“Elder Wuying, forgive my shortness however I humbly ask that you assist Little White.” Fan Zhong asked hurriedly, the worry was returning to his mind as his eyes frantically searched for his downed companion “ I fear his courageous spirit is too large for such a small body and that without immediate assistance he will surely perish!”
The aged eyes of Elder Wuying met him for a long moment, in that gaze Fan Zhong was unable to read even the smallest bit of what the elder was thinking as if the old man was an impenetrable void. Taking a look at the man in front of him Fan Zhong realized just how amazing the elder truly was, even with his advancing age the man in front of him exuded an invisible martial pressure at all times that seemed to suppress all of his surroundings. He had long shoulder-length hair that was pure white with a short white beard to match as well as the piercing golden eyes that were the hallmark of Fan Clan martial artists.
Although one could tell that Elder Wuying was getting on in years, his frame would tell a different story to one that didn’t know he was a master realm martial artist. Under his golden martial robes, the lithe yet powerful build of a man that had earned his fame through countless battles lay, even on his face there were small scars that hinted at the countless battles he had undergone. Even still, once one looked past his rough exterior Fan Zhong felt the man in front of him exuded a warm grandfatherly atmosphere that truly made him feel like a child no matter his age.
Beside Elder Wuying Fan Zhong realized another elder was standing still as rain. He was slightly shorter than Fan Wuying however his muscles were larger and his build was in general stockier. From the expression the man gave off, one would think that they were in for a stern beating or had done something wrong. It felt as if the existence of the very air itself was angering the man at the moment with the aura exuding off of him.
Inwardly Fan Zhong groaned as he recognized the man as Zi Bob, father of Zi Bao. The man’s expression was stern and even his short-cut hair seemed to stand still as if afraid to offend its master. On occasion Fan Zhong had met Elder Bob before however, this was his first time meeting the man face to face, he had a feeling the delayed assistance of the elders in his fight with the bear had something to do with the man’s presence.
“If nephew Zhong says he has a warrior's spirit then it must be so, yes yes,” Fan Wuying said while stroking his beard in a thoughtful manner “Quickly, medics tend to Little White. What a shame it would be to lose him to wounds after such a victory” with these last words a smile played on the face of Elder Wuying as if he was telling a joke only he understood.
“Brother Zhong!” A voice sounded from the back of the quickly approaching group of Fan Clan warriors, from the crowd emerged none other than Fan Yong “Thank goodness you're ok, that beast was terrifying! I thought for sure the legend of the two young masters would end this very day!”
Fan Zhong starred with his mouth agape. His friend was truly changed from the last time he had seen him. Gone was the wide fort that supported his tall tower, talked about so frequently in Little Green Bamboo Village. The Fan Yong that stood in front of him was toned and muscled and even seemed to carry himself quickly! Many words were used to describe Fan Yong during his youth however Fan Zhong had never heard anyone use the word quick or fast in the same sentence as his friend.
With most of his excess body weight trimmed Fan Zhong realized that Fan Yong had a robust build that would surely make him excellent when it came to sparing and palm techniques, it seemed that he was not the only one that had been training.
“Brother Yong, how could you question this heaven-defying genius? I merely allowed the beast a few blows to make the fight fair!” Fan Zhong raised his nose far into the sky while adopting a haughty tone, doing his best impression of an arrogant young noble.
“Juniors!” Suddenly a harsh baritone voice broke the joyous reunion of the two friends, Elder Bob leveled a burning glare at each of them.
Fan Zhong deeply felt that if Elder Bob had reached the legendary immortal realm where one could kill with a look they both might be on the way to the afterlife at this point!
“Elder please, Nephew Zhong and little Yong know one another. Meanwhile one has just been through a harsh trial while the other is fresh out of training, surely you can let them have a joyous meeting” Elder Wuying responded in a calm tone, instantly lifting the mood “besides, surely you must be satisfied at this point? If not this old man can only be unkind and ask that you bring further grievances to Brother Long” His words carried a placating tone however there was an undertone of threat hidden inside them as well.
