Yin Long slumped down in his seat and removed a pill from his interspatial ring, Lan Yun smearing some medicinal paste on his wounds while he swallowed the pill. The paste and the pill weren't enough to properly heal his wounds, a fact that made it clear to Lan Yun that Yin Long was planning something, he would probably leave the venue before long.
Jin Wang slumped down on the ground and licked some of his wounds, Yin Long helping him by smearing a somewhat stronger medicinal paste on the wounds he couldn't reach. Jin Wang's expression was filled with vigour but also a trace of displeasure, he probably didn't like the fact that he hadn't been able to eat any of the people they had beaten down.
Yin Long didn't say anything and simply rubbed his head to ease his displeasure. It couldn't be helped, killing was allowed on the stage, but accidentally killing someone was different from intentionally killing them. None of their opponents had been his enemies so Yin Long didn't see a need to intentionally kill them, just like they hadn't tried to intentionally kill him or his teammates.
Jin Wang was smart enough to understand this, otherwise, there was no way his teeth and paw would have stopped at grievous injuries, those hit by them would just die. The last man he bit down on was a bit more questionable, but Jin Wang was after all a Demonic beast so it was just in his nature to be a more cold-blooded than most, he couldn't be faulted for that.
Yin Long detected something flying towards him while he smeared paste on Jin Wang, raising his hand and catching a scarlet pill that carried the faint scent of blood. The rest of his team returned at this time and sat down, the team leader that had tossed him the pill smirking faintly as she leaned back in her seat.
"Man, you're really one hell of an unfair person. We might not be able to contend with the top three teams of each territory, but with you, her, and that lion, we should have no problem dealing with the other fourth-ranked teams and everything below."
Those were words Gui Kong Lie spoke from the bottom of her heart, she truly believed them with all her being. Yin Long was at the 1st Immortal Door but could contend with people at the 5th Immortal Door, and he also had Lan Yun and Jin Wang on his side, both of them capable of accomplishing the same as him.
The three of them alone could deal with the lower half of the enemy team, maybe he alone could even manage that, it was the same as having a massive numerical advantage. There was also the fact that he could produce weapons out of seemingly every element that was launched at him, the more he fought the more likely it would be that he had a sword that could counter your laws. But even with all this gathered together, he only occupied the lowest spot in their team, it was borderline unfair to the other teams.
Yin Long only smiled in a noncommittal manner, it was Lan Yun and Jin Wang who had to take on the role of looking proud, they knew that Yin Long wasn't the type of person to really care about such praise. Another battle had already started by the time Kong Lie and the rest returned to their seats, two teams that had both won one battle previously engaging in their battle.
But Yin Long didn't observe the battle too closely, none of the people on the stage showed any skills that piqued his interest. He lingered around for a bit longer, just long enough to make it seem like the pills and medicinal paste he used earlier had begun to take proper effect. He stood up from his seat and stretched his limbs, patting Jin Wang on the head for a second before he started to walk away.
"I'll be going out for a short walk, this battle doesn't have anything to interest me."
The other members of his team didn't think much of his words, only Lan Yun and Jin Wang knew that he most certainly had something planned. But he had pat Jin Wang before he left so it was clear that he wanted to go out on his own to test something. It didn't feel terribly good to be excluded like this, but they were confident that he would probably tell them about it when he returned.
Yin Long left the venue with a leisure gait, receiving a few stares from the audience before they returned their attention to the ongoing battle. He maintained his leisure gait for a bit even after leaving the venue, only speeding up when he had put some distance between him and the building.
He used a few spatial arrays as he headed for the exit of the city, passing through the large metal gates without issue. They had used a spatial array to enter the city previously, but Yin Long and his team had been outside the city twice previously when they trained. There was mostly plains leading to mountainous areas around the city but there was one small forest located a short distance away from the exit he used, the forest had been purposefully spared so that a few Demonic beasts could live and breed there.
He entered the forest and walked a bit deeper into it, eventually finding a spot where there was a bit of distance between each tree, a few flowers blooming thanks to the rays of light that broke through the tree crowns. Yin Long sat down amidst the blue flowers, his senses already observing the surrounding 500 metres to make sure that no one approached him.
