Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  Zheng zheng zheng— Yan Lisan folded his wings in and all of the sword feathers all returned back. The wings then started to flicker, as if wanting to lunge into the air. But suddenly, the Xiang Dragon beast morphed by the Xiang Dragon Sword Qi and rushed over to gnaw on his leg, trussing him down onto the ground, barring him from flying off in escape!

  His legs were already severely injured by the Wooden Sword Qi, the bird scales on his feet were crushed off, revealing the scary white bones beneath; Yan Lisan growled angrily, his body quivered for a second and transformed back to his true form— a seventy feet high metal swan with its body heavily built and its wings flaring out. Resplendent ivory sword rays revolved around his body and slashed forwards!

  The man and the swan were ramming and slamming on the ground like the barbaric brawl between two gigantic beasts. The stone-built houses were reduced to fine debris as they fought, while the monsters that resided in the buildings hurried out to safety.

  Gu Xia City was the nexus at which the monster race gathered. It was very common for monsters to break out into a fight for the pettiest of matters. However, fights between the expert cultivators like Zhong Yue and Yan Lisan were very rarely seen.

  The two Qi Practitioners were cultivators who were strong in regards to strength and physique, but Zhong Yue was superior to his opponent. Ultimately allowing him to suppress his opponent with sheer strength. Although Yan Lisan’s body was larger, he was still continuously getting forced back by Zhong Yue and even his sword rays didn’t manage to agitate Zhong Yue to any considerable degree.

  Zhong Yue completely eradicated the thoughts of defense in his mind and wholeheartedly concentrated his efforts on attacking. The Gold Sword Qi and Coral Tree Sword Qi revolved around Yan Lisan, searching for any flaws in his form. Zhong Yue did not use the 【Sixty Fourth Sword Style】 as it was conspicuous. Elder Shui Zian had used this secret skill and traveled unimpeded across the whole land. Innumerable Qi Practitioners had died at his hands, that was the impetus that spread his name across the world.

  If Zhong Yue were ever to cast the 【Fourth Sword Style】, there was a very high likelihood that it would be recognized. Hence, he had only used the ordinary sword manipulation skill. And even so, his Great Sun Yuan Shen was still able to manipulate the swords to the degree of being able of stirring up hurricanes, blasting here and there from all domains and catching his opponent in places where they would least expect. As a result, Yan Lisan had to delegate most of his concentration on warding off the four Sword Qi, thereby placing him at a significant disadvantage.

  Krong!

  Yan Lisan was launched flying to crash into a building as Zhong Yue punched, the building swayed for a few seconds before crumbling down into broken stone. One after another, the monsters that were residing inside the building leaped out and ran for their lives in all directions.

  Zhong Yue reached out his hand, the Gold Sword Qi emerged and he hurled it out with all his might – Sword Qi straight as a ramrod, thin like a silk, jabbing into the crumbling building!

  “Stop!”

  A loud voice came into his ears but he ignored it, the Sword Qi went straight for Yan Sanli who was confined at the bottom of the building.

  Suddenly, a silhouette descended from the sky, standing in between Yan Lisan and Zhong Yue’s Gold Sword Qi, shouting out loud, “Stop Mister Long! City Lord Gu Hongzi has arrived!”

  The Gold Sword Qi stopped right at the tip of the silhouette’s nose before being abruptly was recalled back into Zhong Yue’s fingers.

  The newcomer was the seneschal of Gu Xia Manor, cold sweat rushed out of his forehead as he thought to himself, How is this Mister Long advancing so quickly, the last time I saw him, he wasn’t even a Qi Practitioner, and now he can already be considered as one of the top experts in Gu Xia City!

  Zhong Yue kept the Sword Qi and said apologetically, “Senior martial brother, you are late by a second, Yan Lisan is already dead.”

  “Dead?”

  The seneschal’s heart thumped in shock. He quickly turned and look back to see Yan Lisan underneath the building, no longer breathing!

  “How is that possible?”

  He quickly raised his sights up into the air, Zhong Yue’s Great Sun Golden Crow Yuan Shen was flying back while Yan Lisan’s could spirit hawk Yuan Shen had its head drilled by the Golden Crow. Its brain juices were even completely vaporized!

  When the Yuan Shen dies, the soul disperses, and the master would join the realm of the dead!

