Desolate Era

by RWX

  “That Jiang He just laughed loudly and said, ‘Even if you are the maidservant of young master Ji, you are just a female servant. If you were able to successfully ask your young master for help, then you wouldn’t come here asking me for help. What’s more, how could the maidservant of a young master of the Ji clan end up in such a small tribe?’” Blacktooth ground his teeth. “This Jiang He added another sentence…‘If you become my woman, I will protect the Blacktooth Tribe! Otherwise, just wait for death.’ After this, we left Riverside City.”

  Autumn Leaf, hearing this, was enraged. “How could Sister Spring Grass possibly agree to him!”

  “Spring Grass wouldn’t agree.” Ning shook his head while looking at Blacktooth.

  “Right. Spring Grass was completely unwilling.” Blacktooth shook his head in pain. “But seeing how panicked the tribesmen were and how members of the tribe often fled, and seeing how agonized I was….for the sake of me, her father, after agonizing for three days, she still agreed.”

  “How could Sister Spring Grass be so stupid!!!” Autumn Leaf was frantic.

  Ning shut his eyes.

  He could imagine the mental struggle which Spring Grass had gone through during those three days. For the sake of her father, was it worth it?

  “Miwa became River He’s woman.” Blacktooth’s voice was trembling slightly. “But when Miwa was completely unprepared, River He suddenly launched a sneak attack, smashing Miwa’s dantian with a palm strike and dispersing all of the ki in her body while mocking her….‘You stupid woman, there are countless tribes which want to be protected by my Riverside Tribe. Just because you became my woman, I have to help you? Hahaha, what a dreamer!’”

  “Detestable!!!” Autumn Leaf was so angry that she was shaking.

  Ning ground his teeth.

  Spring Grass. Oh, Spring Grass!

  Why did you trust that bastard? Why did you have to sacrifice yourself for your father? Why?

  “The Serpentwing affair quickly calmed down. The Ji clan imprisoned Serpentwing within Serpentwing Lake, causing Serpentwing to not dare to come out at all.” Blacktooth said. “Once this news came out from the Ji clan, all the tribes quickly settled down. The hearts of our Blacktooth Tribe’s tribesmen calmed down as well, and some of the tribesmen who had fled actually returned.”

  “I was worried about Miwa, so I went to look for her.” Blacktooth said in a low voice. “Only when I went looking for her did I find out the situation had changed. After using all sorts of methods, I finally managed to have a private meeting with Miwa. As soon as Miwa saw me, Miwa began to cry, cry so hard!”

  Ning shut his eyes.

  He could imagine Spring Grass’s agony, regret, and heartbreak.

  “She said that this was her own mistake. It was her own stupidity, and that it wasn’t the fault of myself, her father. She had willingly done this.” Blacktooth said in agony. “She also said…she didn’t want you, young master, to learn of this. She didn’t want to make you feel heartbroken, which is why she concocted this story of her marrying a travelling merchant, which she left for you in that letter she gave you.”

  “After giving me the letter, Miwa died. She took poison.” Blacktooth said softly. “I knew how much agony my daughter was in. Death was perhaps a type of release. Actually, when she died, she was murmuring your name. She didn’t want you to know why she died.”

  Ning gently nodded.

  Understood.

  He understood.

  After having been with each other for so long, how could he not understand what Spring Grass was thinking?

  She wanted that happy, cheerful Spring Grass to live on in Ning’s heart….she didn’t want Ning to learn of the humiliations she had suffered!

  “Every single woman has a man who is destined for her. As soon as I saw him, I knew that he was the one. When I see him smile, I feel happy. When I see him frown, I worry. When I see him training hard with the sword, I stand there and watch. Just looking at him is a gift given by heaven…”

  “I really am very happy, very happy. Spring Grass is just a maidservant. For you, young master, to come to the Blacktooth Tribe to visit Spring Grass means at least…Spring Grass has a small place of her own in your heart, young master…Spring Grass is very happy, very happy, truly, very happy.”

