Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  A middle-aged man with a simple and honest countenance brought over a twelve or thirteen-year old-looking young girl, tears pooled in her eyes until they overflowed down her face as she gazed at Zhong Yue with abject despair.

  With the usual forced smile, the old chief asked, “Master, are you satisfied with her? If the master isn’t, we still have some other young girls in the tribe….”

  Zhong Yue seemed as if stuck in a trance; his mind went blank and his sights fell onto the shuddering tribesmen. The young and strong teenagers, the powerless ladies and weak younglings; they were all frightened and bewildered, none of them dared to utter a word at all. A few moments later, Zhong Yue heaved a deep breath and said, “The monsters that pass by, do you have to do this to all of them? Offering them food.”

  The chief lowered his head, he answered, “These five hundred miles radius of land belong to Master Sun, we are his livestock, Master Sun is a hospitable monster, he has ordered any monsters that pass by to be meticulously attended to. The masters will have to be well served and treated.”

  Zhong Yue kept silent, ‘well served and treated’, it meant that the humans would be offered to the passer-by monster Qi Practitioners as food.

  Hospitable? Hei-hei….

  Endless grief and indignation devoured his heart, he had to take a few moments to regain his composure, he exhaled out a deep breath and said, “Do you all know that, twenty thousand miles away from here to the west, there is a holy land of the human race, a sacred place known as the Swords Gate. Right there, you will be free of the risks that your lives will be devoured by the monsters.”

  The old chief’s face immediately changed, he knelt down and kowtow on the ground, he begged, “Master, I dare not run, I will not escape!”

  The others followed him and started to kowtow on the ground in fear, the little young girl that was offered as food to Zhong Yue sobbed, “Twenty thousand miles away … who is able to walk all the way there….”

  Zhong Yue then realized it all, why did the humans dare not escape from this place? It was all because the Great Wilderness was too distant. To Zhong Yue, twenty thousand miles would only take him seven to eight days to travel, but to the ordinary humans, it would take them years. Moreover, during their endeavor, they would be bereft of the agriculture that they depended on to survive; countless tribesmen would die simply from starvation before they reach their destination, not to mention all the other dangers of trekking through the Great WIlderness!

  In addition, the monsters would also not stand idly by and watch as the humans ran away from them. Instead, if the humans ever were to attempt to escape, they would probably not even able to travel a hundred miles before the furious monster Qi Practitioners caught up with them!

  “Brat Yue, these humans, there’s nothing you can do to help them.”

  In his psyche ocean, Xin Huo sighed, “The once honorable and proud Fuxi god race, descendants of the mighty Heavenly Emperor, and yet, this is how they’ve ended up, as livestock and foods for the monster race, how pathetic this is….”

  Zhong Yue’s face was emotionless, he kept silent for a few seconds, his voice was lost as he asks, “Xin Huo, are we humans ... really the descendants of Fuxi?”

  “No doubt!”

  Our ancestors built the greatest and most glorious civilization in this universe, they were the Heavenly Emperors worshipped by every other race; and in our body, flows the noblest and most majestic blood to have ever existed. So how ... how did the humans sink to become such an abject existence….

  The young boy from the Zhong Shan Clan shed tears of sorrow. He slowly closed his eyes and thought gravely, So why, why didn’t anyone try to change any of this? Why isn’t there anyone who could remember our former prosperity, or recall the honor and glory we once held? Why did we sequester our hearts from the outside world and idly cross our arms as we watched our people taken as slaves and livestock? Could it be that the blood in us is frozen?… But why can I still feel it, the warmth in me, as if the blood flowing in my body is still ... hot? So hot that it is scalding my muscles ... so hot that it is on the verge of boiling!’

  The tribesmen around him gazed at the ‘master’ who was shedding tears, their hearts filled with terror and their body trembled with fear.

  Moments later, Zhong Yue gently opened his eyes, his tone was indifferent as he asked, “Where is this Master Sun?”

  …

  Chapter 69: Long Yue of The East Ocean |

  “Brat Yue, he is a monster Qi Practitioner!”

