Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  "... when Feng Xiaozhong was exposed, he quibbled that the humans he used were purchased from the monster and celestial race. He tried to justify himself by saying that they were not humans of the Great Wilderness and that they would inevitably die either as a food or specimens for his research one way or another. So why not use their meager existences to serve his research? What need was there to condemn him?"

  Nan Qianfang sighed, she said, "The headmaster then told him, no matter where they come from, humans are humans. As an honorable member of the Feng Clan, killing your own people is wrong. If it he only did to other races, the headmaster wouldn't have been so incensed. But he didn't, he did such things to his own people, that was when the headmaster decided not to defend him anymore."

  Zhong Yue turned and looked at the copper palace, he thought, This Feng Xiaozhong is really vicious and evil, but also sly and cunning. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been long before he was exposed.

  There were many skills and totem patterns in this world that were derived from the dragons', monsters' and celestials' mortal bodies. Zhong Yue once thought of capturing a Jiao Dragon and dissecting it to study its body structure so that he could perfect his own skills; but he decided that it was too cruel and so opted not to.

  However, not only did Feng Xiaozhong put his desire and thoughts into actions, he had even crossed the bottom line.

  If he hadn't used his own people, the headmaster might have been that mad, and would most likely go to some lengths in covering it up for him.

  Zhong Yue thought in his heart, Killing our own kind and salvaging their bodies and souls to forge into a soul weapon, this is far too excessive!

  Nan Qianfang walked to the next copper palace and said, "This is where Tian Myriad Mother's mortal body is, although her mortal body is dead, it is still incredibly strong. It can be used to craft a divine weapon!"

  Zhong Yue looked over at this copper palace, he thought, I suppose her mortal body is the only reason for her to be here as a deputy hall master of the Seal Suppression Hall? Her mortal body is already dead, she couldn’t go back and live in her mortal body anymore. But she can still forge her mortal body into a soul weapon, and also purify her bloodline and modify Shui Qingyan’s mortal body into the real Tian Myriad Mother. The headmaster tasked me to take over Senior Martial Sister Nan’s place as the hall master of the Seal Suppression Hall, now it seems like he wants me to suppress her?

  "Junior martial brother, this copper palace holds the thing that came out from underground beneath Swords Gate."

  Nan Qianfang sat on the mountain god Yuan Shen's hand as it walked on the metal chains to the front of a copper palace. She said, "During the first eruption of the Devil Soul Yin Effluvium, the strongest demon god's shattered soul broke through the forbidden land and escaped from it. It nearly destroyed the whole of Swords Gate. At that time, our second headmaster was in power; he fought a vicious battle with the demon god's shattered soul before finally sealing it away. But the Swords Gate suffered a great loss, more than half of the Qi Practitioners died. The second headmaster headed into the forbidden land, leaving behind words that he would fight for the Swords Gate's next 500 years of survival. But he never came out…."

  Zhong Yu nodded silently. He had seen the skeleton of the second headmaster in the Devil Soul Forbidden Land.

  Not only that, but he had also seen the skeleton of all the other headmasters. They had all entered the Devil Soul Forbidden Land of their own free will, each carrying with them the hope of securing five hundred years of peace for the Swords Gate and Great Wilderness.

  Some people contributed way more than they could to the Swords Gate; while others were only parasites on the Swords Gate who only knew how to demand without contributing anything at all. Such people would never be qualified to be the headmaster of Swords Gate!

  Zhong Yue thought in his heart, he followed behind the old lady as she introduced more of the copper palaces and their origins to him. There were some entities sealed in the copper palaces that were incredibly strong; some even existed way before the establishment of Swords Gate. Even Nan Qianfang had no idea whether or not they were still alive.

  "What a treasure, this is a treasure vault…."

  In Zhong Yue's psyche ocean, Xin Huo's eyes brightened up and he said, "Brat Yue, this place is a huge treasure vault! If you can release them and refine them, the benefits you can get are unimaginable!"

  Zhong Yue shook his head, every one of the existences in the palaces was extremely dangerous, Letting any one of them out would cause havoc in Swords Gate, or even more, the Swords Gate might face total destruction!

  “Xin Huo, don’t play around.”

