Drums of War

by Tinalynge

  Having let the women leave, Wan Qiao went to Hui Yue side and this time, none of her energy was absorbed by the blue cloud. The cloud itself seemed to have vanished completely, and the golden light slowly vanished as Hui Yue gently laying on the ground again. He looked as though he was asleep. His breathing was no longer labored, and his body showed no signs of being in pain. Although he looked better now, it was obvious he was completely exhausted from the ordeal; his body had been overworked, and he needed to rest so that he once more could wake up.

  Wan Qiao lifted the young man and brought him to his bed where she placed him down. A gentle smile appeared on her face as she gently caressed his face before she sat down on the ground and waited for him to wake up. This young man had sparked emotions within the heart of the Queen of Shenyuan that she did not know she had. She felt as proud as a mother when he showed off his knowledge, and now when she looked at him, it was with the eyes of a mother doting on her son. To Wan Qiao, the relationship she had with Hui Yue was becoming increasingly intimate.

  Chapter 52 – The Monk

  The sun was setting when a groan was heard from the young man who was laying on the bed. As soon as the sound was emitted, Wan Qiao instantly stood up. Her eyes widened in hope, and her mouth quivered slightly as she saw the young man rising. His hand was holding his head, and one could hear him gritting his teeth as he slowly opened his eyes. The light of the setting sun was sharp in his eyes and he instantly closed them once more with yet another groan before he sat up straight. His body although incredibly sore, was filled with an energy he had never felt before. The energy was literally bursting out of his body, and he was astonished as he felt the sudden rise in strength. Without even opening his eyes or looking around him, he sat down with his legs crossed. His hands were resting in his lap, and his eyes were closed as his consciousness drifted inward.

  It started in the upper dantian where he was shocked to see a massive amount of Yin energy was merging with Yang energy. This created a constant flow of Wu Wei which entered the golden orb of energy in his upper dantian. The amount of Yin energy was far more than he had ever seen before, and upon feeling the strength within his ball of Wu Wei, he was flabbergasted to find himself at the sixth star of the King rank. He had jumped from a one star King to a six star King in a night. As for how he had managed to do that, he was completely obvious.

  Moving from the upper dantian to the lower dantian, Hui Yue looked for the blue cloud only to once more be completely surprised. The blue cloud had vanished, but instead, a large burly man was sitting in meditation. He was wearing the dirtiest clothes Hui Yue had ever seen. His face was hidden behind dirty hair and a long beard. It was obvious that this unkempt man was the monk whom the wolf spoke about earlier.

  As Hui Yue made his way to the lower dantian the Monk stopped meditating and with a smile on his face, he moved towards Hui Yue. His steps were not hurried, and his hands gathered in front of him. His eyes were closed as he moved step by step.

  “Hui Yue, I too am Hui Yue,” The monk said as he stopped only two steps away from the young man. His eyes finally opened, and the young man was astonished to see that this monk had eyes as blue as the blue cloud. Although the man seemed to be middle-aged, his eyes were filled with knowledge. Knowledge which could not be learned one lifetime.

  Bowing deeply, Hui Yue knew that what was in front of him was nothing but a figure aggregated from the many memories of a past life; however even so, Hui Yue was aware that this figure within his mind was still fully capable of thinking. Hui Yue knew that the older version of him could teach him multiple things.

  Bowing to his memories Hui Yue was about to say something when he noticed that the monk was just looking at him with a gentle smile on his face. A smile which contained a lot of sadness. Having almost started speaking, Hui Yue felt the words stuck in his throat, and he no longer had the ability to speak.

  “You had to make a very important decision, and the decision you made was for the better,” The Monk said with a gentle sigh. A hand reached the head of Hui Yue and petted him with a knowing smile.

  Slowly the man in front of Hui Yue turned transparent, the final thing remaining was his sad smile. Hui Yue’s senses were attacked with a lifetime of emotions and experiences. He came to life on a farm, all alone in the middle of nowhere. As he grew up, he grew up playing alone and feeling nature constantly imposing on his senses. As he became a man, he was tempered by nature all around him, and his personality was as calm as the fields on which he had worked his whole life. His training to become a cultivator happened naturally as his body slowly became one with the surrounding elements. His body absorbed the essence of the heavens and the earth naturally before it was refined into strength deep within.

  As he grew older, his parents slowly aged and died, and the young man took care of the farm on his own. Time passed, and the young man was no longer was young but instead middle aged. He noticed that no matter how many years passed, he never seemed to age. After having lived on the same farm for hundreds of years, the man decided to leave it behind and travel the world. Throughout his travels, he saw many things and experienced both pleasant surprises as well as harsh reality.

  He got married, yet he watched his loved ones die as he never grew a day older. Having experienced this a few times, the man decided to once more travel the world alone. His eyes were filled with knowledge of both love and loss. He no longer paid attention to his appearance, yet everywhere he ventured he was treated with respect. From time to time young men would come and request a duel, yet every time these youngsters found themselves at a loss as Hui Yue needed but lift his arm and their cultivation bases were suppressed. Lifting a finger and their strength would billow outwards, but not as they controlled it. Instead, this middle aged man would absorb it, making it one with himself.

