the Xiuzhenists from the Overseas Immortal Islands, no one has dared to go deep into the Wilderness. They have only dared to skirt around it.”

  When there are already 2 Yuanying divine beasts in an area that is not deep in the Wilderness, what kinds of beasts are there in its depths?

  “Go to the depths of the Wilderness? Perhaps not even Dacheng experts dare to do so.” Qin Yu thinks to himself. Thanks to some books and notes left behind by Lei Wei, he knows about the horrors in the depths of the Wilderness. In the past, even Lei Wei, whose power was equivalent to the Dacheng stage, did not dare to advance after getting close to its deepest parts.

  ……

  After discussing Qin Yu’s journey in the Wilderness, the people present begin to talk about the course of the war. After a long, long time, when everyone has eaten and drunk a lot, a hint of light suddenly appears in the sky. It turns out dawn has broken.

  But this banquet, which has been going on for a half night, is not finished yet.

  “This time why did you give us the order to only defend the cities without attacking, father? By now we have taken 11 counties. Once we attack together from 3 sides, it will be as easy as waving a hand to take down Ba Chu County.” Only now does Qin Feng remember what he came here for.

  As soon as Qin De hears this, he forces a smile.

  Xu Yuan says: “Qin Feng, you still don’t know that Xiang Yang of the Xiang clan came here yesterday in the daytime.”

  “Xiang Yang!”

  “Xiang Yang!”

  Qin Yu and Qin Feng exclaim almost at the same time. Qin Yu then continues: “Isn’t it the Xiang Yang who was the real 1st emperor and created the Chu dynasty?” Qin Feng also looks at Xu Yuan and Qin De, his heart filled with amazement.

  “Yes, it’s him.” Qin De says with a nod. “Plus, he has reached the early Yuanying stage.”

  Qin Yu’s face slightly changes color, but his mind starts to think.

  Xiang Yang has reached the early phase of the Yuanying stage but when he was still at the early Nebula stage he was able to kill a late Jindan Black Wind leopard, and now that he has taken one step into the middle Nebula stage, in theory he should be able to give Xiang Yang a good fight.

  However, the difference between the late Jindan stage and the early Yuanying stage does not lie only in raw pow
er, but also in the levels of understanding of the Way of Heaven. It is difficult to make up for the gap in the latter so for the moment Qin Yu also feels uncertain of victory.

  “If Xiao Hei and I join forces and use our respective special skills, perhaps we’ll be able to succeed.” He calculates in his mind.

  Qin De continues to say: “Xiang Yang was very insolent. He even absurdly attempted to force us back to the 3 Eastern region counties.” A cold smile appears on his face. “Humph, he’s just one Xiuzhenist but he wants to make me give in through the use of brute force. How is this possible?”

  Qin Feng stands up, saying: “What’s there to fear? When our armies charge from 3 sides, what will be the use of his individual power?”

  Qin De says with a deep sigh: “That’s true. He won’t be able to do anything to our large armies. But … he can exterminate the Qin clan.” Hearing this, Qin Feng is speechless. If an early Yuanying expert like him gets angry, it will not be difficult for him to get rid of the entire Qin clan.

  “Therefore … I had no choice but to compromise. I could only use the armies to threaten him that if he kills a Qin clan member, I’m going to destroy the Xiang clan even if we’re exterminated in the process. Only by doing so was I able to deter this old geezer.” Qin De says with a sigh.

  Now Qin Feng finally understands his father’s distress.

  “In the past he could wipe out the Qin clan, but now he can’t.” Qin Yu says in an ice-cold voice.

  Qin De, Fengyuzi, Qin Feng and Xu Yuan all look at him. They find it somewhat hard to believe that Qin Yu just said those lordly words. However, the fierce air about him at the moment and the coldness in his eyes express his resolution clearly.

  “Xiao Yu, you’re no match for him!” Fengyuzi coldly criticizes. “Even though you can kill late Jindan experts, the difference between them and early Yuanying experts is too great. This difference can’t be made up with raw power. He has practiced for nearly 1000 years while you’ve practiced for less than 20 years. How can your level of understanding compare with his?”

  Qin Yu knows what Fengyuzi means, but he says nothing.

  He does not know what his level is, but he knows one thing, that is, his soul is slowly nourished by the energy of the Meteoric Tear anytime, which means his level seems to always improve.

  Even though the progress is slow, it never ceases.

  “Yu’er, don’t worry. We can endure. When you weren’t here, I didn’t know what to do. But after you returned, I’ve come up with a solution. First, you have to refrain yourself. You’ve reached your current level in just 20 years. Given your speed in practice, you should practice for 10 or 20 more years. It won’t be late to get into action when you’re totally certain of winning.” Qin De knows that with his 3rd son’s temperament, once he has made up his mind, there is basically no way to persuade him other than this one.

  Qin Yu nods but says no more. He does not want to make his father worry.

  “Xiao Hei, if we join forces, do you think we’ll have a good chance of beating an early Yuanying Xiuzhenist?” He uses holy sense communication.

  “We didn’t die even when encountering such a divine beast as that Dragon Rocky lion. Big brother, I never thought you’d be frightened by an early Yuanying Xiuzhenist.” Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind. Hearing this, Qin Yu cannot help giving a faint smile.