  "This isn't playing around, some of these old brats are dying of age, while some have already died. Continuing to seal them would have no use anymore. Furthermore, it would only be a waste of space."

  Xin Huo tempted him, "You as the hall master of the Seal Suppressing Hall, isn't clearing the junk away part of your job?"

  Zhong Yue was intrigued by this proposal. He then asked Nan Qianfang on the side, "Senior martial sister, the things inside the palaces, if they are dead, should we move them out?"

  Nan Qianfang looked at him and said, "It is indeed part of your job as the hall master of the Seal Suppression Hall. But junior martial brother, you should know that if the thing inside is not dead yet, opening the seal would only result in your death. Not only that, but the Swords Gate will also have to endure the consequences of your reckless actions. To be honest, I've been here for a hundred years, and I've never once cleared off a copper palace. If junior martial brother is daring enough, I have a list passed down by the previous hall master; he recorded the entities were inside these palaces that were confirmed to be dead and could be moved out; but he never dared to do it and so passed the list down to me."

  She removed a sheepskin and Zhong Yue had a look at it, there were a few palace names on it, along with their positions, the entities sealed in it, and the times of their death.

  "You must be very cautious in clearing the dead stuff. If the copper palaces are still sufficient, there is no such need, but if you really must, the dead bodies of the creatures can be placed in the palaces outside of the mountain."

  Nan Qianfang was apprehensive. She waited a few more moments before walking over to the last copper palace. She said, "This copper palace is not dangerous like the others, it was the hilt of a sword that was sealed."

  The last copper palace was the biggest, placed in the middle of the whole space and was over a thousand feet tall, it was purely majestic!

  “Sword hilt?”

  Zhong Yue was puzzled, the other copper palaces either sealed the extremely dangerous creatures or entities; so why would the core of the Seal Suppression Hall seal a supposedly harmless sword hilt?

  “Junior martial brother will know once you open the copper palace.”

  Nan Qianfang said smilingly, “When I was still the hall master, I’ve been in there quite often. Just remember to seal it back once you’ve finished looking.”

  Zhong Yue cast out the jade seal and opened the seal on the copper palace, and the door slowly creaked open. There was nothing inside of the copper palace save for the hilt of a massive sword planted in the ground as if there were a sword that pierced through the copper palace into the underground of Swords Gate.

  The sword hilt was a thousand feet tall, Zhong Yue wondered who could have been that strong to forge it. The sword hilt exuded the air of ancientness and majesty as if it were an emperor who had lived through a myriad of times and eras. Having seen the vicissitudes of life, it was even older than the Swords Gate!

  "This sword does not belong to the Swords Gate. It was here long before our ancestors had arrived at Swords Gate."

  Nan Qianfang said, "The first headmaster said that this sword has pierced right through to the core of the Devil Soul Forbidden Land. The whole Swords Gate Mountain was formed by this sword's Sword Qi. And so, this sword shall not be taken out or
otherwise, the consequences will be dire to the whole human race. However, this sword is a divine sword itself. Even the headmaster can't pull it out; so, I'm not particularly worried about allowing you to look at it, because you can only look, and you can't pull it out."

  Zhong Yue stared at the huge sword, and he was dazzled. He suddenly thought of the sword tip of the huge sword he saw in the Devil Soul Forbidden Land!

  They were parts of the same sword, the sword hilt of the sword being here while its body pierced through the whole mountain down to beneath the ground. Its tip penetrated right through the giant heart in the core of the Devil Soul Forbidden Land!

  "Junior martial brother, I've told you everything you need to know about the Seal Suppression Hall. It's time for me to leave and enjoy the rest of my life. I hope that the Seal Suppression Hall I've spent my life guarding over will remain safe and sound in your hands."

  Nan Qianfang and Zhong Yue walked out of the hidden space. She then said, "If junior martial brother were to be met with any snags and needs any advice, I'll be in the Nan Lu Clan's tribe."

  Zhong Yue thanked her and watched as the old lady walk away; she was a hero worthy of one's heartfelt respect, having spent the brightest days of her life serving the Swords Gate in the darkness of the Seal Suppression Hall.

  “Brother Yue!”

