Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  Zhong Yue’s heart shifted, he again bowed and greeted, “Zhong Yue of Zhong Shan Clan, greets Elder Nan.”

  The elder was from the Nan Lu Clan, he smiled and said, “What was interesting is that when you were in combat, you had the signs of turning into a Xiang Dragon. The beast god, a Xiang Dragon, your visualization, a Xiang Dragon, the relation in between the two is indeed interesting.”

  “Did Elder Nan find out anything?” Zhong Yue asked.

  Nanlu Clan elder shook his head and said, “No, the Xiang Dragon is a godly auspicious beast. Your psyche materializes the Xiang Dragon and you have the Xiang Dragon Sword Qi, it is possible for you to survive under the Sword Cocoon’s attacks.”

  “Although it is fairly possible, your rapid increase in prowess is too dubious.”

  Another female elder appeared in the Hearts of Swords Palace, she had a beautiful face with a warm bright smile, dressed in a golden sheer silk blouse and wasp waist, her aura was like an ethereal cloud, she smiled and said, “You have cultivated for five years in the outer hall lower house, you were one among the mediocrity, but less than half a year in the upper house, you are like a changed man. Your immense increase in prowess and the capability to defeat the top ten clan core disciples. It is normal for a disciple with the innate spirit body but you are not one of them, how can you explain such a peculiar phenomenon?”

  “Zhong Yue of Zhong Shan Clan, greets Elder Tao.”

  Zhong Yue pondered deeply for a moment, he then said, “My talents are starting to bloom.”

  The female elder from Tao Lin Clan stood right at the shrine with the malefic weapon of Tao Lin Clan, she tittered and said, “Compared to such an explanation, I am more inclined towards that there is an extremely strong and dangerous man standing behind you imparting you his knowledge, or rather, that someone had claimed your body as his own! Zhong Shan Clan member, I’m afraid you are not the Zhong Shan Clan member anymore, but someone else, or maybe, something else, a demon god or maybe a celestial god!”

  “What was more interesting is that you were in the Demon Ruins when the radical changes took place that caused the death of thousands over of upper house disciples.”

  Another elder made his appearance, he walked like a king, he should be an elder from the Jun Shan Clan, like the others he walked to the side of the shrine that contained the Jun Shan Clan’s malefic weapon, his voice was monotonous and indifferent as he spoke, “But only you led a group of disciples and survived. The changes in the Demon Ruins exposed the demon Qi Practitioners and the demonic spirits, they tried to awaken their ancestor, the Tian Myriad Mother. But she escaped right after she was awoken, the elders were searching for her but to no avail, it was right at that time that you led dozens of disciples out of the Demon Ruins.”

  “So, who is behind you exactly, the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother?”

  Shui Zian Elder Shui also arrived at the palace, he stood right in front of the shrine of the Sword Cocoons, his sights fixated on Zhong Yue with a bright smile as he said, “Or should I say, you are the beast god or the Tian Myriad Mother? Zhong Shan Clan member, give us evidence, something that can prove that your prowess did not come from them!”

  Then there were elders from the Li Shan Clan, Tian Feng Clan, and Qiu Tan Clan walking over to the malefic weapons of their respective clans, leaving only the shrine of the strongest malefic weapon.

  Zhong Yue frowned, in his psyche ocean, Xin Huo also furrowed his brows, he mumbled, “These old brats are really sly, it is hard to fight our way out from the Hearts of Swords Palace. There are ten malefic weapons here with nine elders, each and every one of them are standing by a malefic weapon, take a single wrong move and they will grind you into minced paste with the ten malefic weapons….”

  Zhong Yue noticed it too, the nine elders were dubious of him, suspecting that he was possessed by the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, that was why they summoned him in this palace.

  Everything would be fine if he was not the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, but if he was, then death is the only ending for him!

  But if they found out I have a peculiar creature like Xin Huo in my psyche ocean, I’m afraid my ending would still be death?

  Zhong Yue collected his thoughts, he heaved a deep breath and asked, “Elders, why do you suspect me and not Shui Qingyan of Shui Tu Clan?”