“Hmph, fine. Coddle the younger generation, see if I care when they freeze up during a battle!” With that Elder Bob blurred storming away to the warriors on the out edge of the clearing.
“Elder and Brother Yong please excuse my rudeness however I must get to the side of Little White he needs my assistance” With this Fan Zhong used his staff as a walking stick and slowly started limping towards his companion who was now surrounded by a team of warriors with bags of medical supplies.
Within 3 steps he lost his bearings and almost fell going to one knee while coughing up a mouthful of blood.
“Hmph, Little white eh? There you go Brother Zhong finding friends in all the places you go. Come let us greet this small Brother together, Father please excuse us I shall make sure Brother Zhong gets the necessary treatment” As he spoke Fan Yong slung his friend’s arm over his shoulder and began helping him walk towards the downed animal.
“See that he does, there has already been more blood spilled here than there needed to be” Elder Wuying responded with a somber tone and began slowly walking over to the corpse of the fallen bear.
Slowly the two young men made their way over to the group of medics. Little by little and step by step, they waded through the rain as it slowly washed away all signs of the battle. Finally, Fan Zhong was able to see the condition of Little White. Immediately an almost translucent small wet figure barreled into his chest knocking him clean over into the forming mud on the ground.
With an amazed expression Fan Zhong stared wide-eyed at the seemingly unhurt Little White. The small wolf was worriedly nuzzling his chest and licking his wounds while whining. Thoughts quickly raced through Fan Zhong’s mind as he recalled his small companion not once but twice being shot away like a cannonball by the menacing foe they had faced.
His body had been trained vigorously for the better part of a year to strengthen it, however, a single blow from those deadly paws nearly crushed his ribs. Although spirit beasts were supposed to be stronger than normal animals Little White was a young cub, how had his body survived such attacks? The surrounding warriors looked equally as surprised and a few of them were simply staring with wide-eyed expressions at the tiny wolf while still holding various ointment bottles and wrappings meant for serious wounds.
At this moment Fan Zhong simply laughed and hugged his small companion close to him. The day had simply been too exhausting to continue pondering such secrets, it was enough that Little White seemed to be ok.
“Hmmm, it seems Brother Little White has survived the battle in better condition than you Brother Zhong. First impressions are important so let me reward his valor with a prize” Fan Yong said jovially while pulling an object wrapped in paper from the supply pack on his back.
Once the paper was unwrapped Little White held no ceremony as he pounced on the large piece of aged meat that lay within as Fan Yong set it on the ground. Following this, the others took the medical supplies and started tending to Fan Zhong’s wounds. He remembered little of the next few hours as two people carried him on a stretcher laden with blankets and soft pillows. It took only moments for the land of dreams to beckon and soon Fan Zhong was sound asleep.
Meanwhile at the head of the column of warriors Elder’s Bob and Wuying were walking together as the vanguard, emitting the aura of master realm martial artists to scare away any beasts.
“So Zi Bob, are you quite satisfied? Or do you need me to leave you alone for a week with Nephew Zhong? I'm sure Brother Long would be most interested to hear about your objections in providing aid to his son.” Elder Wuying said with a level tone, however beneath his calm the cold feeling of his threat lingered.
“Hmph, and you would have him coddled? The boy said he wishes to become a proper warrior, to walk the martial path. Who walks the martial path without difficulty? Sooner or later he would face life and death, and at that time there would be no elders watching. Fan Long should be thanking me for continuing his test of resolve to that worthless brat, at least he proved there's a spine in his body if not much talent.” Elder Bob replied with clear disdain in his voice, the aura he was giving off intensified as some of his anger and discontent lessened his control.
“And forcing him to take a trial meant for a squad of three wasn’t proof enough of his courage? Not only that but I know for a fact that the little beast hunted around that cave several times without attracting the ire of that bear, curious that you were the one who went to watch over it today. I wonder how it just so happened that a pitched battle ensued under your supervision?” Elder Wuying kept his calm tone however the steel in his voice was rising ever so much as he raised his accusations.
