by Tinalynge
The years had gone by and now the Rong twins were twenty years old, and so was Deng Wu, Ma Kong and Gao Yan. These students were now at the age where they would say good bye to the Royal Academy, as it was time for them to graduate.
Deng Wu had long since been invited to stay at the main branch of the Royal Academy within the capital, yet he had declined due to personal reasons.
Hui Yue had previously asked what his reasons were, yet Deng Wu refused to answer. He would only smile slightly and shake his head, patting Hui Yue’s hair, as though he was an older brother who told his younger sibling to patiently wait.
Seeing this behaviour, Hui Yue could not help but frown slightly and wonder what was so important that Deng Wu could not tell him, yet at the same time Hui Yue decided not to turn it into a big issue. He trusted Deng Wu. In any case, Hui Yue knew more about this mysterious friend of his than anyone else, and strangely enough, Hui Yue trusted Deng Wu.
Looking at the many people within the City Lord’s mansion, nostalgia erupted within Hui Yue as the subject turned to graduation.
It was obvious that his friends at their twentieth birthday were going to graduate, but whereas Deng Wu had declined to join the main branch of the Royal Academy, Rong Ming and Rong Xing had both accepted the invitation. After a year, the two of them would be moving to the capital where they would stay for who knew how long.
Hui Yue and Wang Ju Long were both at the age where they should stay at the academy, yet Hui Yue saw no reason to stay any longer, as he had never enjoyed the lectures; his main reason to attend had been to spend time with his friends, and also to have a place for his purchase of medicinal pills.
Hui Yue had long since read through the entire library and his knowledge about the world and different animals was far above the norm. He had even read through the different martial art skills in hope of finding something else like Fire Spark, which could be evolved, but he did not find any.
“Oh yea.” Deng Wu turned in his chair and looked at Hui Yue, “I heard that there is a small mansion up for sale, why don’t we go have a look together?” Hearing this, Hui Yue’s interest was piqued.
The fact that he was leaving the academy obviously meant that Hui Yue no longer had a place to live, yet the young man had no interest in returning home to his parents’ village. Instead, he planned on settling in Riluo City, until he manages to reach the Master rank. Unfortunately, Hui Yue was realistic, and he knew that although he was currently at the ninth star of the Practitioner rank, the envisioned breakthrough to Master Rank remained a distant light. It was likely that it would take him a full year to do so.
Nodding his head, Hui Yue agreed to Deng Wu’s proposition. They made plans for the following day to go look at the mansion and possibly buy it. Hui Yue could not help but laugh candidly, as he found it funny how he now, as a fifteen-year-old boy, was considering becoming a house-owner, while in his old world, at the age of twenty-four, he still lived at home with his parents.
Laughing and chatting with each other, Hui Yue stayed at the City Lord’s mansion all night and it was not until the sun was rising that he left through the mansion gates, moving back towards the inn.
So far, Hui Yue had only been targeted when the sun had just set, never in broad daylight, and this was one of the reasons why Hui Yue had waited so long before he left the party. He spent the whole night drinking and eating, and his body was slightly wobbly as he left the mansion, slowly making his way back to the inn while enjoying the crisp morning air.
Hui Yue had made it back halfways, when he suddenly furrowed his brows in confusion. Although he had not felt someone tailing him, he still felt a constantly looming feeling of danger, and the red mist within his dantian cave was roiling, trying to free itself from its cave like a wild beast bound by a cage.
Hui Yue was not dumb, instantly entering a state of alert allowing for his Qi to channel through his meridians and enter his body, expunging the alcohol. He kept walking as though he was slightly drunk, no longer heading for the inn, but instead sighing as he went through the streets wherein citizens were slowly waking up and moving around as the first rays of sunshine broke through the sky.
Hui Yue moved through the streets, yet the further he went, the more citizens he walked into. As he reached the marketplace, where all the mercenaries had awoken long before, he saw them queued up in front of various stalls, preparing for their daily trip to the Magical Forest to look for magical crystals, beast cores, or medicinal herbs.
Walking past the marketplace, Hui Yue traversed through the city for more than an hour before he finally found a shaded alleyway where no one was looking, as he once more faced his back against the wall, preparing to welcome whoever was following him this time.
Turning around, Hui Yue saw a black cloaked man behind him, yet this time he could not sense anything from this person.
‘Be careful.’ Lan Feng growled from within, ‘this guy is higher ranked than any of the ones you have faced before. Do you want me to take over?’
Having Lan Feng with him caused Hui Yue to feel slightly calmer, yet he shook his head. It was important for Hui Yue to learn how to fight his own battles and his eyes slowly got a hint of red deep within, as the red mist was released from his dantian cave.It rushed through his meridians and entered every cell in his body, causing the jade white skin to turn slightly red and an oppressive aura quickly appeared, putting pressure on the unknown man in front of Hui Yue.
Hui Yue quickly used both Velocity Flow and Transforming Weapon: sword style, before he rushed towards the stunned man.
