A Beginning's Continuation

by Tony Tran

  Chapter 85: Rising Moon

  The transparent crystal-like blade of the Rising Moon Sword glinted as it continued to send out pulses of essence that seemed to steal away all of the weight belonging to everyone and everything present.

  As if she was drawn to the shining sword, Ai could be seen swimming through the air weightlessly.

  “It's so, shiny.” She muttered as her gets twinkled for a second before she shook her head and had a confused expression on her face.

  Not noticing Ai, Zhang swam toward the Rising Moon Sword while reaching out with his hand.

  “Whatever is happening, this sword is the cause of it.” He mumbled as the tips of his fingers were centimeters away from the sword’s hilt. However, before his hand could wrap around the treasured sword, Zhang felt the weight of the world pressing down upon him once more, causing him and everything one else to fall toward the ground. Following Zhang, the beauties and their swords were a rain of gold coins and various precious items.

  Before anyone could get up however something else occurred, instead of being weightless, they all felt as if they had become twice maybe three times heavier.

  As it felt like the weight of a mountain was bearing down on them and squeezing the air out of their lungs, Zhang’s power exploded as he pushed himself up from the ground and began to slowly inch toward the sword.

  “The cape that brings nightmares into reality, the heart that grants its user with the ability to control the substance of life and now the sword that can manipulate the weight of the world.” Zhang chuckled as felt the gravity in the room continuing to increase.

  Luckily for everyone else before the situation got out of hand and caused any injuries, Zhang’s hand gripped the hilt of the Rising Moon Sword and lifted it into the air while injecting it with his essence. In a flash, the gravity in the room returned to normal and everyone slowly pushed themselves up.

  “Let's do that again!” Ai said in a cheerful voice as it seemed like she regained her regular attitude and composure.

  “Now that we have the sword let's quickly collect the treasure and leave.” Ling said as she patted the dust off her dress.

  “I'll let you play with it later.” Zhang said as he deposited the sword into his interspatial ring while his soldiers resumed their task of collecting the treasures littering the cavern floor.

  While Zhang’s people were busy working, time flew by like a breeze and the sun outside had already disappeared as the moon rose into the night sky.

  Beneath the moon's embrace, hundreds of flying war chariots and magical beasts could be seen moving through the sky, leaving streaks through the clouds that they passed.

  “Grand Elder Du Zhao after flying nonstop for six days we should be nearing the location where our people had last been heard from.” A man who appeared to be neither a saint nor a level ten cultivator said politely.

  “Alright, have everyone take an Essence Supplement Pill and be ready to engage any hostiles that may appear.” Grand Elder Du Zhao said as his eyes scanned the surrounding skies.

  Although they had originally planned to arrive at their destination after ten days of travel, due to orders from Grand Elder Du Zhao the people of the Lunar Sect were forced to fly for five days and five nights’ street while using Essence Supplement Pills to replenish their strength.

  Since they avoided all of the major roads and territory controlled by various forces, the group led by Grand Elder Du Zhao were able to move very quickly without being delayed. Also as a force comprised of two peak level full saints, a few lower class full saints, a dozen or so, lesser saints and hundreds of level eight through ten cultivators, there were few who dared to provoke them.

  “Grand Elder Du Zhao! The scouts that we’ve sent ahead have reported spotting a large crater that appears to have been dug not too long ago. Not too far from it is a larger crater and there seem to be people in it. From the reaction of our Soul bound Jade Slips, it appears our people are there.” A disciple of the sect reported after bowing and while clasping his hands.

  Without saying a single word, Grand Elder Du Zhao made his flying chariot soar through the sky and toward the smaller crater where Zhang had sent his volunteers to dig.

  Down on the ground, Zhang’s group of volunteers could be seen with confused faces as they were wondering when the usual carts filled with food were coming. Since Zhang had basically confiscated all of their supplies, magical items, and medical pills, the volunteers were somewhat reliant on the food provided to them.

  That being said if they were not forced to dig all day then they would be more than capable of living off the forest that was teaming with demonic beasts and other sources of food.

  “Where are today's rations…” The Eighth Elder of the Lunar Sect grumbled while sitting atop a flat rock.

  “To think members of a sect such as ours has been reduced to such a sorry state.” A loud and intimidating voice causing every one of the forced volunteers to look into the sky as they felt an overbearing pressure descend upon them.

  “Grand Elder Du Zhao!” All of elders and disciples of the Lunar Sect on the ground said as they fell to their knees and bowed in reverence. Although there were two grand elders present, the other grand elder referred to by the name of Grand Elder Hua Xiong did not make himself known by releasing his powers and chose to stay in the background mixed in with the hundreds of elders and students who filled the sky.

  As grand elders bother Du Zhao and Hua Xiong was highly respected within the Lunar Sect so, the sight of thousands of disciples paying their respects to them was nothing new nor an odd sight at all.

  “All of you raise and tell me what happen.” Elder Du Zhao’s voice rang through the air.

  “Your excellency, we were forced into servitude by a rogue saint level cultivator.” The Eighth Elder cried as looked up into the air while still on his knees.