  In his psyche ocean, as Xin Huo watched Zhong Yue ask where the cave dwelling of the ‘Master Sun’ was and walked out of the human tribe, he stiffened up his face and said, “You are still unclear of his prowess, there are drastic disparities in prowess between two Qi Practitioners! You have yet to manifest your own spirit and hence, you can’t be considered as a Qi Practitioner, even if you have defeated the three Shui Tu Clan Qi Practitioners, you could have only done so because of your Fang Blade, it’s not your true prowess! He may have unknown abilities that could stop you from using the Fang Blade! To know your own strength and that of the enemy is the sure way to victory….”

  Zhong Yue’s heart was agitated with anger and yet his facial expressions were calm and tranquil, “Xin Huo, don’t you worry, I’m not a reckless man, I know very well of my own capabilities. Compared to others, my prowess has increased greatly in such a short while, such that even my skills can’t catch up to it. I’ve only mastered a few techniques, I’m lacking the appropriate skills to unleash my prowess and my foundation is not strong and robust enough. Although my explosive strength is incredible, the flaws are also blatantly obvious.”

  Xin Huo heaved a breath of relief and he said, “It’s good that you know. There are great flaws in your prowess, but they can still be rectified, the only thing you need most as of now is time. Moreover, it’d be useless to kill Master Sun; this land belongs to the monsters, even if you kill him, the other monsters will never allow you to take a spot and conquer this piece of land!”

  Zhong Yue nodded in agreement, he said, “Thence, the urgent matter right now is to search for the teleportation portal, ascend to the moon and manifest a moon spirit, I should not act recklessly.”

  Xin Huo praised, “This is how a rational Fuxi Celestial race, the successor of Xin Huo should act! After the moon spirit, you’ll then harvest a sun spirit, with the two spirits together, your cultivation speed will increase greatly. At that point in time, you will have the strength and prowess to compete with the monster Qi Practitioners. This Master Sun has entertained passing monster Qi Practitioners with humans as food, this would have allowed him to acquire a wide circle of acquaintances and friends! If you defeat him, his friends will definitely avenge him, not to mention that you are a human, they will definitely come for you! In addition, they might even implicate and slaughter all these humans to accompany the dead Master Sun!”

  Zhong Yue nodded and said, “If I kill him, it’s like stirring up a hornets' nest.”

  “It’s good that you understand, you will not act recklessly right?”

  Xin Huo suddenly felt a surge of uneasiness, he asked vigilantly, “You are walking towards his cave dwelling, what are you trying to do?”

  Zhong Yue strode forward, his steps were solid and firm and his face was tranquil and calm, not a single sign of emotion could be detected, in an indifferent tone he responded, “I’m going to … kill him.”

  “The words I’ve just said, you agreed with them, so why are you still taking the risk?”

  “Hatred is like fire, the longer you leave it burning, the weaker it gets, and eventually one day in the future, it will be reduced to an anemic smolder that only leaves you numb. Xin Huo, look at them, look at these humans clambering to offer up their tribesmen as food, do you want me to be like them? They often say that ten years is not too late for a nobleman's revenge. Suppressing the hatred, patting yourself on the back, thinking that you are shrewd and astute for seeking v
engeance at a more opportune. But in actuality, you are just looking for an excuse to allow your hatred to slowly fade away.”

  Zhong Yue was never this calm before, he strode forward while his psyche, soul, and body all ventured into a state of perfect coordination; when his body breathed, his psyche and psyche ocean moved and shifted in tandem.

  His soul was also breathing along, inhaling and exhaling the psyche.

  “I am not sure if in the future, when I become a Qi Practitioner and have mastered various arts and skills ... will I still have the bravery to face that Master Sun again? Even if I dared to face squarely with him, will I have the courage to face with the countless Qi Practitioners? Will I have the nerve to face with the monster magnates? And those people that died waiting for me to become a Qi Practitioner, those that died while I was picking up the scraps of my courage, will I be able to face them with pride?

  “I will kill him ... so that I will not falter again!”

  When he walked forward with firm steps, a surge of aura surrounded him, causing him to enter the realm of unconscious visualization, he said insouciantly, “After I kill him, I will claim his territory. Don’t you worry, I am not audacious or dimwitted, I am certain I will kill him, I am confident I can claim his territory as mine.”