His earthen greatsword and the bladeless wooden sword appeared in front of him, piercing into the earth and standing upright. He stretched out an arm and traced the two swords, his brows furrowing softly as he inspected the two weapons. He hadn't brought them out just for fun, he had felt something strange from them during the battle.
He had used both of the weapons to catch his opponents off-guard, allowing Lan Yun to control the elements that they were made of. But the moment she did that, he felt that they seemed to crack, a bit of his soul dissipating as a result.
This wasn't anything new to him, he had long since been aware of the fact that a bit of his soul would dissipate whenever one of his swords broke. It was just as Bai Xiang had told him all those years ago, if his sword broke then he would die. Not because his enemy's attack reached him but because of the fact that he lost a bit of his soul, something that would add up until his soul fully fell apart.
To this day's date, his sword, or at least a sword formed using his soul, had only shattered twice. The first was when he first learned how to do it, and the second time was when he turned one of the talisman's his parents had given him into a sword, the resulting energy too much for his soul to contain. And both times, his soul had shrunk somewhat and grown weaker, at least for a little bit. And it was this knowledge that made him choose to come out here to test something.
The swords had undoubtedly cracked a little, taking a piece of his soul with them in the process. But he didn't feel the same weakness that he did the last times his sword broke, the small piece of his soul that had dissipated was replaced practically instantly by something. He suspected that it was probably replaced by absorbing some of the Netherworld energy inside his soulsea, but he didn't have any Netherworld energy the first time the sword shattered so he wasn't fully confident in this guess. As such, he wanted to know the truth, it would most definitely help in the future.
Both of the swords in front of him had already been fully repaired after returning to his Soulsea so he put them away again. His thoughts moved for a bit as he went over all his stored swords, eventually bringing out the transparent sword made of glass. He traced this newest sword with his finger for a second, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he muttered.
"It wasn't for long, but thank you for following me. Sorry about this."
The moment he finished his words, the transparent sword exploded into countless tiny fragments that quickly started to dissipate. The best way to test his theory would, of course, be to wound his soul, and the best way he had to do that was to shatter one of his own swords, dissipating the piece of his soul that held it together.
His face paled slightly as the scattered fragments dissipated, his vision quickly turning to his soulsea so that he could observe the changes. The rainbow-coloured sword that served as his soul had indeed grown somewhat dimmer and shrunk slightly, Yin Long's gaze turning towards the sky-covering Netherworld energy.
Unlike when his swords cracked earlier, the dissipated piece of his soul wasn't replaced instantly. In fact, there weren't any changes for almost an hour after he shattered his sword. But just as he passed the one hour mark, he finally detected slight traces of movement.
Invisible tendrils started to extend out from his soul, Yin Long only able to detect them since they were connected to his soul. But contrary to his somewhat uncertain guess, the tendrils didn't stretch towards the sky-covering Netherworld energy, nor did they stretch towards the silvery-yellow ocean of Qi beneath his soul.
The tendrils left his soulsea and stretched out of his body, attaching themselves to the flowers, grass, and insects that were around him. And then, as he looked at them, the flowers and grass started to wither, the insects ceasing their movements and stiffening. The plants and insects around him died, the tendrils pulsating softly as Yin Long's soul grew slightly brighter.
But it was clear that just the things around him weren't enough, the tendrils quickly stretching out again and latching onto the nearest trees. Some of the leaves on the trees started to wither and fall, his soul brightening at a faster pace. His soul was quickly restored to its usual state, but half the leaves on the two closest trees had withered, its branches turning into dried husks.
His soul had fully healed and he had gotten an answer to his question, but Yin Long's face had only gotten paler. It wasn't the Netherworld energy that had restored his soul when his swords cracked, it was the purest form of vital energy, pure lifeforce.
As for why it had taken longer this time, it was likely due to the fact that there simply wasn't enough lifeforce directly around him. But when his swords cracked earlier he had been surrounded by people, there was plenty of lifeforce in them for his parasitic soul to snatch for itself.