  Elder Shui Zian was dumbstruck by his words, he then smiled and answered, “Shui Qingyan was personally taught by me, I gave her the Sword Cocoon on my own, what basis is there for me to suspect her? You can’t be saying that she is the Tian Myriad Mother right?”

  Zhong Yue’s face darkened, Xin Huo quickly comforted him and said, “Don’t worry, there are nine old brats with nine malefic weapons, but the last malefic weapon was free to take. This last ominous weapon is way stronger than the other nine ominous weapons, it is the strongest soul weapon in this Hearts of Swords Palace. When the conversation turns sour later, I will take control over your body and control that malefic weapon, we will slaughter these nine elders and erupt the devil souls beneath Swords Gate, you and I will then wander around the world as initially planned ….”

  Without Swords Gate, we humans in the Great Wilderness would be food to the monster race.

  Zhong Yue pondered and said, “Elders, how can I prove that I am not the beast god nor Tian Myriad Mother?”

  The elders all kept silent and pondered deeply.

  Shui Zian faked a cough and said, “Beast god and Tian Myriad Mother is no small issue, we would rather end the possibilities here than letting a potential danger walk away freely.”

  “No.”

  The Tao Lin Clan female elder shook her head and said, “If he is not the beast god nor the Tian Myriad, then wouldn’t our actions cost the loss of a very talented young man?”

  “Is a talented young man more important, or the threats of Tian Myriad or beast god greater?”

  Shui Zian smiled and said, “If the martial siblings have any better ideas, please do speak up.”

  The elders gazed at each other, the You Yu Clan grand elder coughed and said, “Zhong Shan Clan member, lift off the protections on your psyche ocean, we will have to examine your psyche ocean and soul.”

  Lei Hu Clan elder nodded and agreed, “This would work. But to examine his psyche ocean, one’s soul would have to enter his psyche ocean, if he really is the beast god or Tian Myriad Mother, our souls will be powerless against him, who is willing to take such a risk?”

  You Yu Clan grand elder strode towards Zhong Yue and said, “I will. Zhong Shan Clan member, release the protection of your psyche ocean, junior martial siblings, control the malefic weapons and if I am killed, he must not walk away alive!”

  Zhong Yue’s heart tightened while Xin Huo said fiercely, “Let him examine, this You Yu Clan is the strongest among the nine elders, I will seize the chance and crush his soul, it will then be easier for us to escape!”

  Chapter 57: Innocent |

  As You Yu Clan Grand elder walked closer to him, Zhong Yue’s heart sunk deeper, “Xin Huo, can you not hide away and not let the grand elder notice you?”

  “I can hide, not even this old brat can notice me, but the beast god inner core in your psyche ocean can’t be hidden away!”

  Xin Huo snorted, “Brat Yue, let’s not talk about how attractive the beast god inner core is to the elders, even if the grand elder had no intention in snatching it away, he would still suspect that the beast god spirit is hiding in the inner core. In order to prove that there is no spirit in the inner core, the only way is to take the beast god inner core out of your psyche ocean, crush and examine it. Hehe, such a treasure is really precious, if it is broken, where can you find a second one? Plus, if word about you having the beast god inner core were to spreads out, then you would surely be dead!”

  Zhong Yue’s heart shifted, Xin Huo’s words were not exaggerating, if the world knows that he has the beast god inner core, then his death will be inevitable!

  The two island l
ords of Xian Kong City led the elite monster Qi Practitioners over to Beast God Ridge and yet they were all wiped out, even the two totem spirits of the two islands were both dead in the beast god seal while the two island lords were heavily wounded and were pursued by Fang Jiange and the others!

  If the worlds were to know that the beast god inner core is in the hands of a petty human like Zhong Yue, the monster race magnates would burn in anger and his death would be certain, not even Swords Gate can protect and save his life!

  From the countermeasure taken by Swords Gate, allowing the monster race to explore Beast God Ridge, Zhong Yue had no doubt that the higher-ups of Swords Gate would definitely hand him over and sacrifice him for the sake of peace!

  “Is fighting a way out of Swords Gate the only way?” He watched as the grand elder continued to come closer, he sighed deeply in his heart.

  “Don’t worry, even if you are the last of the human race, you can still snatch the beauties from the other races and reproduce a new race!”