  While lost in his thoughts, a familiar voice suddenly sounded out in his ears. He looked over, and his face slowly broke out into a smile.

  Chapter 257: Madness |

  Two girls appeared in front of the Seal Suppression Hall, one standing while the other in a wheelchair, they were both bright and cheerful young ladies; one of them was tender like the water while the other pure as the moon.

  However, the "Brother Zhong" that was called out earlier did not come from the pure and naive Qiu Jin'er but the demon god that was disguised as Shui Qingyan, since Qiu Jin'er would only call him ‘senior martial brother.'

  “Junior Martial Sister Jin’er, didn’t you legs recovered?” Zhong Yue was puzzled as he walked toward them.

  Qiu Jin'er rolled her wooden wheelchair forward and said smilingly, "I can walk freely already. But I had a duel with Junior Martial Sister Shui, and she broke my legs by accident. I'm still recovering from the wound so I can only sit in the wheelchair for now."

  Rays flashed in Zhong Yue's eyes as he looked over to ‘Shui Qingyan' beside them, he concealed his killing intent and gave them warm, bright smile, "What impressive strength, I wonder if you can break my legs?"

  ‘Shui Qingyan' was soft and tender like the water; her eyes were filled with affection as he said, "If there is a chance, I'd like to try."

  Her heart stiffened as their eyes met, she could instantly feel the hidden killing intent in his eyes.

  Zhong Yue crouched down and placed his hand on Qiu Jin'er's legs. He checked her bones as he was afraid that ‘Shui Qingyan' would play dirty tricks and break all of Qiu Jin'er's bones or even more, leave behind some hidden injuries in her body.

  Qiu Jin'er's face blushed crimson red, and she thought, Grandmother Lu is not here, and senior martial brother is touching me, taking advantage of my injured body….

  Just when her thoughts were running wild, Zhong Yue surged out his psyche and inspected her broken bones, wounded tendons, and injured muscles. Immediately, she realized that she had wronged Zhong Yue.

  I initially thought that he was touching me randomly, who knew that he only intended to check on my wounds. Thankfully I didn't push him away. Otherwise, he would've known of my wild thoughts.

  Qiu Jin'er's heart was touched, and she whispered to him, "Senior martial brother, it's nothing, it's just a small wound, Junior Martial Sister Shui is also wounded."

  ‘Shui Qingyan''s eyes starting to get watery and she said mournfully, "Brother Yue, I've injured my chest, Senior Martial Sister Qiu nearly pierced through my chest, even my heart was nearly taken down by her. Why don't you come and check on me as well?"

  Nearly took down her heart? It seems like Junior Martial Sister Jin'er has already caught up to Tian Myriad Mother? En, it must due to the headmaster having taught the true quintessence of the【Great Boundless Sword Qi】to Junior Martial Sister Jin'er.

  Zhong Yue knew it very well, the【Great Boundless Sword Qi】was the cultivation art of the first Swords Gate headmaster, it was a god-level cultivation technique on its own. Only the headmasters could cultivate it. However, because of Qiu Jin'er's weak body, the current headmaster had created a sword token with the intention of passing it to her, but from a twist of fate, the sword token landed in Zhong Yue's hands. He then learned the sword token of the【Great Boundless Sword Qi】 and taught it to Qiu Jin'er.

  When they were going to the Xiao Mang Celestial Temple, the headmaster taught her the skills of the【Great Boundless Sword Qi】. During the time that Zhong Yue was not in Swords Gate, the headmaster had explained all the facets of the【Great Boundless Sword Qi】to her. That was why she could progress so quickly to eventually stand on par with Tian Myriad Mother.

  "Brother Yue is not going to caress me?" ‘Shui Qingyan' rubbed her bountiful chest and lamented.

  Zhong Yue lifted his head with a casual smile and said, "Sure, if you don't mind me doing that, why wouldn't I?"

  He stepped forward and, immediately, ‘Shui Qingyan' recoiled back. She chuckled as she said, "Brother Yue, I'm afraid that you'll take advantage of me. If you caress my chest, then my heart will be taken away by you."

  Zhong Yue was more than happy to crush this demon god and strip her wicked heart away from her; unfortunately, this demon refused to give him the chance to do so.