--
While Yin Long was figuring out the truth behind his soul's self-repairing ability, the Three-Fold Territory Clash was continuing on as normal. The same was true for the Sunsong Province located on the other side of the planet, where a battle was currently taking place inside a massive hall quite similar to the one in the Starblood Province.
There were only two people on the stage, the other team members leisurely waiting outside the stage, one side looking markedly more nervous than the others. As for the combatants, one was a brown-haired and black-eyed man while the other was a graceful woman with long crimson hair and sapphire-like eyes, a majestic aura radiating from deep within her bones.
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It hadn't even been a year since he left, but if Yin Long were to see this woman, Lang Huo, he would immediately realize that her shoulders seemed to be carrying several magnitudes more weight now than they had previously.
The man charged forward with grit teeth, most of his robe already burned to ash that left a few marks on his torso. He raised a large hammer with both arms and smashed it down towards Lang Huo's head, a thick layer of metal growing around the weapon to increase its power. But Lang Huo didn't show the slightest fluctuation as she raised her arm and welcome the hammer.
Flames that carried a faint golden tint erupt from her palm as it collided with the head of the hammer, only a dull thud sounding out. And then, under the shivering pupils of the man, the hammer started to melt, droplets of molten metal running down Lang Huo's arm for a second before they too turned to ash and vanished.
The fire spread down the handle of the hammer and latched onto the man's hand before he could let go of his weapon, shrill screams quickly sounding out. He threw himself backwards and rolled on the ground to put out the flames, but not even covering them with metal and smothering them was enough, they simply continued burning without mercy.
The man was quickly forced to screech that he surrendered, the flames vanishing with a flick of Lang Huo's hand. The man quickly spat out several heavy breaths, his skin scorched black as he forced himself to cup his hands. As the one who had tasted the flames just now, he was aware that Lang Huo had already shown him mercy, the flames would have just turned him to dust if she hadn't.
The victor of the battle was announced to great applause from both the spectators and Lang Huo's team members, but she didn't show any enthusiasm as she left the stage. Her team members didn't dare to even stop her to chat as she walked, only quickly following her while praising her.
After all, she was currently ranked 4th among everyone in the contest, every single province on this planet was keeping an eye on her. Once all the contests finished she was already guaranteed to be invited by all the large powers, she would probably be offered ownership of one of the smaller planets surrounding their own. But them not daring to stop her meant that everyone was the same, a youthful man with slicked-back blue hair stepping into her path, his black eyes flickering.
"Tch, not even he was capable of forcing it out, eh? Why the fuck am I so cursed that we ended up on the same side in this contest?"
The youth's pupils weren't even properly looking at Lang Huo as he spoke, his gaze was fully focused on Lang Huo's palms. Or to be more specific, they were focused on the calluses that were spread on her hands. The calluses showed that she had definitely spent a long time training with a weapon, but the youth had no idea what sort of weapon she used since no one had been capable of forcing her to use it. Of course, that was only what he thought, Lang Huo had her own thoughts on the matter, stepping past the man without much care.
"It's not a matter of being capable of forcing it out. He could have been several thousand times stronger, I still wouldn't have brought out a weapon. That thing has already become far too dirty, so I've abandoned it."
The youth she was disregarding so casually wasn't some nobody, he was currently ranked 12th, Deshi Gong Qing, he was strong enough to lord over almost everyone else in the contest. But to Lang Huo, he wasn't even worth caring about. After all, what did other people's ranks matter when not even the contest itself mattered to you?
Gong Qing's lips twitched a few times as he watched Lang Huo walk away, but he didn't chase after her or call out. They were on the same side in this contest since they came from the same territory, but they were both here due to different reasons. Gong Qing came here because he actually wanted to participate and show the province that his Deshi clan was worthy of ruling the entire territory. But Lang Huo, she was only here since Province Emperor Sunsong had ordered her to, she herself had shown no desire for victory or the like.
Lang Huo didn't take a seat after finishing her battle, she simply left the venue altogether so that she could return to her inn. Her team's battle was finished and they wouldn't have one until the next day so she no longer had a reason for lingering around. She quickly reached her inn, moving across the mist-filled plain that served as the inside.
