Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  The two of them stared at the battlefield and also at the insect planet on the other end before soon turning around and walking back the way they came. Zhong Yue cast out the Shao Hao Bell, and they walked into the ice tower, traipsing through the sea of ice flame again.

  Shao Hao Bell's power reached Zhong Yue again and shielded them on their way back. They crossed shoulders with the many frozen gods, but when they walked past the last Bai Zhe god, Zhong Yue raised his eyebrows and stopped.

  Bai Shuyue looked at him curiously while Zhong Yue moved again, he walked around the gigantic Bai Zhe god and said, “Senor Martial Sister Shuyue, do you notice it?”

  Bai Shuyue frowned and asked back, “Notice what?”

  “He moved.”

  Zhong Yue's eyes were slowly brightening, and he said, "Also, there were no ice shards on the ground when we came, but now there are a few … these ice shards must have been those that were on this Bai Zhe senior's back and legs. They fell off when he moved…"

  “You are saying that…” Bai Shuyue’s eyes were also brightening, she asked.

  Zhong Yue laughed and nodded, "This god of yours, he is still alive! After we left, he must have broken part of the ice and taken a step before he was frozen again!"

  Bai Shuyue's heart thumped in joy, and she implored, "If he is still alive, can Senior Martial Brother Zhong please save him out from this ice palace?"

  Zhong Yue raised his head and measured the Bai Zhe god's size. He shook his head and said, "He is too big, my Shao Hao Bell can't cover him inside. Then, he is also frozen by the ice flame. It is incredibly hard to move him, at least, not with our abilities. Other than that…"

  He flipped his hand, and the Luminant Sun Gold appeared on his hand, he then said, "I can try to melt the ice shards that are freezing his legs."

  Bai Shuyue tensed up and quickly said, "Please be careful!"

  Zhong Yue then gathered all of his might up, and the Great Sun Golden Crow Yuan Shen flew into the Luminant Sun Gold, causing the sunfire to burn even greater vigor. The ice shards were quickly melted away!

  The ice shards were melting, and after some time, they all melted away. left only with the Bai Zhe god's legs frozen in the ice.

  Zhong Yue continued melting the ice away, and in just a few moments, the smell of roasted meat filled the air, and Bai Shuyue shouted, "Senior martial brother, you've burned his leg … Ah, you’ve amputated them!”

  Zhong Yue blushed, and he said apologetically, "I didn't know his mortal couldn't withstand the sunfire … But it's just two legs. Maybe the gods can grow them back again."

  Bai Shuyue was between laughter and tears, and she replied, "The Bai Zhe Clan are not lizards, how can our legs be regrown?"

  Zhong Yue's face blushed even more, and he quickly said, "Now, we can bring him out."

  Bai Shuyue was helpless and the two youngsters each grabbed onto the god's legs while they dragged him along as they walked toward the outside.

  "Senior martial brother, when we get out, remember not to say it was you that broke his legs," the young lady thought and said.

  Chapter 410: Memories Left in the Past |

  Zhong Yue nodded seriously. This god was obviously one of the oldest ancestors of the Bai Zhe Clan, and only an idiot would talk about burning his legs!

  “Actually, the roasted Bai Zhe thigh might taste very good.”

  Xin Huo then said again, "He is, after all, a god. The tender and crispy leg of this god after being roasted will definitely be very delicious. The nutrition in its meat may not be stronger than the godly herbs, but they are definitely incredible. Brat Yue, why don't we dig out the legs of the old dog and eat them?"

  Zhong Yue quickly rejected his suggestion; it was already bad enough that Zhong Yue had roasted the legs of the Bai Zhe Clan's god, not to mention eating them as well.

  "Senior martial brother, please do not tell anyone that I taught you the【Million God Ice Saint Art】, Lord Bai's ultimate art," requested Bai Shuyue, "There will be a thousand different ways of thinking if there are a thousand people. If they find out that you received Lord Bai's heritage, you may not be able to walk out of North Barren alive."

  With a nod, Zhong Yue promised her that he wouldn't divulge the fact that he learned Lord Bai's heritage. If someone were to know that the art was taught to him, it would be hard to guarantee that no

  one would try to kill him out of jealousy or to prevent the art from leaking to the outside world.