  Ning opened his eyes, tears faintly visible within them.

  He quietly walked towards the tombstone, sitting down in front of him. Holding a bamboo tube in his hands, he said softly, “Spring Grass, in the past, you always poured wine for me. It is my turn to pour wine for you.” The wine within the bamboo tube dripped onto the ground in front of the tombstone.

  “I know. I understand. I know that you are forever the happy Spring Grass, forever happy!”

  “Your stupidity truly is adorable.”

  Ning laughed, but his eyes were filled with tears. “I know what happened to you, but I don’t look upon you. How could a little brother look down on his big sister? Although sometimes his big sister might be a bit stupid…you will always be the big sister of Ji Ning.”

  Hearing the words, ‘big sister’, the nearby Autumn Leaf’s lips trembled, and she let out a whimper.

  “Sis, you were too tired. Sleep, sleep, have a good sleep.” Ning said softly. “Those people who took advantage of you, sis, those people who caused you to be heartbroken…I won’t spare any of them. Not one.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Ning put down the bamboo tube and rose. “Let’s go to the Riverside Tribe. I am going to meet this River He!”

  * * *

  Book 3, Chapter 10 - Collapsing the City Walls

  “Let’s go!”

  Riding on his black beast, Ji Ning and the other two left the Blacktooth Tribe at high speed, disappearing into the distant mountain forests.

  “Chief?”

  “Where are they going?” The tribesmen at the gate asked, but Blacktooth simply stood there, watching as Ning and the other two left. Shaking his head, Blacktooth said, “Don’t know.” But a look of anticipation through his eyes. He knew…that this young master of the Ji clan was going to the Riverside Tribe to get revenge for his daughter.

  But given the status of the Riverside Tribe, would this young master of the Ji clan be able to do so?

  “Even if young master Ji isn’t able to get revenge, his father, the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan, definitely is.” Blacktooth’s heart was filled with hatred. He truly hated River He, but unfortunately, his own strength was insufficient.

  ––––––––

  The Riverside Tribe was hundreds of kilometers away from the Blacktooth Tribe, and mountains lay in the way. Only when the sun rose on the next day did they arrive at the Riverside Tribe.

  Every single nearby tribe was living within the city.

  A place where over fifty thousand tribesmen were living…this was essentially a city.

  “All of you, come over.”

  “Right, go on in.”

  “Go on through.”

  The armored guards at the gate inspected the items of the people entering the city. The Riverside Tribe had enemies, and they were concerned about people possibly smuggling in large amounts of siege bows and other such weapons.

  “Huh? You three!” Suddenly, an armored guard saw three black armored beasts galloping over at high speed. Seeing that they didn’t seem to have any intentions on slowing down, he immediately shouted, “Quickly come to a halt. If you charge through the gate of our Riverside City, we will release arrows.” Instantly, the archers above on the guard tower nocked their bows. They wouldn’t show any mercy at all.

  Swoosh!

  Ning, who had been seated on the back of that black east, suddenly flew into the air, charging onto the top of that enormous city wall. And then, a surging wave of invisible energy instantly swept outwards. The dozens of armored guards that were originally on top of the city guard tower felt their bodies suddenly sway, and then they smashed downwards out of the guard tower.

  Sudden
ly, Ning was the only person standing atop the guard tower.

  Those armored guards fell down, all of their faces grimy with dirt, and some of the unluckier ones even had bones broken. However, these were all powerful, valiant warriors. They normally wouldn’t be injured much just from falling down from the top of the city walls. They only were now because they had been caught off guard by that energy wave which had knocked them down.

  “What’s going on.”

  “He, he…”

  A group of armored guards stared at Ji Ning, standing atop the city walls, and then looked at their empty hands. Hurriedly, they moved to pick up the bows that had fallen onto the ground as well.

  Standing atop the city walls, Ning stared into the city and let out an enraged bellow, “River He, I order you to come out!”

  “River He, I order you to come out!” “River He, I order you to come out!” “River He, I order you to come out!” ….