  He said calmly, “I will turn myself into a monster Qi Practitioner, without me being a human Qi Practitioner. What excuse can they use to exterminate me? As for his friends, they aren’t closely acquainted, merely tied together by the fragile tether of benefits. I would like to see who dares to make a move after I’ve killed Master Sun!”

  “You will be a monster Qi Practitioner?”

  Xin Huo was startled, he exclaimed in shock, “How can you … Oh, that’s right, your appearance gives you the look of a dragon Qi Practitioner, the blood of the Xiang Dragon flows in your body, it is true that they will not suspect your identity. Hei-hei, this is getting interesting, establishing a human territory amidst a land of monsters, what a fun and crazy game this is, just like dancing on the tip of a blade, I like this….”

  What he was thinking and what was in Zhong Yue’s mind were two different matters, Zhong Yue wanted to establish a safe and peaceful haven for humanity in this land of monsters while all Xin Huo cared for was only how much fun he could enjoy from such a harrowing adventure.

  Wait for me to come back, my dear human brethren.

  Zhong Yue strode forward, saying to himself, I will slay that Master Sun and carve out our own paradise amidst this land of monsters!

  In the mountains far away from where he was, there stood a gray-green monastery, monstrous clouds suffused above it, it was the ‘Master Sun’’s cave dwelling.

  The smell of monstrous clouds was foul and fishy, but the sense of smell was different between the humans and monsters. The filthy and stinking smell to the humans appeared to be fragrant aroma to the monsters; the colorful and vivid monstrous clouds too, would look malevolent and wicked in the eyes of humans.

  “Brother Sun Xiao, we are here to visit you again!”

  In the monastery, four monster Qi Practitioners greeted each other and then sat down on the floor, in front of each of them were small tea tables. Sun Xiao, the one who seemed to be their head smiled and said, “Senior martial brothers, how are you all so free to have time to come and visit?”

  The four Qi Practitioners gazed at each other, one of the Qi Practitioners smiled, his face was covered in brownish yellow furs, “The four young successors are in pursuit of our two island lords of Xian Kong City, and they are now in the Gu Xia City. Every young cultivator in Xian Kong City have arrived here to challenge the four Swords Gate young masters, even the apprentices of the city lord are here too. Such a grand event has stirred the whole land. We’ve been thinking that with senior martial brother behind closed-door cultivation, you might have yet to receive the news, hence, we are specifically here to inform you about it and to invite you to join us along in heading over to the city of Gu Xia. We will witness with our own eyes the downfall of the four Swords Gate young masters.”

  “There’s such a great event happening?”

  Sun Xiao’s face shifted, he said, “I had been in seclusion to craft a soul weapon, it is true that I’ve yet to receive word of this. Thankfully, the soul weapon has been crafted successfully and I have no pressing matters on my hands now, let us go and see what the four Swords Gate young masters can do.”

  “Although the four young masters of Swords Gate are strong, as the saying goes, the mighty dragon is no match for the native serpent; not to mention that, we monsters aren’t any serpents, we ourselves are the mighty dragons!”

  Another Qi Practitioner with a hairy body and a tiger pelt around him, smiled and said, , “The four young masters of Swords Gate will definitely be no match for our young monster cultivators, I hear that the lord of Gu Xia City already had plans to put them up for auction!”

  “Gu Hongzi is also a talented monster, I wonder if he can take down the four Swords Gate young masters. I say we should all just ram in and take them down at once, but the strong ones say differently. Gu Hongzi and the others insist on having a duel, saying that the honor of the monsters cannot be tainted.”

  “Oh yes, Senior Martial Brother Sun Xiao, I hear that you’ve acquired a Blood Coral, is that the soul weapon you were working on?”

  Sun Xiao could not help but show a proud face, he gingerly extracted a bloody-red tree-like jade and said, “This is the Coral Tree, each and every branch represents a surge of Sword Qi, there are, in total, eighteen branches! The Sword Qi will absorb and bring back the blood essence from my opponent and use them to nourish the Coral Tree, nurturing the Blood Coral to become stronger and stronger!”