But there were already two people waiting for her outside her wooden cabin, a graceful woman and an elderly man. The white-haired man hurriedly stepped forward when he spotted Lang Huo, bending his waist while carefully gesturing towards the woman behind him.
"Clan Master, it is good to see that you are well. Please forgive this old servant, but I was unable to stop the Young Mistress from squandering clan resources, please punish u..."
The old man quickly shut his mouth before he could finish his sentence, a glance from Lang Huo causing his heart to thud violently. He had expected an outcome like this, but as he was in charge of the sect's resources, this squandering was still one he had to report, it was simply too extravagant.
But Lang Huo ignored the elder after giving him a glance, focusing her gaze on the woman that was smiling softly at her. The woman had chestnut-coloured hair hanging down to her shoulders, her crimson eyes filled with a gentle light. They both stepped forward and embraced each other in a tight hug, Lang Huo resting her head on the woman's shoulder as she spoke softly.
"Big Ru, I've missed you. Shouldn't you be taking care of things in the clan?"
There was only one person in this world that Lang Huo would grace with the name of Big Ru, and that person would be her big sister. Lang Ru only smiled warmly while hugging Lang Huo, who had been forced to leave the clan a little over a month ago so that she could take part in all the preparations for this Three-Fold Territory Clash. Lang Huo quickly brought them into the cabin after they ended the hug, a drowsy and charming voice coming from the large bed standing in the corner of the room.
"Sister Huo... Is today's battle already over?"
Tang Fen sat up in the bed in a somewhat groggy manner, her golden hair hanging down in an unruly manner while she rubbed her blue eyes. She immediately spotted Lang Ru and the elder, springing up from the bed in an excited manner while draping the white silken sheets around her body as a makeshift robe.
"Big Sister Ru!"
Tang Fen hugged Lang Ru, the elder standing there somewhat awkwardly. He had come here to report a rather serious incident, but he was basically forced to stand there as he was ignored. He couldn't even turn to look at Tang Fen since she was only wearing the silk sheets as a robe, looking in her direction would be disrespectful to his clan leader. Lang Ru embraced Tang Fen with a sweet smile, glancing at the elder for a short moment before she addressed Lang Huo.
"Little Huo, I've spent about five months worth of our sect's income to buy something, that's why this elder followed me so nervously."
Lang Huo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly when she heard Lang Ru, the elder letting out a stealthy sigh of relief. The Lang clan was certainly declining, but five months worth of income was still a very large sum. Such an expense was indeed something the elder had to report rather hastily, especially when it was something handed out by someone other than the clan leader. But Lang Huo didn't look too worried, waving the elder away in a dismissive manner after LKang Ru glanced at him.
"You can take your leave, Elder Zue, I'll take responsibility for the expense."
Elder Zue could only smile somewhat bitterly before he bowed and excused himself, only leaving the three women in the wooden cabin. Tang Fen ended the embrace and started to get dressed now that the elder was gone, Lang Huo smiling at her sister.
"Alright, spit it out, there's no way you'd spend so much money on something unimportant."
Lang Huo really wasn't bothered about the expense, others couldn't spend that much money, but how could she forbid her own sister from spending it? Lang Ru smiled in a mysterious manner and swiped her interspatial ring, a crystal plate covered in engravings appearing in her hand.
"Can't be helped that it cost so much, do you have any idea how few people actually record the fights that take place during the first day of the contest? Not to mention that I even had to get this transported here from the other side of the planet, I wouldn't have been surprised if it cost more."
Lang Huo couldn't help but frown curiously as she looked at the crystal plate. It was certainly true that very few people would record the battles taking place during the first day of the contest, even her own province probably only had about five or six recordings of the battle that took place during the first day. But what did that have to do with her? She wouldn't even care about the fight that the 1st Ranked Zhao Feng had taken part in, and Lang Ru most certainly knew that.
Lang Ru simply maintained her smile and placed the plate on the table next to her, inserting a bit of her Qi. The engravings lit up with a bright light that gathered above the plate, revealing the images that had been recorded in it.