  “A rogue saint? Didn't you tell them that you're a part of the Lunar Sect?” Grand Elder Du Zhao said as he and those in the sky began to descend.

  “We did my lord, but they opposite party merely laughed and mocked us. He also stole all of our belonging and forced us to dig away at the ground for days.” The Eighth Elder said while trying to portray Zhang as the villain and aggressor by leaving out parts of the story.

  “Although our sect is not the strongest in the land, a single roadie Saint dares to not give us face?” Grand Elder Du Zhao roared in an enraged voice before anyone else could rectify what actually happened.

  “Where is he?!” Grand Elder Du Zhao asked.

  “I don't know my lord.” The Eighth Elder said hurriedly as he began to prostrate on the ground once again.

  “The lot of you go find this rogue saint!” Grand Elder Du Zhao said. Since most saints south of the Lunar Mountains were mere lesser saints and those who weren't would certainly know about and not dare to cause trouble for the Lunar Sect, Du Zhao has concluded that Zhang was certainly a newly ascended lesser Saint who did not know who he was messing with.

  Upon Grand Elder Du Zhao’s words, all of the forces under his command took to the skies once again in search of Zhang and his people, leaving only those who were forced into labor and the two grand elders behind.

  Without saying anything and with an unhappy expression still on his face, Grand Elder Du Zhao waved his hands and made a hill of swords and a hill of bottles filled with medical pills appear.

  “Arm yourselves and prepare for battle…” He said in a stern voice that made it so, none of those present dared to talk.

  While the elders and disciples of the Lunar Sect scoured the sky in search of any traces of Zhang, deep underneath the surface of the earth, the elite guard was finishing up their tasks and turning in interspatial rings filled with treasure to their master.

  “I'll check what's in these once we depart from this place.” Zhang said with a chuckle as he looked out over the empty chamber that had been filled to the brim with riches not too long ago.

  With all of the trea
sures that had been in the cavern collected, Zhang and the rest of the group began to make their departure and head back toward the surface unaware of what was occurring outside.

  As the group passed through the tunnel that they came in through and made their way out of the pit that had opened up in the ground, Zhang felt dozens of divine senses radiating throughout the area.

  “Go back down and stay there until it is safe to leave, I'll go lead them somewhere else.” Zhang said in a low tone as he shot out toward the sky, leaving behind the beauties and the elite guard.

  As Zhang emerged from the pit and pierced through the air, he could see that the sky was swarming with people who from his guesses were hostiles.

  “It's him!” A loud voice could be heard as the Eighth Elder of the Lunar Sect could be seen atop a flying sword high up in the sky.

  “Kow tow a hundred times and swear to be a servant of my Lunar Sect for a hundred years or you'll be granted death.” An intimidating voice echoed through the air.

  Looking up Zhang could see an elderly looking man whose hair was entirely snow white besides their very tips which were slightly red. This elderly man’s eyes gave off an intense amount of bloodlust that would make most people’s spines shiver.

  “Senior, perhaps there's some sort of misunderstanding between us Seeing that this is the first time we've met.” Zhang said politely. Although the Sky Fortress and most of his people had been safely sent away, his wives and the elite guard were still on the ground, so, as he saw it if he could avoid a confrontation then he wouldn't have to place the lives of those close to him in danger.

  But if it came to it Zhang was fairly certain he would be able to hold his own against even a high saint now that he possessed the Rising Moon Sword.

  “Playing dumb now that you're outnumbered?” The Eighth Elder of the Lunar Sect mocked.

  “Insolent…” Zhang muttered as he used the Underworld Heart to condense the essence around him into a sword made entirely out of crystal. An instant later the crystal sword shot into the air and before anyone could react the Eighth Elder uttered a heart-wrenching wail as his right arm was severed and fell to the ground. After completing its task, the crystal sword disintegrated and disappeared leaving everyone present either in awe or shocked.

  “You dare!” Grand Elder Du Zhao roared.

  “I dare? Have you not taught your people how to be respectful?” Zhang sneered, showing that he did not fear Du Zhao in the least which cause a chain of reactions amongst all of the disciples and elders of the Lunar Sect.

  Since they simply saw Zhang as a regular full saint, all of the other Saint level cultivators present were left with confused looks on their faces.

  “This kid is either super strong or super retarded.” They all thought.

  With so, many level ten cultivators, and lesser and full saints present, the people of the Lunar Sect were fairly confident in their ability to kill someone such as Zhang.

  “I think the one that needs compensation here is me… Your sect elders had the gall to attack me while your disciples dared to try to assault my students.” Zhang said with creases on his brow and in an unhappy tone.

  Seeing the demeanor of Grand Elder Du Zhao, Zhang knew that if he did not act haughty and overbearing he would be stepped on. From the demands that were made he could tell that Grand Elder Du Zhao was someone who would ask for a mile if he was given an inch, someone who you should never show your weak side to or else he would crush you beneath his feet for the rest of eternity.