  Tian Myriad Mother is still in Swords Gate, which means that the celestial messenger is still in play. Lei Hong's death is only a show he put up to fool the world and divert their focus. What a shame, even until his end, Lei Hong was oblivious to the fact that he was just a pawn on someone else's chessboard, Zhong Yue thought in his heart.

  When Qiu Jin'er asked him why he was here, Zhong Yue explained to them that he had taken over Nan Qianfang's position as the hall master of Seal Suppression Hall. Upon hearing the news, anxiety gradually overtook ‘Shui Qingyan''s heart. She was initially aiming for the position, but Zhong Yue snatched it before she could do anything!

  The celestial messenger still said that Nan Qianfang is already old. He was confident that he could let me take over her position. But now, it seems like the celestial messenger is still not as powerful as the headmaster!

  Rays flashed in her eyes as she thought to herself, This old geezer of Swords gate, why did he send the Zhong Shan Clan member over? Did he find out anything?

  Her heart undulated unceasingly, Zhong Yue was undoubtedly a trusted crony of the headmaster. The headmaster favored him a lot, even going so far as imparting him the【Great Boundless Sword Qi】. Although not the full cultivation technique, the sword totem patterns was still no trifling matter!

  This Zhong Shan Clan member is half of the old geezer's disciple while Qiu Jin'er is his disciple, now, for him to send over one and a half of his disciple over here, clearly, he has honed his focus onto me so that I wouldn't be able to do anything!

  Zhong Yue glanced at the girl, he conducted his sound directly into her ears and said, "I'm quite amazed that Junior Martial Sister Shui didn't leave."

  ‘Shui Qingyan' laughed gently, and she said, "Brother Yue is still in Swords Gate, so how could I be willing to leave."

  The duo exchanged a look; they were grinding their teeth, contemplating a way to kill one another. While the concerned Qiu Jin'er was on the side asking on how Zhong Yue's closed-door training went. Zhong Yue only returned perfunctory answers as he was thinking of how to kill ‘Shui Qingyan' quietly.

  ‘Shui Qingyan' was smiling as she listened to Qiu Jin'er's questions, she suddenly smiled, "Brother Yue, there is also a Brother Yue in the East Barren called Long Yue. This Long Yue's name is now more famous than yours. I hear that he's killed over dozens of Atman Body experts; is Brother Yue
going to challenge him?"

  Zhong Yue's face turned dark; the others didn't know that ‘Long Yue' and ‘Zhong Yue' were both the same people, but this demon god knew that fact very well. She was clearly broaching the topic to threaten him!

  This brat is giving me a warning, threatening that she will expose my identities if I don't follow her instructions.

  Zhong Yue's brows raised, ‘Shui Qingyan' then transmitted to him, "Zhong Shan Clan member, I suppose you wouldn't want me to expose your little secret too, right? So just open the Seal Suppression Hall, let me take one thing, and I will be on my merry way, never to return to the Swords Gate or the Great Wilderness. I will also not help the Xiao Mang Celestial Race in their war against you humans! As long as you give me back what is mine!"

  An idea came into Zhong Yue's heart, he nearly accepted her request, and suddenly, he thought of the Tian Myriad Mother being a demon god of the demon race, a race notorious for deceit. How could her words be trusted?

  Furthermore, giving her what she wanted would only add to her strength, while he is left with nothing but her promise that she could renege on at any time.

  I nearly trusted your words and fell into your trap.

  Zhong Yue's eyes flashed, and he replied, "Alright then, junior martial sister, you want your mortal body right? Come and follow me into the Seal Suppression Hall then."

  ‘Shui Qingyan’’s eyes shifted and saw the rays that flashed across his eyes, her heart stiffened up and thought, He is trying to kill me in the Seal Suppression Hall!

  "You'll bring my mortal body out from the Seal Suppression Hall and pass it over to me." she sent via mental transmission again.

  She noticed!

  Zhong Yue sighed, he ignored her and pushed the wooden wheelchair, leaving the place as he thought, Without Grandmother Lu following, this is a good chance to spend some time with Junior Martial Sister Jin’er, but her legs aren’t too well now….