“You dare? It is well known that those in line to be clan leader take this trial alone! However, you continue to imply that I attempted to harm a fellow clansman, do you question my honor, Fan Wuying?!?!?!” Elder Bob’s aura flared widely causing a cascade of shockwaves to ripple out in all directions, sending the foliage and trees bending outward and even breaking some of the younger bamboo shoots.
Harsh anger followed this outburst as well as barely masked killing intent. Elder Wuying simply looked at his fellow irate elder and with a simple exhale his aura exploded outward. The first shockwave dissipated all of the energy Elder Bob had released. Next, another shockwave simply destroyed everything within three meters of the elder’s making a small clearing around them while smothering Elder Bob with an oppressive weight as if a mountain was pressing down on him.
Finally, another burst of pressure slammed down on the elder that had burst out in anger like a sledgehammer pounding the first mountain into his back and knocking him to his knees. All the while Elder Wuying maintained his calm composed gaze fixed on his fellow elder, a golden light flashed deep within the depths of his eyes. Looking in that gaze gave Elder Bob the impression of looking into a boundless storm of boiling rage that was suppressed only by the sheer willpower of the man in front of.
Initially, he had thought he would stand tall even with a core elder of the clan since they were both in the Master realm however Bob knew that he had only recently stepped into the Master Realm while he had no idea how long Elder Wuying had been at this stage. It was clear at the very least from this exchange that Elder Bob was not his match.
“Elder Bob, one should understand the position of an elder. As your senior it seems I have been lax in guiding you to fit your new role, this is understandable as you have been newly elevated since stepping into the master realm last year. Remember that death is fleeting and ephemeral however duty carries the weight of the heavens, right now you are only under a portion of that weight yet it brings you to kneel. As your senior I shall give you a lesson, remember well this weight and ponder on it” Elder Wuying’s words crashed down on him in the same level tone he had always used however they boomed in Elder Bob’s ears like a crashing waterfall as the Qi used to empower them was enough to level the surroundings for another two meters around them.
With his final world Elder Wuying fell into void gate stance in such a natural and fluid way that those who had observed him struggled to remember the man moving at all, it was as if he had always been standing ready to fight at all times. Suddenly a far more terrifying pressure than the aura Elder Wuying had released gathered on his right palm and in a single fluid motion he struck downward toward the ground without moving forward. At the same time, a large golden palm composed entirely of shimmering Qi appeared above the prone Elder Bob.
The palm was as large as the elder himself and in the moment after it appeared all that could be seen was a golden streak as it descended with speed barely visible to the warriors present. Loud cracks rang out from the ground as the attack caused Elder Bob to be knocked into the ground face first, forming a three-meter deep crater with him at the center. Many of the warriors who were too close to the elders were knocked off their feet from the shockwave that tore out in all directions while even those further away had to grab tall bamboo shoots for support.
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Finally when the dust cleared Elder bob weakly got to his knees in the crater with blood running from his mouth, how solemnly put his hands together in a martial salute and bowed the best he could from his kneeling position
“This… j…. Junior thanks senior for the guidance. Junior will engrave this lesson into his very bones” Elder Bob sputtered between rasping breaths and clenched teeth.
It was clear that he was outraged however after receiving such a blow it seemed he lacked the energy to even push his aura outward to express the anger.
“It would be good if you could. The martial path is full of danger, as junior has said. This old man's bones will rest easy if you can truly learn today’s lesson, come, the rest of you on your feet. We will march for another two hours before breaking to make camp.” With that Elder Wuying calmly walked over to the downed warriors and started helping a few of them to their feet.
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Meanwhile, in the City of Wei, a man was staring up a long flight of stairs. The man exuded a commanding aura as his dark blue robes hung loosely on his muscled frame. Long wild black hair streaked with dark azure ran down to the midpoint of the man’s back while his face was slender and thin giving one the impression that he was lazy yet sly.
However when he opened his deep azure eyes his face changed, becoming honest and forthright. Slung on his back was a spear with a wide blade that had a small loop at the end of it. This man was Wang Hei, the newly appointed clan leader of the Wang clan.