  This furious bellow that seemed to have come from a Fiendgod exploded forth like thunder. The guards that had been nearby the city walls as well as some passer-byers all clapped their hands to their ears in pain, and some of them even began to flee.

  The furious roar echoed throughout every location of the entire Riverside City.

  Ning’s face was dark. With a massive kick, an enormous exploding sound was heard!

  “DONG!” An enormous wall like this one which was six or seven meters thick was extremely durable, but thanks to Ning’s kick, it began to vibrate powerfully. One giant crack after another began to appear on the tall, powerful city wall, and some distortions and cracks even began to appear in the ground below it. This kick had caused even the ground nearby to ripple and shake as though the ground was a pool of water, and those armored guards were so terrified that they hurriedly retreated.

  “DONG!” Ning delivered yet another kick!

  The nearby earth began to shudder yet again, and a large number of cracks had now appeared within the wall. Many stones began to tumble down, and the stone guard tower itself began to shudder, as though preparing to crack at any moment.

  “DONG!” Ning delivered one final kick!

  Rumble….

  The city wall which was already covered with countless cracks finally collapsed. Many boulders came falling down. Instantly, the massive city gate became a pile of rubble. The tall, massive city walls fell downwards towards the street. This scene of rubble lying everywhere caused those armored guards and civilians who had run away long ago to stare in shock.

  “My God…”

  “The city towers…”

  None of them could believe it. The walls of the main gate to a city were the thickest, most stable parts of the city. Even siege machines would at most attack the gates. Attacking the city walls would be entirely useless. That seamless, tough stone that was six or seven meters thick….even if a person slashed down onto it with a knife, at most a scar would be left behind.

  Kicking down the city walls with just three kicks?

  Swoosh! Swoosh!

  Autumn Leaf and Mowu, riding their black beasts, quickly arrived at the area of rubble. By now, Ning had already landed on the rubble as well.

  –––––––-

  River Sansi was current seated in the lotus position within a quiet room, fragrant room.

  He was the chief of the Riverside Tribe, a very famous and reputable person in the territory controlled by the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan.

  “River He, I order you to come out!” An enraged bellow suddenly rang out.

  “Huh?” River Sansi suddenly opened his eyes.

  DONG! DONG! DONG!

  The subsequent three massive sounds caused River Sansi’s face to change. He immediately transformed into a ray of light, hurrying out.

  Moments later.

  River Sansi, as a Xiantian lifeform, had already reached the city gates, where those enormous sounds had come from. Upon seeing the destroyed city gates and the rubble, River Sansi’s eyes instantly turned red! The city gates had been destroyed. This was like spitting directly into the Riverside Tribe’s face, giving them no leeway at all.

  “You are River Sansi?” Ning stood atop the rubble. Seeing this black haired old man suddenly appear, he immediately barked towards him. The entire Riverside Tribe only had two Xiantian lifeforms, one male, one female. The male, of course, was River Sansi.

  The black haired old man stared at Ning, his face an ugly sight. “No matter who you are, you can’t trample the honor and dignity of our Ji clan like this.” As soon as he spoke, within his hands, a purple set of chains appeared. With a massive whirl, he sent those chain links flying towards Ning in an attack. Just from the way Ning was acting, there was no question at all that he was the person who had done this.

  Swoosh!

  Ning suddenly charged forward, moving forward at an intense speed, generating a faint howl like that of a great Roc.

  Swish! Ning landed a kick directly on the chest of that black-haired old man, causing the black haired old man to fly backwards. A deep crevice appeared in the stone ground, with the old man sunken into it. The black haired old man immediately jumped up, clutching his chest, a hint of blood on his lips. His face covered in astonishment, he looked at Ning. “You…who are you?”

  How could this happen? His magic treasure had yet to strike Ning, but Ning had sent him flying with a kick. Fortunately, he was protected by his Xiantian Ki.

  “Hmph.” Ning sneered coldly. “Have River He come out.”

  Shua!