  Of course, he has made his decision as well.

  Chapter 20: Disappear

  After Qin Yu returned, Qin De has sent this news to Qin Zheng in the town of Wuxue. All the members of the Qin clan in the town of Xiyang have also gathered together, creating a very warm atmosphere.

  However, at the moment in Eternal House of the Imperial Palace in Ba Chu County,

  “Transmit this order. 200,000 armored cavalry troops of the Xiang clan are to come out and to either rout, or kill, or capture any Qin clan troops wandering outside the cities. Don’t worry about anything.” Xiang Yang’s voice comes out from behind the beaded curtain.

  Mister Lan however says doubtfully: “Master, you want us to bring out the trump card army and attack the Qin clan troops with it?”

  “Yes.” Xiang Yang says indifferently.

  Mister Lan immediately bows and says: “Master, but the Qin clan armies are surrounding our Ba Chu County on 3 sides. At the moment we don’t have enough men for defense, why do we still dispatch the all-important 200,000 armored cavalry troops? This …”

  “Xuemou, how long have you been following me?” Xiang Yang asks in reply.

  Lan Xuemou says respectfully: “Master, I’ve been following you for nearly 100 years.”

  “For nearly 100 years I’ve thought that you’re the brightest among several disciples. But now it looks like … You’ve really disappointed me.” Xiang Yang says with a sigh. Hearing the sigh behind the beaded curtain, Lan Xuemou is immediately struck by a thought.

  Suddenly, he remembers one thing -- his master’s might.

  “Could it be you have reached some agreement with Qin De, Master?” Lan Xuemou enquires carefully.

  Xiang Yang laughs out loud cheerfully: “Looks like you’re still not too stupid. Qin De has already made an agreement with me. As long as I don’t personally get into action, his armies on 3 sides won’t be allowed to attack. We’re going to keep things status quo.”

  Lan Xuemou becomes doubtful: “Status quo? So this means we’ll keep getting stuck in this deadlock?”

  “Of course not!” Xiang Yang’s voice becomes fierce. “No matter what happens, this is the country that my father and I founded through battles. For the last nearly 1000 years, I’ve been watching this country of the Xiang clan. No one can take it from my hands.”

  Lan Xuemou says again: “Then do you have any way to handle the current situation, Master?”

  Xiang Yang calms himself down then says with an indifferent smile: “Now I only need some time, some transitional time. I’ve ordered your 4th martial younger brother to take several tens gifted descendants of the Xiang royal clan to a secret place.”

  Lan Xuemou frowns. Now that the Xiang clan’s lineage has been safeguarded, he knows perhaps his master is about to get ruthless.

  “Within one year, I’ll force all the leaders of the Qin clan’s armies to surrender by threatening to take their lives. This little trick is child’s play to me. Of course, before the counterattack, I want to boost the morale of the Xiang clan’s army!” Xiang Yang says indifferently.

  Lan Xuemou secretly nods as well.

  Right, it is morale.

  An army’s morale is extremely important. This period of time, the Qin clan armies have taken 3 of the Xiang clan’s 4 counties with almost unstoppable momentum. Due to this, now the morale of the Xiang clan’s troops is nearly exhausted, and so restoring it is the first priority.

  “Even though the highest echelons of the Mu clan and the Shangguan clan have yielded to the Qin clan, I don’t think those generals and vice generals are totally loyal to it. As long as I threaten them with deadly force, humph, I believe they’ll easily surrender to the Xiang clan too.”

  Xiang Yang’s voice becomes ice-cold: “During this extraordinary period of time, I can only use extraordinary tricks. Since the Qin clan is very strong at the moment, we have to undermine its armies’ fighting spirit and morale first. Then, in addition to me threatening the enemy’s leaders, the Xiang clan’s army will spring into action at the right time, so, there’s no doubt that we’ll win.”

  Now Lan Xuemou totally understands.

  “So he sends the armored cavalry out to attack the enemy’s wandering troops at this point to increase the Xiang clan’s morale. The Qin clan won’t dare to attack and will only defend. Ha-ha, you’re really brilliant, Master.” Lan Xuemou has understood completely.

  The talk with Qin De apparently put Xiang Yang at a disadvantage but he is definitely no ordinary person so almost immediately afterwards he already thought of a series of follow-up plans.

  After all, he is virtually
the 1st emperor of the Chu dynasty.

  Moreover, he has prepared a way out. Even if the 1st wave of attack fails, members of the Xiang clan will have already been brought to a secret place. With its wealth and secret forces and with the existence of Xiang Yang, it will not be difficult for the Xiang clan to rise again.

  “Alright, just do as I said, Xuemou. Sending the Xiang clan’s armored cavalry to handle these small matters is like killing a chicken with a battle knife.” Xiang Yang says with an indifferent smile. The armored cavalry is absolutely the finest army of the Xiang clan. All of its troops are qualified ones who have experienced real fighting and bloody battles.

  The Xiang clan’s armored cavalry was very famous during the time of the West Chu Conqueror. For so many years it has been maintained from behind the scenes by Xiang Yang so it has never loosened its training in the slightest.