Today he was standing in front of the palace of Wei to discuss trade throughout the valley. Normally the Wei were not on the best terms with the other clans of the valley as they mostly felt threatened since the Wei could negotiate from a position of power however to prevent open warfare they would normally allow the clans within the Flowing Grass valley some leeway and benefits. Lately, however, they had been imposing severe taxes on both transportation and merchant services that the Wang clan provided as well as the services provided by the other clans.
Things had escalated to the point that minor skirmishes had broken out with Wei clan tax collector groups and Wang Hei had been forced to come here in person to hash out this craziness. Viewing the Wei palace left him feeling disgruntled, all along the long stairway leading to the main hall were banners carrying the Wei crest. These banners and even the trimming of the steps were lined in gold and other expensive materials, even the buildings themselves seemed to be made of some valuable stone and wood!
What right did the Wei have to squeeze the rest of them dry while their palace was ornate with such stairs and when they consisted of not one but three triple-layered lavish pagoda halls? This wasn’t even mentioning the vast personal residences and manors he had seen on his way here. Meanwhile, the Wang clan headquarters was a humble two-story pagoda that had simple homes and courtyards surrounding it.
Even he as the clan leader only had a small manor to himself as a personal residence. All of this had already been putting him in a bad mood, however, what made it worse was that when his party of 20 arrived there were asked to wait here at the bottom of the palace steps, the Wei hadn’t prepared a waiting hall to receive them! As Wang Hei’s anger threatened to spill over after waiting for a whole hour to be received he finally spotted movement at the top of the stairs
Coming down the steps were a group of twenty warriors in two columns with dashing green and gold armor, each sporting an expensive-looking sword on their backs. Their armor was form-fitted and had elaborate inlays making it look like dragon scales that alternated in emerald and gold. The hilts of their swords each had a green gem inlaid into the pommel that exuded Qi constantly. These were some sort of magical treasure and every soldier had one!
This level of spending made Wang Hei froth at the mouth. Truly this newly appointed Wei lord was too brazen to be left alive! With such a show of wealth, it was as if Wang Hei’s money had been taken from his hands then used to smack him in the face directly.
“Brother Hua, how kind of you to take the time of day to see me” Wang Hei spat the words at the Lavishly dressed lord as his two-column of soldiers parted way to allow him to walk forward
“Indeed, my kindness knows no bounds speaking to a fisherman peasant like you” Wei Hua responded as if it was the most natural response in the world “Now quick out with it, what have you been barking so loudly about that you must do it directly outside my door”
Wang Hei starred in wide-eyed shock at the brazen arrogance of the young city lord.
“Hmph, it seems the legendary hospitality of the Wei has been fed to the dogs and they have let one of those dogs become a lord. Are these truly the words you meet with someone to negotiate?” Wang Hei spat back at the arrogant young man, barely containing his seething anger.
“My hospitality is not for the likes of peasants to receive, now I give you one more chance mongrel. State your business and stop wasting my time” Wei Hua answered with clear contempt
Wang Hei looked the young Wei clan leader up and down. He was dressed in robes that were similar in design to his soldiers' armor however it seemed like each of the ‘scales’ that formed the robe was woven from natural treasure fabric. Wei Hei’s eyes were piercing emerald green and his hair was black streaked with emeralds similar in color to his eyes and it reached just to his shoulders. On the young man’s back was a pair of crossed swords that seemed to exude even greater pressure than those carried by his soldiers.
“You know why I’m here brat. In the past month, your tax collectors have demanded double the amount of taxes on both mercantile trade and income earned through our transport services. Even our fishing trade has seen a 50 percent increase in taxes. The clans report our finances to the Wei and bow the knee as to keep the peace, these rates are simply untenable. Are you looking to start open warfare? Some of the poorer, more isolated villages rely on these services and already some of them are starving as they cannot afford your insane taxes!” Wang Hei could no longer contain himself bursting forth with unbridled anger and spite.