  The more he traveled, the more youngsters would come after him. He earned a name called the Monk, and as a man, he lived up to the name. He owed nothing but the clothes on his back. He never ate nor did he drink, and he allowed everyone to come close to him; however, he would never get attached. Serene and tranquil emotions took over Hui Yue’s entire being, and he felt calmed. His personality was tempered as he went through the many memories of the monk then finally everything came to an end.

  The Monk, having traveled for thousands of years, and experiencing countless things finally understood that everything which happened was the circle of life. That even after death, a new life would begin. He experienced loss and he experienced sadness, and after a life tens of thousands of years old, he finally knew it was time for him to move on. It was time for him to return to the embrace of the earth on which he had walked his entire life.

  As an expert of unknown original arrived, the monk had a sad smile on his face. He noticed this young man was nothing but a youngster and he was certain about his decision. With arms spread wide he allowed this youngster to skewer his heart on the sword, and ever so slowly the monk closed his eyes with a content sigh; the last thing he saw was cotton clouds, as soft and warm as the life he had lived.

  Experiencing this, Hui Yue turned rigid, and tears appeared at the corners of his eyes. Having lived through all the memories, Hui Yue felt as though a good friend had died, yet at the same time, he felt more complete than he ever had before. His personality had been tempered as he merged with the monk. As he opened his eyes, a newfound calm could be found within.

  Seeing this calm, Wan Qiao was astonished, but at the same time, she also felt that something had changed about this young man. He seemed the same yet something within his eyes had changed. There was no longer any stress or worry. He appeared to be a changed man.

  “Hui Yue?” Wan Qiao’s voice was quivering slightly as she called out his name. She could not help but sound somewhat questioning as the changes, although minute, were unable to escape her eyes. Was this truly the same person as the one whom she had seen the day before? The same person who had harshly scolded Emperors. He no longer seemed to b
e the same person.

  Hui Yue looked at Wan Qiao, and a small smile adorned his lips. As he sat there in the retreating sunlight, he seemed like an angel who had descended upon the earth.

  Having smiled, Hui Yue slowly moved his legs off the bed. As he left the comfort of his pillows and blankets, he stretched his sore body as the new energy rushed through every cell. His breakthroughs did not end at the sixth star level, but instead he had climbed all the way from a first star King ranked expert to an eighth star expert as he woke up from his sleep. The Yin and Yang energies were now completely merged. The boost to his body was incredibly severe. Not only was his level of energy far above what he had ever imagined, but his entire body was also bursting with strength. His muscles had been rebuilt and reinforced with energy. His whole being was simply shining with strength.

  “I need to examine my body,” Hui Yue said as he instantly returned to the bed. He sat down with his legs crossed and his eyes closed as he entered his consciousness. He started to move through every vein, every meridian, and every single part of his body while observing and testing what the changes were done to him.

  Usually, when one jumped such a high amount of ranks, one would need to balance out the energy. One would need to fight battles against other experts to get a feel for the strength. However, Hui Yue had a certain feeling that he had a good grasp of the energy within his body. He felt as though he was in full control of it.

  Spending the rest of the night examining his body, Hui Yue did not open his eyes even once, nor did he have the feeling that he would have any problems controlling his new strength. He felt as though he had forged a stronger connection with his body and with the strength that roamed within. The young man was seated, and as he sat, he felt as though his body became one with the air, one with the bed, and one with the tranquil silence within the room. A humming sound could be heard as his body started flickering. Although he was in the same spot on the bed he had been and one could see that he was not moving, even so, his body seemed as though it was flickering back and forth. This was not by much, only a few centimeters at a time, yet as Wan Qiao watched the young man her eyes narrowed and she too was taken aback by the movements which were happening, yet not happening. As for what these movements meant, she had no idea as she had never seen anything like it before.

  Hui Yue was feeling great. His body felt as though it was becoming one with his surroundings. As this happened, his upper dantian was like a whirlwind sucking in energies from all around him. It refined the Yin and Yang energies and merged them together.

  Soon Hui Yue had been seated still for a very long time and as the hours passed Wan Qiao kept observing him. Hui Yue kept steadily absorbing the essence of the heavens and the earth. Everything seemed normal, apart from the speed with which the Wu Wei within Hui Yue’s upper dantian was swelling. It was increasing in quantity by a lot more than it ever had before the blue cloud started acting up.

  As the morning rays once more broke through the sky, Hui Yue opened his eyes. His blue eyes shone with a golden light which soon died out. The young man left the bed once more only to stretch and look out the window. It was time for him to go and lead the army.