  The two then dragged the ice sealed god back to the path where they came from, and after spending two days, they finally dragged the god out of the ice palace.

  As soon as they walked out of the palace, an insect race god that was sealed in ice in the icy fire ocean suddenly broke free from the ice. But after only stepping forward once, it was immediately sealed again.

  While being sealed within the ice, a blazing fire could be seen burning brightly in the insect god' eyes as it tried to gather the power to attempt to break free from the seal again.

  From the immense life force emitted from the insect race god, it would still live for a very long time. And step by step, it was moving towards the Ancestral Star.

  Meanwhile, wave after wave of the Bai Zhe clansmen rushed towards the Frozen Ancient Capital as news about the sealed god of their clan was found and brought back to their capital.

  Without a second thought, the magnate Qi Practitioners of the Bai Zhe Clan promptly took action by trying to melt the black ice around the god. All of a sudden, everyone in the capital had become busy.

  Another wave of news then arrived saying that when Bai Shuyue entered the deepest part of the ice palace, she discovered that the place she entered was not the place that hid Lord Bai's heritage, but instead, it was another planet ... a planet where the insect race dwelled.

  They also learned that Lord Bai sealed the ice palace to stop the invasion of the insect race and he even gave his life in order to stop their invasion; after sealing the ice palace, Lord Bai fought with the Insect Queen, and in the end, they both died in the ice palace. However, things did not stop there. The insect race was still sending out their warriors to breakthrough this ice sealed tunnel.

  Whereas for Bai Shuyue, she was appointed as the next clan master of Bai Zhe Clan by Bai Zhenhuang after it became known that the Lord Bai remnant spirit had passed down his heritage to Bai Shuyue. Bai Zhenhuang then ordered that no one was to enter the ice palace under any circumstances.

  In every version of the news and rumors, Bai Shuyue was the spotlight; it was her that got past the obstacles with her wisdom and knowledge to finally enter the depths of the palace and receive Lord Bai's heritage. It was also her that saved the god of the Bai Zhe Clan and the entire Bai Zhe Clan from the dangers of the insect race.

  Zhong Yue, however, was not mentioned at all.

  But Zhong Yue was not affected at all for he was an outsider. Although Bai Zhe Clan gave the humans the same treatment they gave the other celestial races, in the end, humanity was still the weakest race. Humanity's inferiority had been so ingrained in everyone's minds that nobody thought for a moment that Zhong Yue had any significant role in the events that took place.

  Bai Shuyue was nothing similar to Zhong Yue on the other hand. She was one of the Bai Zhe Clan's people. It was normal that they exaggerated her contributions to increase her reputation.

  But from what Zhong Yue knew about Bai Shuyue, it was probably not her intent to take all the credit for herself. All of this was most likely orchestrated by the higher-ups of the Bai Zhe Clan to raise her popularity.

  With Bai Shuyue receiving Lord Bai's heritage, she was destined to become the next clan master, and by taking the credits all for her, the process of appointing her as the clan master would proceed with far fewer obstacles.

  I wonder if the Shao Hao Bell will bestow me with power.

  Zhong Yue calmed himself down and visualized the Shao Hao Bell. When the translucent bell appeared, it started rotating, but Zhong Yue felt no powe
r from the bell.

  With his current level, the bell could only act as an above-average defensive skill.

  Shame… If the bell were to grant its power to me each time I visualized it, then it would be great! Maybe the gods would not even be able to harm me if I could do so.

  But this Shao Hao Bell is indeed amazing! Even without the support of the real artifact, I would no longer have to be afraid of the attacks from those on the Heavenly Dharma level because of the crazy defense of this bell! I must really study this bell carefully!

  Because of the rush in the ice palace to get across the icy fire ocean, he had no time to study this bell properly. Thus, its translucency when Zhong Yue visualized the bell was due to him having not mastered this art yet.

  But now, since he had the time, Zhong Yue calmed down again and started studying the bell carefully.

  In just a short while, he had gained quite a lot from his focus on the bell. Not only that, but he gained even more by visualizing the bell and opening up his divine third eye to examine the bell's totem carvings individually.

  And this【Million God Ice Saint Art】 is also something incredible!