The image of a large stone stage appeared above the crystal plate, 11 people standing on the stage, 10 on one side and 1 on the other. The scene continued to move as the recording played out, Lang Huo's eyes narrowing for a second before they shot open. Her knees started to tremble furiously as her body shivered, both she and Tang Fen eventually dropping to their knees as their legs gave out.
Their eyes turned red and moist, a flood of tears running down Lang Huo's face as she looked at the lone man standing on the stage. Long Silver hair tied into a neat ponytail, a fearless and excited smile, and black eyes that seemed deeper than the night. Even if tens of thousands of more years were to pass, this was an appearance she would not be able to wipe from her mind, it was a man that was seared into the very depths of her soul. Lang Ru smiled gently and softly as she looked at the two kneeling and sobbing women, her own eyes growing moist as she spoke.
"I told you, didn't I? I know that it was hard to believe, but I wasn't lying. He's right there, just as healthy as ever. The distance separating you is only a single planet, not life and death."
The scene recorded in the crystal plate was of Yin Long's first battle, where he stood alone against Fang Yau's entire team before eventually duelling Fang Yau on his own. Lang Ru had done everything in her power to acquire this recording after she saw his name on the 9781st spot, all so that she could show it to her sister.
Lang Huo's teary gaze was still focused squarely on the battle that was recorded, on every move that Yin Long did. Lang Ru had indeed told her that Yin Long hadn't died back then, she had even checked the grave and saw that it was empty. But she didn't have any concrete proof so there was always a part of her that doubted it, a nagging part that ate away at her mind, taunting her with the fact that she had cut down her own brother, killed him with her own two hands.
But there he was, his back as straight as ever, his gaze as confident and carefree as always. His attacks were sharper than ever and his movements were faster than before, but that was definitely Yin Long, that was a fact that her very soul assured her off. She stretched out her hand as if she wanted to touch the recording, her voice hoarse with sobs.
"Can... Do you think we can meet him?"
That was the only thought occupying her mind right now, she wanted to meet him, wanted to hear what he had experienced. But above all, she wanted to apologize for making him bear the burdens he did. Even to this day, she had yet to learn about all the things he had done for her after she became clan leader, but she was confident that what little she knew was only the tip of the iceberg. Lang Ru smiled warmly as she helped the two women up, but she still had to shake her head.
"He's all the way on the other side of the planet, there's no way Province Emperor Sunsong will allow you to make a trip like that. And even if you meet him now, are you confident that you can handle the backlash from the clan, or from the Deshi and Tao clan for that matter?"
Lang Huo had no choice but to remain silent, Yin Long had taken on the title of a great traitor so that Lang Huo and Lang Ru wouldn't have to bear any blame. She managed to strengthen her own position by killing him, but it also meant that he couldn't return to the clan. If he did, the two other clans and even some of the elders in her own clan would definitely use it to conspire against her, undermining her position. She knew this and Lang Ru knew this, but Lang Ru also knew that there was one way for Yin Long to return to the clan.
"Meeting him right now isn't the best idea, but isn't there one place where you can meet him? And once you both leave that place, don't you think you'll be strong enough to just ignore any backlash?"
That was the simple truth. If either of them got strong enough, who would dare to say anything against Yin Long's return? If they were so strong that they could crush the two other clans, why would those clans even dare to think about causing any trouble with the Lang clan? Lang Huo's pupils trembled faintly as she came to the same realization, her gaze turning sideways.
"Will... will he go there?"
There was indeed one place they could meet without the Lang clan or the others learning about it, but she didn't know if Yin Long would even bother going there. Lang Ru didn't give an answer, she simply gestured towards the still moving recording.
"Look at his eyes, look at them and think about what sort of person he is."
All of them turned to the recording, which showed the final stages of Yin Long's duel with Fang Yau. And they focused on his gleaming eyes, shimmering with excitement as he observed his enemy. And that sight was the only answer Lang Huo needed, her own eyes growing steely and determined.
"We're going to the Province Championship."