  Xin Huo comforted him, “I am very proficient in this kind of stuff, I have enlightened countless inheritors of Xin Huo on ways to snatch beauties over and reproduce their offsprings and the next generations.”

  “Xin Huo, we will fight our way out of Swords Gate, but we will not erupt the devil souls.”

  Zhong Yue’s heart was filled with despair, he whispered, “I don’t want to be the sinner of the Great Wilderness.”

  “Alright.”

  Xin Huo said fiercely, “But all in this Hearts of Swords Palace have to die, or otherwise we can’t make it out of here!”

  “Am I destined to be a traitor of the Great Wilderness?” Zhong Yue’s heart was twisted into a clump as if a heavy mountain crushed on it, he could not breath freely.

  If the nine great elders of Swords Gate died in this palace, he will definitely be taken as a traitor and pursued by Swords Gate, he might not be able to return to the Great Wilderness for the rest of his life!

  You Yu Clan grand elder was finally right in front of him, he smiled warmly and said, “Zhong Shan Clan member, lift off the defense on your psyche ocean.”

  Zhong Yue nodded as he lift off the defense, he then said, “May the grand elder take a look.”

  You Yu Clan grand elder pulled his life essence out from his body, his spirit and soul fused together and formed his Yuan Shen in the form of a fish-dragon, he swung his fishtail and was at the verge of entering Zhong Yue’s psyche ocean.

  Right at this moment, an old and gravelly voice rushed into the palace, the voice was laughing as it sounded, “Elders, you may stop now, the Zhong Shan Clan member is as innocent as a lamb, the elders need not continue the investigation anymore!”

  “Elder Pu?”

  Zhong Yue’s heart startled, the old man that rushed into the palace was indeed the teacher of Ting Lanyue and the others, Elder Pu. The elder was panting for breath as he had just rushed all the way to the palace.

  Even I can’t convince myself that I am as innocent as a lamb, why did Elder Pu said that I am? Zhong Yue was confused.

  “Why does Junior Martial Brother Pu say so?”

  Shui Zian frowned and said, “There are a lot of suspicious aspects that lie with this Zhong Shan Clan disciple, if we don’t investigate him thoroughly, he might turn out to be a calamity for Swords Gate, it will be too late for reparations by then!”

  Lei Hu Clan elder also coldly snorted and said, “That’s true. Demon Ruins, Beast God Ridge, neither one of the two events can he prove himself to be innocent! If you want to prove him as guiltless, show us evidence that can convince us all!”

  Elder Pu quickly looked at Zhong Yue and stomped his leg, “What are you waiting for, why didn’t you quickly take out the evidence?”

  Zhong Yue was dumbfounded, he asked, “Elder Pu, what evidence?”

  Elder Pu rolled his eyes at Zhong Yue and said, “The swords token, the one that the Qiu Tan Clan young girl gave you. You should have taken it out earlier, then all of this would never have happened! Quick, get it out and show the elders!”

  The swords token was given to me by Junior Marital Sister Jiner?

  Zhong Yue was even more surprised, only Qiu Jiner and he himself knew that the swords token was in his hands, how did Elder Pu come know about it?

  He could not afford to delay long and he immediately took out the swords token, Elder Pu quickly snatched it and handed it over to You Yu Clan grand elder, he smiled and said, “This is the evidence, with this sword token, every peculiar event that seemingly transpired around him will be well accounted for.”

  You Yu Clan elder was still dubious until he inspected the swords token, his heart thumped and passed the sword token to Lei Hu Clan elder, he said, “The force in this swords token….”

  Lei Hu Clan elder watched closely at it and his face changed drastically, he passed it over to Tao Lin Clan elder and he said, “Very much alike!”

  Tao Lin Clan elder’s face also turned, she passed the swords token to the next elder and said confidently, “It is.”

  One after another the elders inspected the swords token, all of their faces changed drastically, they then nodded and said, “With this sword token, indeed it can explain the sudden increase in his prowess.”

  “And it can explain how he could survive the events in Demon Ruins and Beast God Ridge!”

  “So this is the reason behind it ....”