  The soul in the hawk Yuan Shen was dispersing, leaving behind only the cloud spirit hawk which was also ablating away like snow melting under the scorching sun.

  I’ve only stopped Zhong Yue’s Sword Qi but I didn’t stop their Yuan Shens in time.

  The seneschal suppressed the shock he felt in his heart. He gazed deeply at Zhong Yue, then shook his head and said, “Mister Long, it is absolutely right that you want to establish your name and reputation, but you are too ruthless. Yan Lisan and his two wives – a family of three were all killed by you.”

  Zhong Yue shook his head in response, “If I’m any weaker, I would’ve been me lying dead on the ground instead. Victory and defeat, death and life ... all are predicated on whether your prowess is greater than your enemy. The weak can’t blame anyone but themselves if they find themselves to be the prey.”

  “Pity, Yan Lisan was one with a foundation robust enough to advance into the level of Awakening and open the five wheels, but he had been forcibly suppressing his cultivation base so that he would not break through to the level of Awakening and lost the qualification to contend for the slot of the closed door disciple of Xian Kong City Lord.”

  Gu Hongzi treads on the river water and looked at Yan Lisan’s body. He shook his head and sighed, “He was going to represent the Gu Xia City and compete for the closed door disciple slot, and now here he is, slain by you, what a pitiful death.”

  Zhong Yue recalled his Great Sun Yuan Shen, bowed and greeted, “Long Yue of the East Ocean, greets the City Lord Gu Hong. City lord, In my opinion, Yan Lisan’s death is not pitiful at all.”

  “Oh.”

  Gu Hongzi gazed at him with a pair of eyes filled with interest, he said, “If you can give a reason convincing enough, then I will not punish you.”

  Zhong Yue smiled in reply, “He had provoked me, I had a legitimate reason to kill him. I’m stronger than him, and that was why he died by my hand. Naturally, I’ll be the one to replace him in representing Gu Xia City. His prowess is no match for mine, he would have brought back nothing but losses for the Gu Xia City. But I’m different, I can bring honor and glory to city lord’s face!”

  “In your eyes, I see ambition, boldness and unconstrained fire. Hmm….”

  Gu Hongzi gazed deeply at him and said, “Your ambitions are too high. Seems like you’ve been repressed for too hard and too long in the dragon race, the wild beast in you is constrained and held down. That’s why you left the dragon race, came to the monsters so that your ambitions can bloom and flourish. But since your ambition is so high, so is your will to fight ... good. Alright, you will represent my Gu Xia City in contending for the slot!”

  Zhong Yue heaved a breath of relief in his heart, he stepped forward and said, “City lord, when I wasn’t a Qi Practitioner, my territory was five hundred miles; but now that I’m already a Qi Practitioner, and one at the Rebirth level, I demand more land, and more slaves!”

  Gu Hongzi was nonchalant, he swung his sleeves and replied, “Since you’ve killed Yan Lisan, then you will be the lord of the Yanming Mountain. All of the lands of a thousand miles of Yan Lisan’s territory will now be yours.”

  Zhong Yue was overjoyed.

  Gu Hongzi marched forward, he continued, “Ambitious Qi Practitioners like your kind are hard to control, but I have the confidence to hold onto your reins and steer your pace. If I can’t even control you, Hei-hei, then how can I be fit to be the supreme ruler of East Barren? Lord of Xian Kong City, I’d really like to kill h
im, Hahahaha!”

  Zhong Yue gazed at him as he walks away, thinking in his heart, This Gu Hongzi is also not a good monster, saying that I’m ambitious, but his ambitions aren’t any smaller either, wanting to defeat the Xian Kong City Lord and ascend to the throne himself! But, the competition among the monster race is so intense, so ruthless and so barbarous. even more intensive than Swords Gate. Survival of the fittest – against such a brutal and unforgiving milieu, strong and formidable experts are bound to emerge. We, Swords Gate, are not as good as the monster race in terms of competitiveness.

  Just as his thoughts reached here, a sudden voice came from the middle of the river and interrupted him, “Senior Martial Brother Long, can I ask you to come over and have a seat?”