The slash was perfect. Had it been any of the men whom Hui Yue had previously met, then their head would have been sent rolling, yet this man only grunted slightly in response as a whistling shockwave boomed out the moment his spiritual shield yellow in colour rose to block the sword.
Hui Yue could not help but swear slightly as he quickly retreated, once more allowing his back to push against the wall for protection, yet a sudden pain arrived from his right shoulder. Hui Yue gasped in pain as he looked down and saw an earthen spike which had been summoned from the wall behind him. This spike had penetrated through his shoulder, skewering sinew and muscle, sticking out from the other side, and Hui Yue gritted his teeth to not allow himself to collapse from the sharp pain.
Throwing the Qi sword to his left hand, Hui Yue sliced off the earthen spike before he jolted away from the wall. Now he no longer had anything protecting his back and with his right arm no longer functional, he knew this would be a tough fight.
Blood kept dripping out from the hole in Hui Yue’s shoulder, and the blood caused the beautiful white robe to be dyed red. Circulating his Qi, Hui Yue managed to close the wound, yet even in doing so, Hui Yue noticed that he could not heal the wound and his right arm remained dysfunctional.
Relying solely on Velocity Flow, Hui Yue managed to dodge one earthen spear after another. Hui Yue dispelled his Transforming Weapons and instead he grasped Black Blood with his left hand and at the same time materialized the Qi Fan, which he jumped on, the addition of flight giving him a slight advantage against an Earth affinity cultivator.
Using the Qi fan’s mobility to avoid the spears, Hui Yue managed to get closer and closer to the man in front of him, using Black Blood to attack the spiritual shield, but no matter how much he attacked, the shield remained staunch.
Black dots appeared in front of Hui Yue’s eyes, as the world slowly started to turn black in front of him. Gritting his teeth, Hui Yue once more guided the Qi fan towards the man in front of him. Once more the attack did no damage, and Hui Yue could only watch helplessly, as yet another earthen spear appeared underneath him.
Forcing him to use the rest of his Qi to dodge, Hui Yue managed to turn the Qi Fan away, and ever so slowly, Hui Yue managed to fly out of the alleyway before a black world engulfed him.
Chapter 73 - The Green Pearl
* * *
Chapter 73: The Green Pearl
Hui Yue did not get
to enjoy the black world for long before he was awoken by an intense pain in his leg. Hui Yue’s black comfortable numbness immediately vanished and instead it was replaced by a throbbing pain in his shoulder along with an intense feeling of sharp pain from something stabbing all the way through his leg.
Hui Yue forced himself to open his eyes and face reality, only to see that his leg had been impaled by yet another earthen spear. The wound was so severe that the bone was visible. Fortunately, his bone had not been broken, and despite the wound Hui Yue forced himself back onto his legs, as he saw the black cloaked man approaching him from behind.
Hui Yue was currently stuck on a rooftop where the Qi Fan had taken him before it vanished as he lost consciousness.
Gritting his teeth, Hui Yue circulated the Qi within his body, forcing it to leave the Chong Mai meridian and enter his bloodstream. Hui Yue was in a rush, and he forcefully pushed the Qi to the wound on his leg and the wound on his shoulder, closing off the wounds, once more stopping the blood flow which now left Hui Yue in a critical stage.
Once more the earthen spears appeared next to Hui Yue, but this time he managed to avoid them. Although the situation was terrible, Hui Yue felt as though he himself needed to be able to deal with it, and he had forcefully suppressed the aggravated phoenix within his dantian cave, not allowing for him to come out.
With the current condition of Hui Yue’s body, his body would not be able to withstand it, if they used the energy which belonged to Lan Feng. Instead, Hui Yue once more activated Velocity Flow and he shot off into the distance. Currently it was impossible for him to attack the hooded man and survive. His only option was to retreat and deal with him when his wounds were tended to.
However, how could it be easy to escape? Although Hui Yue still managed to control Velocity Flow, he was clearly pressed for time as his Qi spiral was getting smaller and smaller, as Qi was constantly used to keep his body from bleeding out. Along with paying attention to Velocity Flow, he managed to dodge the onslaught of earthen spikes by a hair’s breadth each time.
The only fortunate thing was that this spiritual Master was constantly murmuring incantations to make the earth move at his behest, while his hands were formed into a square shape. This allowed Hui Yue to increase the distance between the two of them, and while relying on speed alone, Hui Yue managed to get away with only a few more scratches, but no more serious injuries.
Hui Yue rushed past one rooftop after another, until he finally managed to jump into yet another alleyway. His Qi was almost exhausted, and he was no longer able to focus on anything as the entire world kept spinning.
Lan Feng was constantly speaking to Hui Yue, so that he would not lose consciousness, during this Hui Yue clenched his jaw as he forced his mind to stay alert and slowly dragged his beaten-up body back to the inn.
Walking through the front door, the manager instantly recognized Hui Yue, as he had become a regular, and upon seeing the blood which coated the boy’s white robe, shock filled his mind.