  If Zhang acted subserviently and tried to negotiate then Du Zhao would only take his kind personality as weakness and thus demand more from him, however, if he acted the opposite of that then they may be able to reach a common ground and avoid engaging in battle with each other.

  “Co-compensate you?” Grand Elder Du Zhao was so, angry that he had to squeeze the words out of himself. As an elder of a prestigious most of the time, the people he spoke to wouldn't even dare to look at him in the eye, let alone demand compensation from him.

  “I demand a thousand essence stones per each person I had to feed for the last couple days, also since those flying war chariots look so, interesting I demand you give me a hundred of those also.” Zhang said casually.

  “One thousand essence stones a person? A hundred war chariots?” The Eighth Elder said with a shocked expression on his face. Considering there were a few thousand mouths that Zhang had to feed, they would need to collect at least a few million essence stones if they were to comply with his demands and that is not counting the cost of a hundred expensive fly chariots that the Lunar Sect only possessed a few hundred of.

  “He's crazy… No other way to explain it. Grand Elder Du Zhao is going to go ballistic...” The Eighth Elder and everyone else who was present thought.

  “However, if you call my grandpa ten times while kowtowing then we can consider bygones as bygones.” Zhang said with a laugh, which stunned everyone even more than before.

  “Yu-yu-you…” Grand Elder Du Zhao stuttered from rage.

  Chapter 86: Compensation?

  With glaring eyes and a face brimming with anger, Grand Elder Du Zhao looked ready to either have steam burst out from his ears or rip Zhang to shreds. As all of the members of the Lunar Sect looked in anticipation for what they thought was about to happen, a sudden laugh echoed into everyone’s ears, shattering the silence that had enveloped the land.

  Looking toward the direction where the laughing originated from, the usually quiet and distant Grand Elder Hua Xiong could be seen with a bright smile on his face. Beside Grand Elder Hua Xiong was the Tenth Elder of the Lunar Sect, who looked at the Eighth Elder with a face full of contempt.

  Unlike Grand Elder Du Zhao appeared elderly but was filled with a fiery spirit, Grand Elder Hua Xiong appeared youthful but avoided most of the happenings of the sect and solely focused on furthering his own strength which in another perspective was his way of helping the sect in the long run.

  “Old Zhao, it appears that we’ve mistaken about our young friend here. Zhen Xiang has told me what really happened and the fault lies entirely with our people.” Grand Elder Hua Xiong said with a smile as he looked at the Tenth Elder who was standing beside him.

  “It was our people who attacked first your excellency. Had young master Zhang possessed any ill will then with his strength he could have slain all of us if he wanted to. I regret not reporting this earlier but everything just happened too fast and I was somewhat lost in the moment.” The Tenth Elder whose name is Zhen Xiang said in a respectful tone as he bowed and clasped his hands.

  “No need to beat yourself up Xiang, we all know how old Zhao gets when he hears that someone has bullied our sect members.” Grand Elder Hua Xiong said as he patted Elder Zhen Xiang’s shoulder and proceeded to walk toward where Grand Elder Du Zhao was.

  “If what Brother Hua Xiong and Zhen Xiang said is true then you lied to me… While the rest of you knew the truth, but hid it from me…” Grand Elder Du Zhao said in an unpleased voice as he eyed the Eight Elder and every one of the disciples and elders who were a part of Zhang’s group of volunteers.

  “Your excellency I wouldn’t dare!” The Eight Elder yelled as he fell to his knees.

  “Old Zhao quit making a fuss and giving others a bad impression of us.” Grand Elder Hua Xiong said as he reminded Grand Elder Du Zhao that they were in Zhang’s presence and were making a terrible impression.

  While the two grand elders of the Lunar Sect were talking amongst themselves, Zhang closely observed them. From the way, they spoke to each other, their gestures, mannerisms and a dozen other things, he could tell that of the two grand elders, Grand Elder Hua Xiong was the stronger of the two. Although no one else noticed this, it was clear to Zhang that Grand Elder Du Zhao treated Grand Elder Hua Xiong with a bit of reserve mixed with a tiny bit of fear.

  Since the two of them did not especially appear to be close friends and from the fact that Grand Elder Hua Xiong did not address Grand Elder Du
Zhao by his title or in a polite tone that suggested they were equals but rather by the equivalent of a pet name, it was clear that Grand Elder Hua Xiong was the stronger of the two.

  Although this was simply a conclusion that Zhang came to on his own after minimal interactions with the two grand elders, he felt that his observations should be on point and that it would be best to deal with Grand Elder Hua Xiong who is not only in his opinion stronger than Grand Elder Du Zhao but easier going then Grand Elder Du Zhao. Also, if his observations were true, even if he tried to deal with Grand Elder Du Zhao, if Grand Elder Hua Xiong did not agree that his attempts would end in failure anyway.

  “If I may interrupt, I would like to retract my previous statement about calling me grandpa and go back to asking for material compensation instead.” Zhang said with a crooked grin while rubbing his hands together much like the merchants that one might spot on a street corner selling imitation goods while trying to pass them off as real goods.