  He traced the sound and gaze over, a man and a lady were sitting in a colorfully-painted luxurious boat, with a few Qi Practitioners accompanying them. The lady wrapped around a lute with her arms while the man was looking like a scholar, be it his clothes, hair, or even his nails, they were all pristine and immaculate without the slightest sign of disarray.

  Zhong Yue had long noticed them when he was battling with Yan Lisan, and he was able to discern the immense power residing in their bodies. They were two formidable experts. And as now, the man had invited him over, he walked straight into the river —Hua-la— waves billowed and a water Jiao Dragon emerged beneath him, shuttling him up.

  “Long Yue of Eastern Sea, greets these two martial siblings. How should I address you two?” Zhong Yue greeted them and said.

  The two of them stood up and returned the platitudes, Yu Xuanji held a smile on his face while he introduced himself and Hu Qimei. He said, “We’ve heard that the Xian Kong City Lord is looking for a closed door disciple to pass down his【Monster God Ming King Scripture】, that’s why we’ve rushed back from the outland. I knew that we would encounter with the young and formidable cultivators. This time, I was planning to meet with Yan Sanli of Gu Xia City and to see what he was made of, so that I can have some preparations when we meet in Xian Kong City in the future. But who knew, Yan Sanli was already slain by Senior Martial Brother Long. This battle, watching it made my heart thump in fear and unease.”

  “Pretense!”

  Hu Qimei snorted coldly and said, “Brother Xuanji, I’ve no idea whether or not your prowess has increased, but your ability for disingenuousness has indeed improved a lot! Yan Lisan isn’t even worth a second glance from you! Brother Long Yue, if you meet with this man in battle, just go all out, don’t hold any qualms of hurting, otherwise, you will definitely die!”

  Zhong Yue’s heart shifted, he smiled and said, “Two senior martial brother and senior martial sister, I only have a smattering of the city lord looking for a closed door disciple, could the two of you elaborate for me?”

  “This time, the Lord of Xian Kong City is looking for a disciple, one who is still a Rebirth Qi Practitioners. Hence, all of the Rebirth Qi Practitioners in East Barren that heard the word are all rushing over from every corner of the East Barren.”

  Hu Qimei said, “The potential of the disciples of Awakening level are all already immutable and fixed – they can’t be groomed to strive higher. That’s why only the Rebirth Qi Practitioners are eligible for the selection, and must be the young, less than thirty years of age. There are many strong and formidable opponents this time, but I never foresaw that I would meet with two of them here!”

  She chortled and said, “When little sister thinks of cleaning and tidying you two senior martial brothers’ remains, my heart just can’t stop thumping in excitement!”

  Yu Xuanji feigned laughter, smiled and said, “It’s still early for the selection battles now; however, if you, Qimei, have a death wish, Brother Long Yue and I can indulge your wish so you wouldn’t have to wait for the battles.”

  Chapter 113: Sun Moon Dual Pupil |

  Zhong Yue watched closely at all of their reactions in his eyes, he smiled and said, “It I may ask, who are the strong and formidable experts of the Rebirth Qi Practitioners in East Barren?”

  “Lots.”

  Yu Xuanji replied, “The East Barren is not just a piece of land, it also includes the ocean where there are the Sulphur Island, Jinxiu Island and the Fengsha Island. Although the Sulphur Island and Jinxiu Island were heavily affected by the incident in the Beast God Ridge, the ones that died were all from the older generations. Fortunately, the younger ones didn’t suffer any losses in Great Wilderness Beast God Ridge. In addition, although the Island Lord of Fengsha Island isn’t a magnate, he is also a strong and formidable expert in the older generations. There are some notable disciples under the island lord. Other than the three islands, there are still four keeps and six cities.”

  “Six cities — Gu Xia, Shen Yi, Qing Ming, Luo Ying, Feng Gu, Yang City; Four keeps — Qing, Bai, Yan, Xuan; they all have their own young experts. Especially the four keeps, because they are located at the outland borders, they are all wild and strong brats that have gone through the tempering of countless battles! While the greatest holy sacred land of our monster race – the Xian Kong Saint City, is a place where even more formidable experts gather!”

  Zhong Yue smiled and said, “Since there are so many opponents ... strong and formidable ones, why do the three of us need to fight with each other here?”