“These lands are mine by birth, this tiny place cannot contain me and are simply my resources to be used. Do you ask your fish how they feel as you collect them for dinner? No, I think not, so too I use my resources as just that resources. It doesn’t matter if they are used up as soon I will ascend beyond these petty resources. If you're so noble why don’t you try feeding those starving villages for free? There are no taxes on charity” Wei Hua finished his final words with a sneer
“You dare?!??!” Wang Hei roared as he started to draw his spear.
Instantly the pressure of all the guards fell on him and at least five of them drew their swords.
“Hmph come then, show me the power of the Wang clan if you dare” Wei Hua smiled, seeming eager for the exchange to come to blows “You do look quite strong, it might be quite good for my magic treasures to have a taste of your strength..”
A cold chill ran down Wang Hei’s spine and he stopped reaching for his weapon.
“There will come a day where you will rue this decision brat, mark my words” With that Wang Hei turned around to leave.
“Truly I wonder when you’ll make good on that promise, do make sure to hurry it along or I might simply come harvest you early. I am eager to see the heights of the legendary immortal realms after all” Wei Hua laughed as he watched the receding back of the Wang clan leader
There was something in those words that seemed wrong to Wang Hei however he simply shrugged it off, the Wei lordling was simply raving in his madness. Now was not the time to understand this lunatic, now is the time to gather support and topple him before his mad reign reached too far.
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In a distant land, the sky was blotted out by heavenly swords. Hundreds of thousands of them glowed with golden luster over a mountain range that stretched as far as the eye could see. Each of these swords hummed with the power to level a city. Inside the array in the sky stood an incredibly handsome youth with pitch-black hair that fell to his waist, in his hands were two swords exuding an ancient aura. One of these swords was spotless white with a midnight black handle and the other had a blade of midnight black with a spotless white handle.
The piercing gaze of the youth seemed to cut through all things as his eyes shared the same characteristics of his swords, one being pitch black and the other pure white. Below the sword array in a valley stood a figure. It was a man dressed in a simple brown martial arts robe with no crest or emblem. The man was quite plain in almost every way with only his dull red eyes being notable.
Everything else from his muddy brown shoulder-length hair to his build seemed as average as could be. However, surrounding this man was the silhouette of a pure white humanoid demon. This demon had six wings, three to each side of its body, and eight arms. It had a lithe frame that was just barely larger than the man standing inside of it and wore the soft delicate face of an angel with a slender horn protruding from the forehead.
Jade white hair trailed down the demon’s back to its ankles and it stared up at the youth inside the sword array. Although the silhouette looked nothing like the man inside it moved according to his actions as if he was inside another body piloting it. This demon silhouette was like a thick mist that roiled and writhed within the constraints of its outline making it sometimes appear solid and other times appear almost transparent.
Staring at the writhing mist inside the form too long caused one to start hearing millions upon millions of screaming voices wailing in agony even though no noise was actively coming from the figure. Such an attack from the soul was so powerful it would instantly kill any mortal who looked upon the silhouette.
“Teng ‘White Devil’ Hanying, today you die. It took years to track you to this desolate lesser territory and all the while I had to watch your villainous acts continue. However now that you came here to cultivate in seclusion, I no longer have to worry about the collateral damage, this lesser infinity sword array covers heaven and earth and there's no escape! Surrender now and kill yourself! Only then will this righteous man allow your soul to enter the cycle of samsara.” The youth proclaimed loudly with enough qi to shake the entire surrounding mountain range.
“Hmph, Li Cheng, you think a mere foundation establishment disciple can contain me? Who cares if your Heavenly Infinite Sword Sect is backing you all I have to do is kill you quickly before your babysitters arrive!” Teng Hanying replied in defiance.
Both men glared at each other with enough killing intent to once again cause the surroundings to shake, and within the next moment the white silhouette materialized eight glowing white lances, one in each hand, and shot them into the sky. Four of the lances were aimed directly at Li Cheng while the remaining four went forth in four directions to destroy parts of the sword array. Instantly the entire mountain range the two were standing in was vaporized by the shockwaves of the lances hitting the sword array and a large cloud of dust swirled around Li Cheng's position.