  Yet another figure appeared, this one red-colored. It was an old lady with white hair dressed in red clothes. The old lady hurriedly helped prop up River Sansi. “Sansi, are you alright?”

  “Be careful. He is very powerful.” River Sansi said quietly.

  The red-clothed old granny look at Ning, shouting, “I don’t know how our Riverside Tribe has offended you. In addition, who are you? You destroyed our gates. I trust you wouldn’t be so cowardly as to not even dare to give us your name!”

  Ning said coldly, “Ji clan! Ji Ning!”

  “Ji Ning?” The red-clothed granny was puzzled.

  “Ji Ning?” The black haired elder, River Sansi, was greatly astonished. He hurriedly said in a soft voice to the nearby granny, “Aunty Snow, the next Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture has been decided upon already. It is someone named Ji Ning. But he is only eleven years old. How could he…”

  “The Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture?” Aunty Snow was shocked.

  Although they were shocked at Ning becoming a Xiantian lifeform at the age of eleven, they were even more shocked by Ning’s status; the next Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture! It was common for a person to become a Xiantian before reaching the age of twenty. The Ji clan alone had quite a few, such as Ji Lie who had also been hoping that one of the three tribal youths he had brought up would reach the Xiantian level before the age of sixteen. If Ji Ning had trained in other Fiendgod Body Refining methods, he most likely would have reached the Xiantian level as a toddler.

  In the numerous tribes, there were even more talented individuals.

  There were quite a few who reached the Xiantian level before the age of twenty. River Sansi was one such person! But these tribes didn’t have any powerful, ultimate techniques. The more they trained, the lower their potential became compared to the Ji clan!

  “Ji clan of the West Prefecture?” Aunty Snow stared at the youth in front of her. Their Riverside Tribe was within the territory of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture and was under their direct authority!

  If the Ji clan of the West Prefecture wanted to destroy the Riverside Tribe, it could be accomplished as easily as lifting their hand up.

  “Young master!” A voice suddenly rang out.

  Over a hundred black armored guards appeared from afar. Upon seeing Ning standing atop the rubble, the leader of the black armored guards, greatly shocked, immediately fell down to one knee. The other black
armored guards all hurriedly called out respectfully, “Young master!”

  “Rise.” Ning glanced at them sideways. In these extremely large tribes, the Ji clan would usually send a squadron of a hundred black armored guards to stay there and watch over them.

  “Yes.”

  The black armored guards hurriedly ran over, standing around Ji Ning.

  “Young master Ji Ning.” The old granny, Aunty Snow, bowed slightly. “Since it is River He who angered you, young master, my Riverside Tribe naturally will not protect him. Sansi, go bring River He out as soon as possible.”

  “Right.” The black haired elder, River Sansi, immediately went.

  A single Xiantian individual wouldn’t be enough to cause the Riverside Tribe to lower their heads! Even if the Xiantian belonged to the Ji clan, that didn’t mean anything. After all, everything had to have a reason. The Ji clan couldn’t act wildly either, otherwise how could the many tribes submit peacefully? A single ordinary Xiantian lifeform was not able to destroy a large-scale tribe.

  But if it was the Prefecture Lord himself! Then the situation would be different.

  –––––—

  “Keep training!”

  River He was an extremely handsome young man with white skin. Only, his eyes contained an extreme arrogance. Currently, he was holding a whip while looking at a toddler, who was wielding a shortsword and training in swordplay. “No matter how sore or painful your arm feels, endure it. You will be the future clan leader of our Riverside clan!”

  “Yes, Father.” The toddler gritted his teeth, continuing to train. He didn’t dare stop. Stopping meant a whip would come his way.

  Suddenly….

  “River He, come out.” A furious roar rang out.

  River He’s face changed. “Who dares to be this impudent and act like this in Riverside City? This person cannot be ordinary.”

  DONG! DONG! DONG!

  The three kicks which had smashed open the city walls were like kicks against his heart, causing River He to unconsciously feel panic. “Who is it? Who has come looking for me?” No longer paying any attention to anything else, Riverside He hurriedly rushed towards the outside.