  Zhong Yue also studied this art during his free time as well, but he quickly realized that he would not be able to fully unleash the power of this art.

  The million gods' picture contained in the art, however, was very important to Zhong Yue; the million gods' picture contained countless images of various celestial races and analyzing their structures would allow Zhong Yue perfect his【Celestial Demon Tai Chi Art】!

  But the【Million God Ice Saint Art】was very difficult to cultivate, and after a long time of trying, Zhong Yue decided he would not try to cultivate this art but just study it to obtain its essence.

  Time slowly passed, and after a month, Zhong Yue had already made significant strides in his cultivation from the Shao Hao Bell and【Million God Ice Saint Art】, but he was still unsure of how to merge the【Million God Ice Saint Art】into his【Celestial Demon Tai Chi Art】.

  In the end, Zhong Yue decided to leave the North Barren. Accompanied by Bai Zhenhuang, Bai Zhenbei, Bai Shuyue, and the others, they sent him off with a grand ceremony.

  Everyone walked him out of the capital and sent him all the way to the border of North Barren.

  Bai Shuyue, on the other hand, sent Zhong Yue all the way into the East Barren. Zhong Yue said, "It's fine, any further and we will be in Swords Gate. It's time for you to turn back."

  With hesitation, Bai Shuyue then replied, "Senior Martial Brother Zhong, everything that happened back there was not my idea…."

  "I know ... I know that you wouldn't deliberately take credit for yourself, but it's not something worth worrying about. It doesn't really matter to me anyway."

  Bai Shuyue nodded, and when she took out a token, "My Bai Zhe Clan is in your debt, senior martial brother. I will not forget what you did for us. Please take this token, and when you need me, just come to me with this token, and we will fulfill one request from you."

  Zhong Yue looked at the token with a Bai Zhe Celestial Being's drawing with the word "Hou" at the back. As he took over the token, he immediately knew that the token was forged by Lord Bai instead of Bai Shuyue as when he held the token in his hands, he felt a faint godly aura surging out from it.

  "Junior Martial Sister Shuyue, do you have any idea what you just said?"

  All in a sudden, Zhong Yue felt that the token was incredibly heavy, and he asked, "You might drag the entire clan into a calamity. If the humans are in trouble, then your Bai Zhe Clan will have no choice but to help us if I asked for your help with this token."

  Bai Shuyue then smiled and replied, "It was not my intention to give you the Lord Bai Token but the higher-ups'. The old ancestor you saved in the icy fire ocean also mentioned that the Bai Zhe Clan is indebted to you. Thus, you shall be given the best treatment by the Bai Zhe Clan."

  Nervously, Zhong Yue kept the token away and asked, "He's awake now? Did he say that I'm the one that burnt his legs?"

  With a giggle, Bai Shuyue put up a smile and said, "No, he didn't. He said that his legs might not grow back, but he could easily transplant a pair of leg or fit them with soul weapons instead. He also wanted me to thank you for saving him, or he would have died there sooner or later."

  Finally, relieved, Zhong Yue nodded and waved at Bai Shuyue as he turned around and walked away.

  Bai Shuyue sent him off with her eyes. Suddenly, an emptiness filled up her heart, and she suddenly shouted, "Senior Martial Brother Zhong!

  Zhong Yue turned back, but the young lady from Bai Zhe Clan suddenly seemed to be unable to say anything. She only put up a sweet smile that seemed to cause the surrounding to light up.

  The young lady then said sweetly, "The【Million God Ice Saint Art】I taught you was only the part I could master. When I finally mastered the art, I would like to invite Senior Martial Brother Zhong to return so that I can teach you the rest!"

  Zhong Yue stared at her for a moment before nodding in appreciation and walking away. Bai Shuyue then stood in silence until he disappeared from her sight.

  ***

  Many years later, the young man from the Zhong Shan Clan would return to the Frozen Ancient Capital to take her up on her offer.

  When Zhong Yue later left the Ancestral Star, Bai Shuyue would patiently wait in the Frozen Ancient Capital for his return until she turned old.

  She would constantly reflect back to that moment before he left ... if she had mustered the courage to stop him, or if she had gone with him, then perhaps the two of them might have had a different ending.