In the sky, huge circular holes appeared in the sword array and none of the glowing swords could be seen on the horizon. However, Teng Hanying’s face soon portrayed a grimace of horror as the dust cleared around Li Cheng, and there stood the youth with a few bloody cuts across his face. Other than looking slightly paler the youth seemed just fine however what drew Teng Hanying’s eyes was not his opponents' condition but the sheathed sword floating in front of Li Cheng.
His opponent had sheathed his two short swords and instead a single slightly longer sword sheath drifted in front of him exuding a pressure that dwarfed the attack Teng Hanying had just made. Quickly Li Cheng’s hands went to the new weapon and he held it vertically with one hand on the sheath the other on the handle in preparation to draw it.
“I… Immortal treasure?!?!? Impossible! Are you crazy? That thing will kill both of us!” Teng Hanying panicked as he saw not only had his opponent drawn such a fearsome magic treasure but the ‘lesser infinity sword array’ he had thought destroyed had reformed overhead. “With your cultivation base there is no way you have enough mental energy to control that thing, you’ll self detonate from the inside! I don’t care if you infused it with 100 years of saved mental energy it won’t work! Do you hate me so much that you’ll die here? What have I ever done to you?!?!?”
Looking around he desperately searched the surroundings for some advantage. Currently, however, Teng Hanying stood in a giant crater that spanned to the horizon, the exchange earlier had completely leveled everything in sight leaving him nowhere to hide.
“What have you ever done to me? That spirit demon avatar you're using is something you refined after absorbing the souls of 10,000,000 mortals. You roamed freely through the lower territories refining city after city of mortals and low-level cultivators all for this pitiful amount of power. I need no reason to judge you. Any righteous path cultivator that met filth like you and stayed their hand deserves execution, and your right 100 years wouldn’t be enough. Feel honored ,scum ,this strike took me 1,000 years of infusing this sword to use” With these words, Li Cheng focused his energy.
Instantly the entire sword array that blotted out the sky condensed into the sword in Li Cheng’s hands and the world simply turned white for as he drew the sword and made a simple horizontal slash with it.
Hours later Teng Hanying was sputtering as he dragged the up half of what remained of his body across a barren desert while downing healing pill after healing pill. Slowly his body was regenerating as he expended massive amounts of the souls he had absorbed to heal himself. He showed no signs of slowing down as he felt lucky to be alive, that brat Li Cheng had leveled an entire lesser region with that strike just to kill him!
With a heavy heart, he made a decision, through his 4,000 years of cultivation he had set up multiple inheritance grounds to carry on his legacy through post mortem disciples. Each had a city refining array setup around a country of mortals. It pained him to cut off a chance for his legacy to live on however there was no choice, he would head to the nearest one and use this array to replenish a small part of his collection of souls.
Li Cheng roared in rage as he consulted the divination treasure that he had used to track Teng Hanying to this desolate lesser territory. Somehow that demon had gotten away! Worry quickly suffused his heart.
At first, he had only accepted this assignment to earn the reward of becoming a core disciple of the Heavenly Infinite Sword Sect however after observing Teng Hanying for the past 100 years it became clear that he was a true menace to the world. After so long he had finally cornered the old demon in a desolate lesser region that had been left feral in some long-forgotten war. This had been his best chance to finish him off and he even used the sword his master gifted him to make sure the deed was done, it had taken him 1,000 years to even store up enough mental energy in the sword to even use it without exploding!
Who would've known the slippery man had a secret technique to directly burn souls to teleport away. Sighing Li Cheng prepared to begin chasing the Teng Hanying once again. That secret technique must have burnt the vast majority of the souls he absorbed to get him out of this lesser region completely so he must be weakened. Perhaps if Li Cheng caught up to him quickly the battle could be contained enough to happen in civilized lands.
With a heavy heart Li Cheng set his resolve and chased Teng Hanying, hoping to catch him before more innocents died.