  Four Qi Practitioners quickly snatched it over and inspected it, they were astonished.

  “The Blood Coral is very rare, even the commonly seen Blood Corals usually have seven or eight branches and their prices are incredibly high; but senior martial brother could own a ten feet tall Blood Coral, your luck is very good!”

  “The best thing the Blood Corals can do is to contain Sword Qi in it, hence, the owner need not place his soul in it; that way, when engaged in combat, he can use it however he pleases without the fear of his opponents destroying his soul weapon.”

  Sun Xiao heard their praises and a sense of pride coursed through him, he then kept the Blood Coral and smiled, “Since the four senior martial brothers are here already, there is no need to hurry over to Gu Xia City, let’s have an enjoyable feast first before we depart to Gu Xia City!”

  The other four monster Qi Practitioners quickly nodded and laughed, “Alright! We as the guests will suit ourselves to the host’s wishes!”

  Sun Xiao guffawed in happiness and said, “Senior martial brothers have come at the right time, I’ve nothing to show off but the livestock that I’ve carefully raised. They are all fed with medicinal herbs of the highest grade, their bodies are filled with medicinal essence, their tastes are extremely delicious! Even I myself am a little reluctant to eat them, I wouldn’t even serve them at all if the guests aren’t important!

  Saliva trickled down their mouths as the four Qi Practitioners heard him describing, just when Sun Xiao was about to instruct his men to get their meals prepared; something entered his senses, he raised his head and looked outside; the other four Qi Practitioners seemed to sense it too and all of them lifted their heads.

  In mid-air, a slim and slender monster Qi Practitioner slowly walked over to the monastery, he was tens of feet tall with a winter-white marten fur muffler around his neck; there was lightning crackling beneath his feets and a seventeen feet long beast fang hung on his back.

  The five Qi Practitioners gazed at the newcomer, they heart thumped in shock as they saw his face, “A dragon race?”

  Zhong Yue walked over, he was a thousand feet away from the five of them who were sitting in the monastery, Zhong Yue asked, “Master Sun?”

  Sun Xiao stood up, he placed his palm on top of his ot
her fist as a form of greeting and said, “I’m over-flattered to be called as a master, but I am indeed Sun Xiao. Little brother, where did you come from? What should I call you?”

  Zhong Yue placed his hand on the blade hilt behind him and he suddenly burst out with ghostly speed. Lightning sparked beneath his feet as he sprinted into the monastery to arrive within forty to fifty feet of Sun Xiao in an instant. He was like a hungry tiger rushing down the mountain!

  Striding from mid-air down to the monastery, his speed reached its pinnacle in the blink of an eye – Krong! A deafeningly loud boom could be heard as he broke through the sound barrier!

  Sun Xiao, in his horror, let out a sharp screech from his mouth and layers of feathers rolled outwards from his back - Shua! A pair of wings that spanned over twenty feet long spread out from behind him and he transformed into a golden-green big bird. Wings furiously fluttering backward, he shouted, “You….”

  A sword ray flashed across the sky, imprinting the curvature of an arc in the air. The walls behind the monastery were rammed through by Sun Xiao in his desperate attempts to evade Zhong Yue's relentless assault. His erratic efforts eventually turned the scene into a landscape of crushed stone pillars and scattered rocky detritus.

  Sun Xiao turned into a big bird and flew into the sky, managing to dodge the assault. However, as soon as he flew into the air, he released a cry of anger as his body was suddenly split in half down the middle. He may have dodged the Fang Blade, but he could not escape the Xiang Dragon Sword Qi that was concealed within it. The Xiang Dragon Sword Qi pierced into his body and split him into half from the inside!

  The Xiang Dragon Sword Qi flew out and returned back to the Fang Blade. Zhong Yue swung the Fang Blade and placed it on his back, his psyche forming a Jiao Dragon around the blade. The dead Sun Xiao plummeted down back into the monastery from the sky, and Zhong Yue lazily bowed towards the motionless corpse to return the greeting, “East Ocean, Long Yue.”

  …