“Young master!” He exclaimed in shock, “should I contact a healer?” he asked, yet Hui Yue was currently struggling just to stay awake and his eyes were distant, and they looked as if hidden behind a red mist. A killing intent kept appearing then disappearing, switching place with an odd tranquillity. Both emotions were fighting to take over the almost unconscious boy.
The manager was frozen in place, unable to utter another sound because he felt how his heart was beating frantically, a manic expression appearing on his face as he feared that the deranged youth might end up killing him if his beating heart was heard.
Hui Yue was walking as though he was in another world. Nothing seemed to appear in front of his eyes as black dots were dancing, blurring everything. He had only managed to return to the inn with the help of Lan Feng’s constant yelling and his instincts drove him to the safest location he knew.
Walking through the front doors of the inn, Hui Yue saw nothing nor did he hear anything. His exhausted body had long since given out, and his final Qi thread had been used on the way back home. Instead, the red mist and blue cloud had taken turns sealing the wounds while fighting the other to become the dominant energy within his body.
Making his way up the stairs, dripping blood on the beautiful carpet, Hui Yue finally opened the door to see that Sha Yun was waiting for him. A smile appeared on his face as he recognized the familiar feeling of having her by his side, and he collapsed on the floor without saying a word.
Hui Yue was floating within a black abyss. Nothing seemed to be present apart from the black world expanding infinitely. While in this black abyss, Hui Yue sensed that it was possible for him to move around, and he slowly started floating further and further away from his previous location, yet all he saw was the black world where nothing was present, not even the ground or the sky, just the black abyss.
Hui Yue felt as though he had been locked within this realm for an eternity, before he finally came across a change. Within this black abyss, the first thing he saw was five flames with different colours and sizes forming a pentagon.
The yellow flame and the red flame were definitely the biggest of the five, closely followed by the silver flame. The green and the blue flames were both present, but neither of them had a decent size, making them seem to struggle for survival.
Looking at these flames, Hui Yue assumed it had something to do with his and Lan Feng’s elemental affinity, as the red flame and yellow flame could easily represent the affinities he had. What caused Hui Yue to be slightly hesitant about his theory, however, was that all the flames were present, when the phoenix taught him that it was only possible to have two affinities each.
Could it be that Lan Feng had been wrong? Furrowing his brows, Hui Yue felt as though he had been looking at the elements for what seemed like an eternity, but even while doing so, Hui Yue was not able to understand what they represented, and instead he decided to move on. Who knew what else he might find in this infinite abyss. Moving further away, Hui Yue once more travelled for an eternity within the black world, nothing was moving except him. The world seemed as though it had reached a standstill.
Finally, light was seen within the darkness, a light which seemed very familiar. Hui Yue was suddenly within a room which seemed exactly like his dantian cave, yet no colours nor sounds were heard. The Qi spiral was frozen in place, and so was Lan Feng who could be seen sleeping on the side.
The only light and movement came from the small caves which had been created on the dantian cave wall. The caves containing the blood red mist and the clear blue sky. Currently the two phenomena were moving around actively as though they had sensed Hui Yue, yet what drew his attention was no longer the two open caves. Instead he moved straight for one of the closed caves in front of him.
Hui Yue’s eyes grew wide as he felt a calling. A calling from the other side of the barrier, and ever so slowly, he raised his white pale hand and placed it upon the energy screen which kept the cave closed off, only to see it slowly dissipated below his hand, the energy shining brightly as it flew into the Qi spiral which in turn started turning ever so slowly.
At first he was blinded by the intense light of the energy, which shone out from within the room. A bright green and comfortable colour illuminated the otherwise black version of his dantian cave.
The previously frozen Qi Spiral was now revolving rapidly around itself, and the copy of Hui Yue was currently refining the energy which had been blocking the cave before.
Within the cave was a small green pearl which was floating around in a pattern similar to that of the Qi spiral. As soon as the doorway was opened and the pearl revolved around itself a few times, it ended up releasing long rays of green light, which exited the Qi cave and entered the Chong Mai meridian.
Hui Yue was unable to see anything else, as he once again found himself within the black abyss, floating around, yet now his body seemed to be aching slightly.
The aching turned into sharp pain and the pain seemed to
grow in intensity. When the first sharp pain appeared, a white flash illuminated the abyss for a tenth of a second, and strangely the more pain he felt, the lighter the surroundings grew.
Little by little, Hui Yue seemed to return to the world as the pain was changing the surroundings. Hui Yue finally opened his eyes and looked at a worried Sha Yun, who had tears flowing from her eyes as she shook the wounded Hui Yue.
Hui Yue could not help but hiss in pain as the shaking was done. Sha Yun’s long and sharp nails were piercing his wounded shoulder, and he quickly made her stop what she was doing.
Looking down, Hui Yue saw how in front of him a green glow was causing the wound on his leg to heal before his very eyes. Although the speed was far inferior to that of a professional healer, it was definitely healing much quicker than Hui Yue had ever healed in the past.
The green light seemed so familiar and Hui Yue’s eyes widened in shock when he realised that this light was the one he had released in his black dantian cave previously, while stuck within the black abyss.