  Chapter 53 – Astonishment

  As Hui Yue walked through the door, Wan Qiao noticed that it seemed as though the young man was floating through the air. His movements had become far more graceful than they had ever been before. It was as though he merged with the air. Hui Yue felt no resistance as he soundlessly moved to the outside of the castle. Wan Qiao followed him the whole time, even as he was about to move through the city itself. Her shadows had long since vanished, but she knew that they were close, and knowing her own strength, there truly was nothing for her to worry about in the forest of Shenyuan.

  Hui Yue paid no attention to Wan Qiao, although he was fully aware that she was right behind him the young man kept moving through the city until he finally reached the city gates. Exiting the city, Hui Yue was once more within the military camp, but unlike last time, some soldiers were visible within the tents. The guards had various schedules for when they trained because space was limited; however, Hui Yue paid no attention to the many experts and went straight to the arena.

  As soon as Hui Yue entered the military camp, a large group of experts noticed him, but all of them became slack-jawed as they noticed who this man was. It was the young man they had all seen before. As experts, they had great memories and eyesight, and all of them remembered the Grand Marshall of the army.

  Because of their great memory, they all knew that this expert was a one star King ranked expert, yet here he was standing in front of them, eight stars above what was just a few days ago. The young man had risen eight ranks in two days, something which was completely impossible. Even if he were to sit still and absorb medicinal herbs for two days with no breaks, it would still not be possible for Hui Yue to obtain so much strength. Looking at the young man, these guards could not even fathom how it was possible, and they keep doubting their eyes. All of them curious about this matter started following behind him; They were following him towards the arena.

  Next to the arena was a massive bell. This bell was used to summon the entire army in formation in front of the arena. Hui Yue debated whether he should assemble the whole army, but after a few moments, he decided against it. Instead, he headed towards the army commanders who were currently training the guards. He wanted to see how the training he left for them was going.

  Walking towards the commanders, more and more experts noticed his graceful movements and recognized the handsome Grand Marshall; however, as soon as the they recognized him they all felt as though something was off. Observing him for a while most noticed that he was the wrong rank. Their eyes widened immensely, and their mouths went dry as every expert who realized that the man in front of them had gone from someone they could look down upon to a high ranked King. Someone whom even the army would value highly.

  For him to improve by such a serious amount, the gods themselves would have had to personally deliver energy to the young man. However, everyone knew there were no longer any gods on this plane; the four divine gods had gone into eternal sleep, so for Hui Yue to suddenly appear with far more strength than before everyone was completely shocked. A few of them wondered if he had intentionally hidden his power, but thinking through this they realized that Hui Yue was not capable of hiding his strength from Emperors, and this could only mean that he truly had gained a lot of strength in two days. He had risen eight stars in two days. Not eight Disciple stars, nor eight Student stars, what they were seeing was a young man who had risen eight King ranked stars in two days. This was unprecedented. This had never been heard of before. As for how he had managed to do so? No one knew, but everyone wished they did.

  By the time Hui Yue reached the arena everyone within the eyesight had stopped training, King and Emperor alike, all of them lured towards Hui Yue as they were utterly astonished when they saw the high leap his cultivation had taken.

  “Lord!” One of the Emperors finally wrested himself from the shock of seeing the strength of the young man, and he rushed forward. “lord do you wish for all of us to gather? We can gather the army in a few moments and hear what orders you have.”

  Hearing this a small smile was on Hui Yue’s lips. His eyes were still shining with a strange calm light something which made the Emperor feel as though he was a little boy. Standing in front of Hui Yue made him feel like he was looking at his father or an elder of his family, someone whom the Emperor revered greatly.

  “I wish to speak with all commanders,” He said with a calm voice as he moved to the to the arena and gently sat down on the stairs. He looked at the many staring experts with a facial expression that showed amusement.

  The Emperor, who had returned to his senses, was completely serious. His eyes firm and his lips tightly closed as he nodded and rushed towards the many commanders. He gathered them all up rushing them to Hui Yue, who was waiting for them. For this Emperor, althou
gh he respected Hui Yue before this, it was from how knowledgeable he was. His respect now increased to also count this young man’s cultivation level; he was clearly capable of training at a speed that no one else had seen before.

  It did not take long before the Emperors appeared one by another. These experts were all taken by surprise as soon as they saw Hui Yue and his rank. Every single one of them had to come to acknowledge his new rank as they could not think of any other explanation for it. Even these Emperors were greatly curious as to what happened to the young man.

  The Emperors all jumped into the arena. As the first expert appeared, Hui Yue leisurely stood up before he moved towards the expert exchanging pleasantries with him.

  “Lord, if you do not mind me asking are you truly an expert of the eight star now?” One of the commanders asked hesitatingly. Although he could feel his strength, his mind did not completely believe it, but the only answer he got was a smile from Hui Yue before the young man changed the subject. “I hear that the armies have gathered into groups of five. Are they ready for hard training tomorrow?” He asked curiously. The Emperor, being proud of his performance, instantly forgot the earlier subject and smiled and nodded his head eagerly.