  Elder Shui Zian measured the sword token with his eyes, he then returned it to Elder Pu, with a crying laughing face he said, “Brother Pu, why didn’t you tell him to show this swords token earlier? I even proposed a plan to kill him regardless of who he truly is. But why was the sword token given away so early? Isn’t it a little bit too rushed?”

  Zhong Yue was surprised, he did not know that this little sword token was so powerful that it could spur such a reversal the elders’ attitude in an instant, “This sword token was given to me by Junior Marital Sister Jiner, she wanted me to learn the Geng Jin Sword Qi in it, she said that the Geng Jin Sword Qi was the most ubiquitous technique among the Qi Practitioners, almost everyone had practiced it….

  Elder Pu laughed and said, “He had acquired this swords token inadvertently, he knew nothing of what it actually is. However, the owner of this swords token is well aware that he has it in his hands and the owner just happened to know that the elders are investigating him, that’s why he rushed me over to prevent the elders from hastily acting to exterminate him.”

  The You Yu Clan Grand elder retrieved back his life essence, he smiled and said, “Congratulations, congratulations, we Swords Gate now have another talented young man! Zhong Shan Clan member, from now on, you are an inner hall disciple of Swords Gate, this is your inner hall identity token, you may return to the upper house and pack your belongings, report back to the inner hall as soon as possible.”

  Zhong Yue kept the inner hall token but his mind he was still blanked out.

  Lei Hu Clan elder walked towards him, he patted heavily on Zhong Yue’s shoulders, he sniggered and said, “Did you pee in your pants getting frightened by us the few old geezers? Don’t be ashamed if you were, I had once peed in my pants when I was scared! Keep the sword token, it is considerably valuable, it is the first time it was ever passed to anyone else, be careful not to lose it. Weird, why did that old geezer pass this sword token to you, if the others knew about it, they would surely be envious of you….”

  Old geezer?

  Zhong Yue was perplexed, Junior Martial Sister Jiner doesn’t look old at all, why is she called old geezer? Oh right, they are not talking about her, but the man that gave the sword token to her! Who would he be?

  Elder Pu stuffed the sword token back into Zhong Yue’s hands, he smiled and said, “Don’t blame the elders, they are only conducting this investigation because they didn’t know you had this sword token. They are just worrying about the safety of Swords Gate. The upper house is not where you will stay anymore, pack your stuff and you may move to the inner hall. Afte
r you have settled down, you can head to the Ethereal Palace and manifest with the strongest spirit of Swords Gate to become a Qi Practitioner.”

  Zhong Yue’s heart was confused, he kept the sword token and asked, “Elder Pu, who was the owner of this sword token?”

  Elder Pu shook his head and said, “Since he didn’t want to tell you, I wouldn’t dare to speak a word either. All you need to know is that this sword token is very exceptional, then everything will be fine.”

  Zhong Yue was out of sorts as he walked out of the Hearts of Swords Palace, his heart palpitating in bewilderment, What exactly is this sword token? Why were the nine elders all shocked when they saw it? Junior Martial Sister Jiner gave this sword token to me and helped me weather the storm, I wonder where she is now? Such a valuable and precious item, it is best to return it back to her as soon as possible….

  After he left, the air in the palace turned all stagnant and dense; moments later, Elder Yu gently shook his head and said, “So he is the apprentice of the headmaster, then all his prowess in the Demon Ruins, Beast God Ridge, and Lawless Battles can be explained. Headmaster’s Great Boundless Sword Qi can indeed increase his prowess rapidly.”

  Elder Lei nodded, “My Lei Hu Clan’s lightning refining soul art must have been given to him by the headmaster.”

  Tao Lin Clan female elder smiled and said, “He has cultivated the Xiang Dragon Sword Qi, for someone that practices the Great Boundless Sword Qi, this is not a difficult task at all.”

  “But the headmaster gave out the Great Boundless Sword Qi so early, could it be that this Zhong Shan Clan member is better and more talented than Feng Wuji, Fang Jiange, and the other innate spirit body talents?” Nanlu Clan elder asked curiously.

  “Elder Pu, this Zhong Shan Clan member is an ordinary man is he?”

  Shui Zian was also puzzled, he said, “Why did the headmaster choose him as his apprentice? You and the headmaster are very close, I suppose you must know a thing or two?”