  She would sometimes think that things would have been different if only she had the courage to confess.

  But all of these were fated to remain questions she asked herself when she reminisced about the fleeting times she shared with Zhong Yue.

  ***

  Zhong Yue entered the East Barren, and as his psyche shifted, Long Yue, who was a million miles away from him, got up. He then took out a totem pillar and said, "Senior Martial Brother Zhong, what's wrong?"

  "Senior Martial Brother Gu Hongzi, I've returned to the north of the East Barren. I would like to meet you," answered Zhong Yue.

  Chapter 411: Lord of The Feng Gu City |

  Outside of the monster Feng Gu City, Zhong Yue was standing on top of a mountain. His psyche surged up a giant stone, and in just the blink of an eye, the giant rock was carved into a small wayside pavilion with a stone table and stone chairs.

  Zhong Yue sat down and took out teapot and cups as he began boiling tea before waiting patiently.

  Half a day's time passed before a sudden ray of light made a beautiful arc across the sky, landing beside the pavilion. Gu Hongzi then slowly walked into the pavilion and said, "Junior Martial Brother Zhong, what is so urgent? Is there anything that can't be said through the totem pillars? If Shi Buyi finds out about this, that old lion will become suspicious of you."

  Zhong Yue gestured Gu Hongzi to take a seat, and he lifted up the teapot and laughed, "It's been a long time since we last met. I'm missing senior martial brother a little. Furthermore, even if Shi Buyi finds out, he won't suspect Long Yue at all."

  Gu Hongzi sat down, and Zhong Yue poured him a cup of fresh tea. The tea was clear and had a bitter yet sweet aroma.

  The tea itself carried a faint surge of spiritual energy.

  “Good tea.”

  Gu Hongzi praised and said, "What is this tea?"

  Zhong Yue smiled and answered, "This is the Gentian Tea, the gentian is bitter, but the tea leaves themselves are sweet. I brought this tea back from the North Barren, gifted by the clan master of the Bai Zhe Clan. Give it a try, senior martial brother."

  Gu Hongzi took a sip, and he praised, "How much do you have left, give me some."

  Zhong Yue took out another pack of Gentian Tea, and Gu Hongzi immediately snatched it, taking half of it. He then said, "Junior Martial Brother Zhong, what do you want to say?"

  "You've bee
n missing for so long, I don't know of your status, or whether or not your injuries have recovered."

  Zhong Yue then said, "Now that I see that you seem alive and well and that your cultivation base has increased substantially, my heart can be at ease. Senior Martial Brother Gu, Swords Gate is now on the rise, and we will bring humanity to the top of this world. You will only be in Shi Buyi's shadow in the East Barren as long as he's alive. Why don't you follow me back to the Great Wilderness?"

  Gu Hongzi shook his head and said bitterly, "My heart has wanted to soar in this world freely for as long as I can remember, and now, the only man that can restrain me has died. It is time for me to spread my wings. Senior Martial Brother Zhong, I've repaid all my debts to the old man. Now, it is time for me to live for myself. True, I am a half-human, but let's not forget that I am also a half-monster too. Nothing can excite me more than a strong opponent like Shi Buyi. However, if I leave for Great Wilderness, I will be branded a traitor for sure. I will never be able to return to the monster race after that."

  Zhong Yue sighed. He knew that Gu Hongzi was an independent man and that convincing him to change his mind was nearly impossible.

  “You and I are still senior martial siblings.”

  Gu Hongzi laughed and said, "In Swords Gate, I only know you, the old man, and Old Shui. Furthermore, Jun Sixie is an iron lady whose reputation was no weaker than mine. Of course, I wouldn't go and be an elder under her commands. My ambition is to become the master of the whole East Barren!"

  Zhong Yue then gave up on persuading Gu Hongzi. He raised his head and looked at Feng Gu City, saying, "Other than trying to convince you to return to the Great Wilderness, I have another matter I need to talk to you about. I've found a dimensional tunnel in the Bai Zhe Clan's Frozen Ancient Capital, one that links our Ancestral Star to the insect planet. Although the grand ancestor of the Bai Zhe Clan sealed the tunnel away a long time ago, it did bring up something in my mind."