  Hu Qimei chortled in reply, “It’s precise because there are so many opponents that there is a need to exterminate a few on the road, so that my chances can grow a little bit higher.”

  Yu Xuanji answered with a smile, “That’s right, but there’s three of us here, it’ll get very knotty no matter who makes the first move.”

  Zhong Yue finally understood why were they filled with killing intent, because they are intending to eliminate a few opponents before the start of Xian Kong City Lord starts the closed door disciple selection battles.

  Coincidentally, he had just killed Yan Lisan who was exactly a young and formidable expert preparing to head over to Xian Kong City. Hence, Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei must have mistaken his intentions thinking that he was only finding excuses to kill Yan Lisan before the selection battles came.

  After all, Zhong Yue’s reason was too flimsy, crushing the Purple Cloud Summit and killing Madam Ru, all for the lives of a hundred humans. How could there possibly be a dragon race like this?

  “I see.”

  Zhong Yue’s heart was clear like a mirror, he smiled and said, “Senior martial brother and senior martial sister, if we have thoughts of eliminating the others on the road, then how could it be that others wouldn't harbor the same intentions? If they were to come alone, then there would be no need to be afraid. But what if they were to come in groups of two, three or more. Among you and me, who can withstand them?”

  Hu Qimei’s ears twitched as she asked, “Do you mean...?”

  “In the disciple selection battle, we can go all out on each other, but on the road, we will have to join hands.”

  Zhong Yue turned solemn and said, “United we stand, divided we fall. Otherwise, I’m afraid we might not even make it to the Xian Kong City!”

  Hu Qimei and Yu Xuanji looked at each other before nodding tacitly.

  Zhong Yue also heaved a breath of relief, for the purpose of establishing his name and reputation, to seize a higher status among the monster race ... all of this required him to attain a new identity. And becoming Xian Kong City Lord’s disciple was the most secure and irreproachable identity ever!

  If he were to become the disciple of Lord of Xian Kong City, his identity and status would change drastically like the earth turning into heaven, and no one would ever be able to question his actions from then on!

  But therein lies a problem before him— Zhong Yue had no idea where Xian Kong City was, but if Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei were to lead the way, then there would be no cause for concern.

  And most importantly, Zhong Yue knew nothing about the young and formidable experts of monster race, while Hu Qimei and Yu Xuanji were both native monsters. They would have at
least know a thing or two.

  “Alright!”

  Yu Xuanji’s eyes brighten up, he smiled and said, “Then, I’m more than happy to cooperate with Brother Long Yue and Qimei to eliminate a few experts on the road!”

  While Hu Qimei gently smiled and said, “Seems like the experts on the road will be having bad luck in the coming days.”

  Zhong Yue’s eyes flashed and he then replied, “May the two senior martial siblings wait for half a day’s time. After I’ve settled some matters in my territory, the three of us can then travel and head towards Xian Kong Saint City together!”

  “Then make haste Brother Long faster go and quickly come back!”

  Zhong Yue left the colorfully-painted luxurious boat, he boarded on the riverbank only to see the seneschal of Gu Xia Manor still there waiting. He greeted and said, “Senior martial brother, apologies for making you wait.”

  The seneschal quickly put up a smile and responded, “Mister Long, this way please.”

  Zhong Yue followed behind him and the two of them arrived at the Gu Xia Manor. The seneschal had rearranged Zhong Yue’s territory, he assigned the land of a thousand miles of radius from the Yanming Mountain under Zhong Yue’s name, and said, “Mister Long’s territory is not small anymore, I’m afraid that it will be an issue for mister to manage it all. My suggestion is for mister to buy a few human Qi Practitioners for your slaves or recruit a few Qi Practitioners as followers and canton the land between them so as to make it easier to manage.”

  Zhong Yue reflected on the suggestions, “Human Qi Practitioners can also manage the land?”

  “Why not?”

  The seneschal laughed and said, “Buying a few human Qi Practitioners as slaves and controlling their atmans so that they would be loyal only to you. This actually reassures the minds of the territory lords more than consigning their territory to monster Qi Practitioners as the former wouldn’t dare entertain any thoughts of betrayal. The only caveat is that human Qi Practitioners do not come cheap. This time when Mister Long heads over to Xian Kong City, there will be human Qi Practitioners for sale, mister can head over and buy a few of them back.”